Conservation of Matter
By Alison Lubar
(first published in Apiary Magazine, Issue 11)
No carbon decomposes. I recycle [not-love,
repurpose] crumbling brick to garden path,
replace pious copper pipe Cowith plastic. [Which
of twelve steps compels benedictions?] Spackle
holey walls’ fist-divot, cover couch in navy velvet
and linen pillows, banish tobacco tins and empty
fifths of whiskey [hidden behind cookbooks
or bedside table]. The next era built with Good
Will and wish: resourceful as neighborhood
pigeon who [nests with fishing line, dental floss,
paper straw wrapper, matted spiral of white hair]
makes home from nothing [everything].
You are a teacher as well as a poet. Does teaching influence your writing or perceptions of writing? You are also a yoga instructor. Do poetry and yoga intersect for you?
Teaching has definitely influenced my perception of writing-- as a student, school was the first place where I really started to share my writing. I won a poetry contest in first grade and read my entry on the morning announcements. I always loved reading poetry, and found teaching it just as wonderful. In the best of times, I feel like a poetry clinician for my students. Heartbreak? I’ve got a poem for that. Rough day? Have one for that too! Teenage blues? Oh there are so many to recommend… And for those of my kiddos who hate poetry, I challenge myself (and them) to find something that they dislike the least.
As an adult, I really started seriously writing after completing a yoga teacher training for a kids’ yoga program. At the end of the program, we were asked to write words on post-its that made us think of the other participants, and someone put “poet” on my left shoulder. I spent the next several months in a longer YTT program, and that just helped open the figurative heart valve. They’re definitely connected, because they both involve the whole self, in both whatever and every ontology one might ascribe to.
It’s a small thing but I love that you effectively utilize square brackets in your poetry. How do they inform your poetic voice?
Thank you! My drafting style is [incredibly] voluminous. I really work to pare down long lists of images and words, and some find their way into brackets. I always wrote with parentheses (even in high school papers), and the use of such insertions/mini-digressions really speaks to the way that I think.
From what I have read of your work, your poems are often driven by fresh and surprising images. What’s your strategy for cultivating poetic imagery that both startles and satisfies?
Startles and satisfies! I love that. When I’m trying to describe a thought/experience/thing, I attempt to hold it up to different lights, palm it, and turn it in my hand. I think of Rita Dove’s finesse in “Flirtation,” or when I’m driving, I’ll try to come up with different ways to explain what I see. Could telephone poles be eyelashes? Can double yellow lines be luminous? I love playing with sounds and pure phonetics, then try to make some sense out of what’s emerged-- syntax first sometimes, then semantics.
Virtual poetry readings and journal launches have emerged out of necessity due to the current pandemic. What has your experience been like engaging with poetry virtually?
Oh, I have found such an incredibly talented and loving community. Multiple communities, really. I’m stranded in NJ right now and had every intention of moving to Philadelphia, BC (Before Covid). I attend weekly sit & writes and have connected with so many other writers in Philadelphia and beyond. Where I wouldn’t normally be able to attend an event or workshop because of location, I now can. I think it’s an important time for poetry, but really, the time is always right, right? I love seeing familiar faces at readings and have really made some important connections & friendships over the virtual verse universe.
Where can readers find more of your work? Buy your book?
I’m working on a second chap while my first is (still) out for submission! My website is www.alisonlubar.com, and you can find me on Twitter and IG @theoriginalison. I’ve recently had work in Apiary Magazine and antonym lit. Both are beautiful, digital issues. And I’ll hopefully send you some chap or collection news soon!
Alison Lubar teaches high school English by day and yoga by night. They are a queer femme of color whose life work (aside from wordsmithing) has evolved into bringing mindfulness practices, and sometimes even poetry, to young people. Most recently, their work has been published by or appeared in Rowan University’s Glassworks, Giovanni’s Room anthology queerbook, Fearsome Critters' Quaranzine, Apiary Magazine, and antonym lit.
Catfish” John Wojtowicz grew up working on his family’s azalea and rhododendron nursery in the backwoods of what Ginsberg dubbed “nowhere Zen New Jersey.” Currently, he works as a licensed social worker and adjunct professor. He has been featured in the Philadelphia based Moonstone Poetry series, West-Chester based Livin’ on Luck, Mad Poets Society, and Rowan University’s Writer’s Roundtable on 89.7 WGLS-FM. Find out more at: www.catfishjohnpoetry.com.