In honour of Poetry Writing Month, I decided to interview a few poets that I enjoy reading. This is the third in a series of four interviews.


April 28, 2008

Esin Goldman, a.k.a. ~Esin, has fascinated me for a long time, and I am glad I was able to interview her. Esin is a published poet, a wife, a mother of two, a reading interventionist, and who knows what else. Her three Daily Deviations are not to be missed, and the rest of her gallery is just as mesmerising.

In this interview, she tells us about her poetry, her two children, and how her writing relates to various aspects of her life. She also talks about a very important issue: autism awareness.


^lovetodeviate: Tell us a little about your writing. When did you start and how have you changed as a writer? Does identity play a big role in shaping what and how you write?

Esin Goldman: My passion for writing began when I was about 10 years old, and came about after reading Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet the Spy. Harriet’s diligence in recording her observations and thoughts taught me that writing was more than a subject in school; it is a means of self-expression.

Without going into the details of my childhood, I needed an outlet, a non-judgmental ‘ear’ that would listen to me, and wouldn’t ridicule or put me down. I can still remember opening that first composition notebook, and the sense of reverence I had for all those blank pages. On them, I could develop my ideas and dreams, and preserve my own voice from the tumult of family life.

Today, my writing is influenced by the roles I play. Marriage, motherhood, religion, work, and even my environment, can inspire, and even restrain, my hand at times. My challenge has been to create work based on the experiences of home, church, or school; and make it into something any reader would want to read.

LTD: You have a lot of Japanese-style poetry in your gallery, but also poetry in more Western forms. How do you know when a poem needs to be a haiku or tanka or something else? Do you deal with certain themes in one form as opposed to another?

EG: It is fairly easy to know when one style of poetry is going to work better than the other. In the case of the Japanese forms of haiku, senryu, and tanka, each has a specific set of features which address certain topics and attitudes. I can’t do anymore justice in describing them, because *MSJames and *Laurence55 have already done an excellent job in providing in-depth analyses of these forms for people who want to know more about them. For me, haiku, senryu, and tanka are well suited for recording an “Aha!” moment, or realization of a truth unearthed over the course of daily living. These three forms demand brevity and clarity, and are like the picture postcards of the poetry world.

I write in open verse when I want to relate all the details surrounding an experience, a feeling, or narrative. The themes vary between thoughts about family life and the struggle to find a sense of place. As such, they are more personal to me. However, I believe they too are influenced by the Japanese aesthetics, seeking the same goal of clarity and insight with the use of concise imagery and language.

I like using a variety of poetic devices, such as alliteration, assonance, metaphor and tempo. I also try to keep the language simple, but not simplistic. An example would be in my preference for using the word ‘red’, instead of crimson, or vermillion. Granted, I still have a lot to master when it comes to Western forms of poetry, especially with metered verse.

LTD: In 2007, you participated in Haikuwrimo and received a Daily Deviation for your collection. This April, you are writing a poem a day for Poetry Writing Month. Do you find this exercise of writing every day beneficial?

EG: Poetry Writing Month has been beneficial in several ways. At the very least, it has helped me discover my most efficient mode of writing a poem. And it’s writing the rough draft in longhand before putting it into the computer for editing. The only thing I get when I compose directly into the computer is eyestrain.

NaPoWriMo has also been good for strengthening my observational skills. Just when I think there’s nothing left to write about, I’ll see something in a new way. Like recently, when I was making the bed, I noticed how my pillow always seems to lose its shape long before my husband’s does. Taking time to really see something is one way to begin the writing process. Writing daily also put pressure on me to try and figure out how many ways my brain can bend an idea. And, at the end of the month, I should have enough poetry to spend the rest of the year on with editing and revision.

The only two drawbacks with this exercise, for me, would be the sleep deprivation and neck pain. But other than that, it’s all good.

LTD: Can you tell us a little about a favourite poem (or many favourite poems) that we can find in your gallery?

EG: My current favorite would be decision. It is an accurate portrayal of what my writing can be when I take the time to really edit and revise my work.

There are also several pieces I’ve written this month for NaPoWriMo that I’m fond of, and I look forward to polishing them next month.

LTD: Who do you read, on deviantART and otherwise?

EG: There are a lot of writers on dA that make me smile. I’ll start with *MSJames, because he brought so many of the haiku poets together by hosting the first Haikuwrimo back in 2006. From that event, I met other great poets like =Bogbrush , =Keraness , `AbCat , and ~zebrazebrazebra. What all of these writers have in common is an ability to transform literal things in world into the poetic. For prose, I like the works of *IfrozenspiritI and ^GeneratingHype. I envy their technical and artistic mastery.

There are other writer’s I look up to. Elizabeth Bishop, Wallace Stevens and Mary Oliver feed the modern, adult poet in me. Yet, my inner-child relishes the work Ruth Krauss. Krauss is known for her books A Hole Is To Dig and The Carrot Seed, but her poetry is wonderful in its ability to be surreal, irreverent, innocent and profound, all at once. Valerie Worth and her series of Small Poems are a recent find for me, and she has a style I like to emulate. For haiku, I’ve read the traditional offerings of the old masters as well as some modern anthologies of English haiku. I especially like the haiku of Jane Reichhold and Alexis Rotella.





April is Autism Awareness Month, and even though the month is coming to a close, it’s not too late to understand this disorder a bit more. Esin’s son has autism, so I asked her to tell us about this disorder.


LTD: What can you tell us about autism and your experiences of being the mother of a child with autism?

EG: Autism is classified as a spectrum disorder, meaning it manifests itself over a broad range in the severity of the delays in a child’s social skills, behavioral, and communication skills. Asperger’s Disorder, Autism, and Pervasive Developmental Delay – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), are three of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders listed in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, 1994). No one is 100% sure what causes it, though there is growing evidence it may genetic in nature. There are differing opinions on what’s the best course of action for helping children with autism. Yet the truth is, not one approach is right for all autistic kids.

Much of the research done about autism is in determining its cause, or causes, and also in finding a cure. There is also a growing movement by those on the spectrum, who champion the concept of ‘neuro-diversity’. They believe those resources would be better used to develop programs designed to address the quality of life issues autistic adults face. Because of the differences of opinions, I find it best to take a practical approach, and use ideas and practices that will help my child work around, and with, his differences.

Over six years ago, I noticed things about my son that made him different from typical babies. He began babbling at about 4 weeks, yet could not stand the motion of being in a moving car or baby swing. When he got a little older, he stopped responding to his name, but would giggle at the sound of booming cannon. As a toddler, he could recite dialogue from his favorite video, but was unable to verbally request a cup of milk. He played with his toy trains in an unusual way, preferring to line them up in neat little rows, instead of crashing them into one another.

It was our concerns about his diminished vocabulary and selective hearing that set us on the path of securing an autism diagnosis for him. With it, he’s been able to get the help he needs. His interventions include physical therapy, occupational therapy (with sensory integration components), and Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). We also tried the gluten-free, casein-free diet, but to no effect.

Being the mother of an autistic child is an adventure. There are bumps and setbacks along the way, but the breakthroughs we make are so breath taking. Every conversation he can initiate is an answer to a prayer made during the times when he said nothing at all. He strengthens my faith by testing it to its limits. The reward is in knowing and seeing that he can learn, he can progress and will be self-sufficient one day. His autism makes him think and experience things differently from a typical person, and I believe our world has a need for that kind of thinking and vision.

LTD: why his shoes were wet is a poem about your son. Do your children influence much of your writing?

EG: Absolutely! I derive a lot of material from my children and my role as mother. It’s taken me a while to embrace this though, because of my experience in academia. There is the idea that a woman is short-changing herself as a writer if she elects to be a mom. Perhaps the only truth to support this is in the challenge of carving out time, and space, to write without your kids interrupting you. It’s harder, but not impossible. I make time to write when I’m at work, on the weekends, and when the children are in bed. Doctor offices are another good place to jot down ideas, and maybe write about other people’s children. This is the logistical impact that kids can have on one’s writing.

Another way my children influence my work is with all the humorous anecdotes and antics they supply. They have a unique way of seeing the universe that we grown-ups seem to have lost over time. For example, their perception of the sky is different from ours. When my daughter was little, she asked if they made ladders big enough to reach the moon. And recently, my son was looking at some mountainous, white clouds forming in the afternoon sky, and asked if we could use pogo sticks to jump into them. For them, touching the sky is possible, if you reach high enough. To me, this is optimism at its best, and I try to instill that same sense of wonder in my writing.

LTD: You help children to read. I imagine this is a very fulfilling job. Why do you think reading is so important today? Is it more so for people who want to be writers?

EG: I’m thankful for my job as a reading interventionist. It makes me realize how much I take for granted the complex process of reading. It is rewarding to be able to identify what component of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension) a child is weak in, and then address that need. When a child has the gift of literacy, so many doors are opened to them.

According to my students, they believe reading is important for academic success and for getting a good paying job. And while I agree with that, it does so much more. Reading is a means of discovery. We can learn more about ourselves and develop empathy for others when we see the world through a character’s eyes. We can also experience the cultures, ideas and people of far away places from safety of a favorite chair. A person can travel the past, present, and future, just by opening a book. Reading can break the vicious cycles of poverty and ignorance by giving people the knowledge they need to improve their life. So, yes, these are some of the reasons why I feel so passionately about literacy and its importance in an individual’s life.

When it comes to writing, I think reading plays a part in developing one’s ear for the sound and rhythm of language. It is by our exposure to good literature we are able to broaden our vocabulary and know which words to use in our own writing. For example, how can a person know which word to choose from a thesaurus, if they haven’t been exposed to the various contexts and connotations of those words? Reading is fundamental for people who want to write, because it’s a type of learning by immersion. Like being baptized in the words of a thousand other authors, before you’re brought up again with your own distinct voice.





Esin’s poetry has found a place in publications such as Simply Haiku and bottle rockets.


LTD: Do you have any advice for people who are trying to get published?

EG: My experience in publishing is rather modest, but I’ll share what I’ve learned so far.

First off, make sure the work you submit is in fact your best work, that there’s nothing more you can do to improve it. Next, do your research on where you want to publish your work. You can find lists of publishers, and their submission guideline, in writer magazines, Writer’s Market, and online. You may want to start out with smaller publications, to build up your credibility, before submitting to more well known magazines and journals. Get a feel for the type of work an editor is looking for by reading their magazines. When you think you’ve found a place for your work, send it in. Then, be patient.

Response times will vary, depending on if you’ve submitted electronically, or through the post. Learn to appreciate rejection notices. The best kind of rejection is one where the editor took time to hand write a short note explaining why your work wasn’t accepted. This information can help you fine tune the search for the right publisher, thus getting you one step closer to that acceptance letter.

LTD: What are your plans for the future?

EG: In the short term, submit work on a consistent basis. Next, I would like to be home again, full-time, within the next five years or so. This would permit me to focus more on my craft while the children are in school. By the time I reach my 40’s, I hope I’m back in school, finishing up a degree in reading education or creative writing (provided a creative writing program is available in my community by then). I’d also like to learn Spanish well enough to converse in, and write more Spanish haiku. As always, my family will continue to be the first priority, and any success I earn will have to accommodate them.




Thank you for letting me interview you, Esin, and good luck in all that you do!

I recommend going through Esin’s gallery. Also, look out for more interviews with some of my favourite poets on deviantART. Cheers and happy writing, everyone!


More links

Writing Letters and Mini Chapbooks
Interview with a haijin, *Laurence55
Interview with a rising poet, *TheObviousChild