Who's that Poet?

Get to know Amy Grass

First things first, please introduce yourself and share some fun facts:

I am a wife and mom of three in St. Louis, Missouri. I love books and baking, morning runs with friends, and good food on great patios. I’m a Part-Time Poet who is forever typing frantic fragments into my notes app which way or may not ever make it into an actual poem.

How long have you been writing poetry and what made you start?

I started writing poetry second or third grade. I remember buying a two books from the Scholastic Book Fair: Poetry for Young People volumes featuring selected works from Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost.

I had previously been bemused by Shel Silverstein, but these poems felt like something new to me, like REAL poetry (truly no offense to Shel Silverstein, my own children giggle through my tattered old volumes of his).

I began writing little poems about my life and submitted a couple to the Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans after being encouraged by my teacher. When they were accepted I was ELATED even though they probably published nearly every poem submitted.

Seeing my words in print have me a thrill that's never really worn off. At some point I set poetry down for many years and didn't return to it until my late twenties when I found myself trying to write essays and coming up with stanzas instead. I hope I never set it down again!

What is your writing process like?

Well. It's not very refined. Mostly I write down words or phrases that pop up in my head and try to piece them together into something coherent.

Sometimes a poem starts with a concept or idea, but many times it just starts with a single phrase I typed into a note on my phone. I just checked my notes app and got tired of counting after reaching 47 different notes with fragments in them. Like I said, it's not very refined.

A real key is having other people read and edit your work before sending it out into the world. The PTP ladies are phenomenal for this and my husband also has a great eye for poetry. They've made my words so much stronger than I can on my own!

How do you make or find time to write?

As a mom with three young kids, much of my time falls into the "noticing and fragment typing" category. But I take the time to put poems together and work on them mostly in the early mornings, during my two year-old's nap, or while my kids watch tv and my husband cooks dinner.

I'm not on much of a schedule with writing and right now, I'm pretty content to work when I have the time and inspiration for it. Trying to embrace my season, you know?

How does being a mother impact your poetry?

My kids inspire much of what I write. I can't even count how many poems I've started because of a question they've asked or observation they've made. I love seeing the world through their eyes and funny little brains, it reminds me to open my eyes wider to what's around me.

But also. Because of them I have a lot less time and energy and brain power. So it's definitely a bit of a give and take. I just had to pause writing this, for instance, to talk to some resultant room-cleaners. The creative life is quite glamorous at times.

Do you have any other creative pursuits? How do they relate to or enhance your poetry?

I bake layer cakes, which is a fun creative pursuit for me. I love coming up with unique flavor combination and interesting decorating techniques.

Baking, like poetry, reminds me that creativity can hold both rigidity and fluidity. A recipe and a made-up flavor pairing. A structured form and a lack of punctuation. If you know the basics, you can experiment a little in both worlds and I love the freedom it affords.