Photo by Gabriela Igloria
“The language of poetry is what I like to turn to, in order to process the information life / the world throws at me.”
— Luisa A. Igloria
Welcome to Fast Five, an occasional series in which I ask my favorite writers five questions as a way to open the door to know more.
Luisa A. Igloria is the author of 14 books of poetry, four chapbooks, and editor of three anthologies. From 2020 to 2022, she served as Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Originally from Baguio City, Philippines, Luisa lives in Norfolk, Virginia, where she is a professor of English and Creative Writing at Old Dominion University.
She has been lauded with numerous awards for her work, including the world’s first major award for eco-poetry, and a lifetime achievement award from the Writers Union of the Philippines.
Despite the many accolades and achievements, it was a quiet corner of the internet where I first found her work. Every day for 14 years, Luisa has written and shared a poem at Via Negativa.
1.
Why write?
I can’t think of a good reason not to. Perhaps this is because I was raised in a book-reading, book-loving family, and developed an early appreciation for language. I recall my late father telling me that we may not have been wealthy, but he would see to it that I got a good education. Also, I’m more of an introvert, and it just seemed natural that I’d be attracted to things that could be done in solitude (reading, writing, making art, playing music).
For the last 14 years + 3 months (and running), I’ve kept a daily writing practice (in which I write at least a poem a day). This has taught me a lot about myself as a writer— and I’ve come to realize that the language of poetry is what I like to turn to, in order to process the information life/the world throws at me.
2.
You have a full and prolific professional life. What do you enjoy about writing, teaching, leading?
I love the way my practice as a poet and as a teacher (of poetry, creative nonfiction, and literature) engages language which has the capacity to immediately and deeply address the human in us. The language of poetry, of art in general, isn’t merely transactional. It allows us to access the beauty as well as vulnerability of human experience, and in so doing, feel connected to ourselves and to others.
From Via Negativa, where Luisa A. Igloria posts fresh poems daily.
3.
What’s the best — or worst — writing advice you’ve received?
Perhaps one of the worst kinds of writing advice: Write (only) what you know.
One of the best kinds of writing advice: It’s ok to write into what you don’t (yet) know. That’s how discovery happens; how else could you get to wonder, except by admitting there are so many mysteries in the world that still have the capacity to floor you?
4.
What book do you return to again and again?
I love Federico García Lorca’s In Search of Duende — for his reminder that creativity is more than technical or mechanical mastery of skills. His theory of the duende taps into the importance of also cultivating a connection to more ineffable, intuitive, perhaps even archetypal energies. In other words, anyone can learn to be a good carpenter of language; but learning to make language sing is a different matter.
Another book that is formative and important to me is Magnificence and Other Stories by the Filipina writer Estrella D. Alfon (1960).
5.
What are you currently working on?
A new manuscript on the creation of a hill station in the northern part of the Philippines (where I am from) by the American colonial government, in the 1900s. History continues to fascinate me, as an archive full of narratives that could take on a different sheen depending on the point of view of their telling. Also, from this perspective, the past is not necessarily “over.”
Bonus Question: I'm a word collector, and keeping a running list of favorites? What are yours?
Some favorites:
pine cypress mountain archipelago
