I *heart* memes… and I have the smedley log and the ballad of yoko to thank for this one.

1. The first poem I remember reading/hearing/reacting to was…

When I was little, I had this fat book of nursery rhymes. It was like a phone book — just that thick, with the thin colored-paper pages. I don’t remember which one was my favorite. But I used to sit in my room on my bed just reading them outloud to myself.

2. I was forced to memorize (name of poem) in school and…

I don’t remember ever being forced to memorize any piece poetry… but I think that’s probably because most times when poetry is forced on someone, it leaves a negative imprint. If not, if it’s just given, then it becomes a part of their life. I was lucky enough that poetry was given to me.

3. I read/don’t read poetry because…

I read poetry because a good poem, a good line of poetry — when it’s really reached the level of art — can make me tingle, can make me cry, can make me feel like I just got punched in the stomach. And it can change the way I see the world — it can bring me to a whole new level of understanding. Recently, I keep hearing/reading poems that remind me of friends — but more than a memory, the poems give me a whole new vocabulary for thinking about those people. That’s such a gift.

4. A poem I’m likely to think about when asked about a favorite poem is…

Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s “I Am You” :
…. I am alone here
but if there were two of us
I would say
there is only one here…

It’s the first “favorite poem” I ever had. It’s a love poem, but it’s very real, corporeal, human. I could feel it. I would get so wrapped up in it, I’d forget to breathe. I know, I know, it’s sounds melodramatic… but it’s absolutely true. The best poems leave you breathless.

5. I write/don’t write poetry, but…

I write poetry, but I’m a total sucker for cliches. And I guess by that I mean: My name is Autumn, and I’m addicted to Dawson’s Creek reruns, Julia Roberts movies, and hair bands.

6. My experience with reading poetry differs from my experience with reading other types of literature…

because poetry happens so fast you don’t really have time to give up or look away.

7. I find poetry…

all over the place. I think every day we are making poems, we just don’t always write them down. So, me, I try to take in the details, so that when I do put it down on paper it’s right. Or as close to right as I can make it.

8. The last time I heard poetry…

was last night at B&N in Bryn Mawr, where I hosted a reading that featured Rachel Blau DuPlessis and Jena Osman. I have to say, it was one of the best readings of the year because it reinvigorated my interest in both poets. I previously struggled a little with their work on the page, but their readings really brought out the energy of their poems. They are both so inventive that their poems really embody the possibility that language has to offer.

9. I think poetry is like…

space — vast, awe-inspiring, full of possibility, seemingly inexplicable but really made of the most base and common stuff of life.