This week, the spotlight is on Murray Silverstein and his poem, “Back Porch, Twilight,” published first in Hunger Mountain.
Q: What inspired you to write “Back Porch, Twilight”?
The intersection of a phrase (“garden on its late-summer binge”), a situation (especially beautiful late summer afternoon), some quiet time (“twenty minutes most”), a desire to write, to write down the phrase, and follow my nose.
Q: How long did it take you to write it?
That’s the following my nose part. Maybe forty drafts over two years.
Excerpt of “Back Porch, Twilight”:
Back porch, twilight, garden on its late-summer binge.
Striders all over the pond. My mother called them Jesus bugs.They don’t, though, walk so much as land, dimple-&-drift
on water, give it—you can almost hear—a sideways thwackto launch a sideways hop. Or hump, they hump the water
& drift! Sparks of manic desiring alternate with perfect ease.
To read the complete work, visit Hunger Mountain.
thankfully this has nothing to do with the twilight books! lol
but seriously, WOW 40 drafts over 2 years? impressive!
Oh wow…the last two lines of this poem really bring it home. Beautiful beautiful stuff. And yet, something disturbing too, just under the surface. What a great way for me to start the day here. Thanks.
It’s great to see so many authors gather inspiration from so many different places.
I’m glad I’m not the only writer who works on one piece over a few years. Great work, Murray!