We decided it was time to include Ann Quinn in our series about local writers. Ann, who became poetry editor for Yellow Arrow Journal in time for our latest issue, “Resilience,” taught the very first class in our new space, Yellow Arrow House. The students went home with a poem each, and another in progress, a fitting beginning for our new space. Ann has an MFA in poetry from Pacific Lutheran University, and has a chapbook of poetry, Final Deployment, published by Finishing Line Press.
We are thrilled to have Ann teach a series of classes for us—A Year in Poetry. Sign up for the year, or come as you can, the first Saturday of each month starting in March.
What do you like about Baltimore?
I actually live in Catonsville because: trees, but I love that Baltimore is planting more trees. And, fun fact, in high school, when I lived in Northern Virginia and played in a prep orchestra at Peabody, I had an intuition that I would live in Baltimore someday, and here I am, since 1994. I love that people in the area love Baltimore, and I love that the city is knowable: in one week I can spend time in Highlandtown, Sandtown, Cherry Hill, and Mt. Vernon—each so different but so much part of the whole, and so easy to get to. (Because I have a car—and that of course is one of Baltimore’s biggest challenges). I have recently become a rower--I row recreationally with the Baltimore Rowing Club. Being on the water is a whole other way to experience the city.
How did you get involved with Yellow Arrow?
I was looking online for local reading series when my book came out and I found YAP and got on the mailing list. When a poem I submitted for the journal was accepted and Gwen sent me a check, I was hooked. I love Yellow Arrow’s innovative ideas for involving community and their commitment to inclusivity and to nurturing women writers.
What do you love most about writing?
Those somewhat rare moments when it really takes you on its own journey, when you are being used to create something bigger than yourself. I also love the feeling of participation in a conversation that has been going on since we figured out how to tell stories and sing.
Who has inspired you most in your writing journey?
Probably Lia Purpura, with whom I took two classes at UMBC when I was getting into poetry (at age 50). She is a wonderful teacher and writer, and I try to emulate her style in my classes.
What are your classes like?
I like to challenge my students by giving them a lot of poetry to read and think about, and then come back and talk about—because we learn so much from one another. And I find that using masterful poems as models helps leapfrog the question of how to start a poem, what form to put it in. Often when you can start by copying from a model, your own poem takes over and almost writes itself. Of course we work on revision as well. I don’t workshop poems in every class—we’ll share bits and pieces of our writing in each class, but I find that we learn more by spending time discovering what is great about masterful poems before diving into discussing one another’s work.
You can read some of Ann’s work or order her book from her website, www.annquinn.net