Ada Limón, a two-time poet laureate and SVHS alumni, came back to campus to speak at the annual Authors Day on Friday, May 2. Two Dragon’s Tale writers got to sit down and interview her.
Q: What inspired you to start writing poetry?
A: Well, as you know, I went here, to Sonoma Valley High. I was a Dragon, and I first discovered poetry in English class my, I want to say sophomore year. And, I remember – I had read poetry before obviously, but I didn’t really think about how it was made, or how it was built, or how it could affect someone, and I remember the poem, it was called “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop, and it was on a test, and I asked Mrs. Lale if I could keep the test, so I could keep the poem.
Q: Have you ever experimented with other kinds of writing such as novels or children’s books?
A: Yes, I have two children’s books out. Both of them are actually based on my poems. One of them is called “In Praise of Mystery,” and the other one is called “And to the Fox.” And illustrators have taken my poems and turned them into these really beautiful children’s books. And, I’ve written three fairly awful novels that I just keep in a box somewhere and no one is going to see, but I am very proud that I tried them, and I worked at it and I learned a lot from the experience. Right now, I’m actually working on some nonfiction.
Q: What’s the nonfiction about?
A: It’s technically a memoir!
Q: Now the big question, What’s it like to be back on campus? Anything surprising, any key differences?
A: Well I got to come back two years ago, so it’s not that different. I can say I love the library, and I love that it’s large and central. Our library at the time was pretty small, so it’s nice that it’s a big, sort of open space. And, I also feel like the campus is really beautiful.
Q: What advice would you give to students who are also interested in writing or poetry?
A: Yeah, I would say that if you are interested in writing poetry or you are writing poetry is to remember that it is not just about the writing, but also about the reading, so that when you’re writing think about what are the things that you also love and if you love one poet then think “Oh, who were they influenced by?” and then go read that poet, and then think “who were they influenced by?” and then go read that poet, and it’s a wonderful way of working backwards to discover the lineage of poetry. And so that would be my advice. If you’re interested in writing poetry, is to make sure that you’re reading poetry, and then secondly I would say that I would really encourage people who are writing to find a community of writers that they can share their poetry with. Even if it’s one other person. I think it’s really important to be able to write your secret poems, yes, but then the poems that you want to share, have someone you might be able to email, text, or just, you know, hand over a poem and say hey, would you mind reading this for me.
Q: Do you have anything you’d like to add?
A: Yes, I do. I am a huge supporter of the Sonoma Valley High School and I think that amazing people go here now and I am excited to see what they do with the future that they build.
