Sarah E N Kohrs

Macrame: What was the catalyst that started you off on your writing journey, and what place does writing occupy in your life today?

Sarah E N Kohrs: Community in a local writer’s group at Shenandoah County Library in 2013 was the most impactful catalyst for my writing journey. Until experiencing affirmation and encouragement for my poetry, I had not considered my work as being more than a personal practice to grapple with life’s asperity and trauma. I’ve witnessed people brought to tears from reading my poetry – seeing that and hearing, “I couldn’t figure out how to put into words what I am feeling until I read your poem,” have been reminders that as a writer, I have a chance to empathetically impact others in ways that allow them release and connection from comparable life experiences. For me, writing happens everyday, but not always in the way one considers. I have a pen and journal in every bag I own—purse, camera bag, hiking pack—and keep a word doc poetry template up on my laptop throughout the day. This enabling the chance to capture lines and life moments I want to use in future poems is key to being a successful writer. I’ve also been known (as many writers) to use napkins in cafes, discarded envelopes, and scraps from my kids’ lessons for such purposes, too.

Macrame: How do you typically begin a new piece—and what does your writing process look like from first draft to final revision?

Sarah E N Kohrs: A new poem begins with phrases from scraps and journals, gleaned from life experiences or random things I’ve read or researched. Often there are specific words I want to incorporate within the poem—in such cases, I begin by researching that word’s etymology. If that includes ancient Greek or Latin, I use my corresponding dictionaries and also look up ways the word has been used in ancient texts to give my use deeper meaning. The first draft is often a list of words, phrases, or researched ideas; like tatting lace, I grab these lines and weave them into a poem. A second pass includes rearranging whole stanzas or changing out words or reimagining form or literary devices I want to incorporate to give greater meaning to the whole. When the poem seems ready, I’ll record myself reading the poem outloud; then replay it and listen as I follow along. Often there are little frays I need to pull out or tuck in with a word change or rearrangement. But once I’m at this point, the poem is nearly ready to work into my submission process. I like to give the poem a day or two to exist and breathe, then reread it—sometimes try it out on my guys to ascertain their thoughts—and see how it fares. Even a final revision poem might need to be revisited a year or two later, when life experiences have given me a new perspective that fits better than what I had originally created.

Macrame: What challenges do you encounter most often while writing, and how do you work through them?

Sarah E N Kohrs: Honestly, the biggest challenge I have right now is uninterrupted time to focus. I homeschool my youngest son and have two others that entered the public school system for high school, which means they have extracurriculars that impact every weekday and many Saturdays during the school year. This activity-soaked schedule means I have a few minutes here and a few minutes there to work. Occasionally I’ll take my laptop to sporting events, but usually just rely on my pen and journal for handwritten work. I’ll write during my son’s individual reading time, while he’s doing warm-ups for fencing lessons or playing scales on his piano. When you pour water into a jar filled with stones and sand, it’s amazing how much will fit—the same is true for anything you want to do. If it’s life-giving and meaningful for you, you will find a way.

Macrame: What is one piece of writing or one body of work or achievement that is particularly meaningful to you, and why?

Sarah E N Kohrs: Chameleon Sky is something I had wanted to write for a while. I had tried earlier versions, but they didn’t feel right. I was too focused on a theme centering around the sky, literally. We all have different passions—life is a synthesis of what we love most: an array of various beautiful dawns and sunsets. During the pandemic, I was able to reimagine Chameleon Sky and create a chapbook of poems that incorporated what that time held for many of us: loss, racial and social justice tensions, nature, anxiety—life filled with different passions. Putting together a chapbook that then earned the Kingdoms in the Wild poetry award in 2022 and publication in 2023 was extremely meaningful to me. It is encouraging to have editors that believe in you as a writer and want to give your voice a platform.

Macrame: Who are you as a reader? What authors or specific books influenced you as a young person, and what do you recommend young people read today? What is on your reading list now?

Sarah E N Kohrs: I’m an eclectic reader. Some of my reading is for preparations as an educator—so, a science encyclopedia on how things work or the latest book in the Wings of Fire series are commonplace as I work to relate to and teach my sixth grader. If I know my older sons are reading a particular book, I’ll often put it on my reading queue, too. Fostering those kinds of connections with the people you love is super important. As a child, I had a terrible time with my tonsils being removed—I had to stay in the hospital for an extended time for monitoring. A cousin visited me and brought several books for me to read, including Stuart Little and The Mouse and the Motorcycle; this was such a touching gesture for a young girl who loved climbing into trees to read, but was stuck in a bed hooked up to IVs. My favorite books were My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, A Wrinkle in Time and An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L’Engle, Charlotte’s Webb by E.B. White, A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, and Shel Silverstein’s incomparable Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. Greek and Roman mythologies were a life-line. Then, in high school, I was exposed to William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Harlem Renaissance writer, Langston Hughes. My English teacher played Martin Luther King, Jr’s I Have a Dream speech on a scratchy record; and I found a guttural truth in his words and in those of Hughes—it was that element of soul-birthed writing that resonates across time and differences. I think it’s extremely important for our youth to be reading books that challenge their perspectives or allow them to think about what they would do in a certain situation—that encourages them to keep thinking, even after the reading is finished. Nikki Giovanni’s poetry, especially the impeccable “Allowables” in her 2013 Chasing Utopia collection and “Mercy” in her 1968 Black Feeling, Black Talk/Black Judgment collection, should be on everyone’s reading queue, in addition to MLK, Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. Two books that just left my reading list, because I just finished them, are Just Making: A Guide for Compassionate Creatives by Mitali Perkins and Otis Moss III’s Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times. Others I’m just getting into include: Pádraig Ó Tuama’s Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World and The Core of an Onion: Peeling the Rarest Common Food by Mark Kurlansky; Makoto Fujimura’s Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life is a book I’ve put back on the list to re-read.

Macrame: How does your work as a fine art photographer, potter, and educator tie-in with, and impact your writing?

Sarah E N Kohrs: Everything I do impacts my writing. After working in the pottery studio (where I keep another journal and pen), ideas for poems will start pouring out—as if the physical focus of throwing clay on a wheel allows my brain the space it needs to work out a poem. Most of my photography happens during hikes or unique excursions as our family endeavors to visit every US state. Sometimes I start poems because of a photograph that I took: the space, subject, or feeling of that moment carries forward into my writing, similar to ekphrastic (where a poet will write a poem based on a specific piece of art). Children are amazing muses—my writing and art are better because of my three sons. They challenge me to view the world in ways I might not have considered and their educational needs push me to research topics I may never have thought to research for my writing. So many of my poems begin because I read an interesting fact or took them on a field trip that inspired me as much as it did them. That’s how it is with all writers: the passions we hold form a life-giving circuit that enables us to keep creating.

Macrame: What do you hope readers experience when engaging with your writing – hope, call to action, joy — is there a theme or a message that underscores your work?

Sarah E N Kohrs: Connection and delight over how words and imagery can align to create an unexpected reflection are two emotional experiences I hope my readers will come to know. Much of what I write about challenges the social and racial interactions around us, connects with nature, or ruminates over a historical figure or current event, as well as how we connect with or are impacted by these aspects in living. I want the reader to feel they are not alone in their life’s journey—that others have walked this way and experienced what is resonating with them in the poem they are reading. I hope my poems will help them give voice to and better understand those experiences, too. I want to encourage my readers to meet life—both the good and the difficult—and work toward cultivating places in which thriving can happen where they are, through attention to themselves, to their loved ones, and to their communities.

Macrame: Can you share a little bit about your connection to your home region, the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and how it influences your life and writing?

Sarah E N Kohrs: The Shenandoah Valley is part of the Ridge and Valley region of the Appalachians. It’s a place that was once the wilderness of colonial America—the region the first settlers were supposed to leave alone for Indigenous Peoples. Communication failed, however it happened, and my ancestors were some of those non-English speaking immigrants, who settled on land that belonged to the tribes in the early 1700s. Most Americans don’t want to talk about how our country treated Indigenous Peoples or they want to move on regarding both this history and how Africans were treated through the American Civil War and how African Americans were treated through the Civil Rights time period. Americans don’t want to talk about systemic racism and the impact of generational trauma as a result of excruciating life experiences. But if we don’t talk about these things, how can our country heal? How can it become a place accepting of all Americans? The bittersweet history in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, a state that broke its ties with the United States of America for almost a decade over states’ rights to choose slavery as a viable economic basis, should inspire us to have these conversations. The Shenandoah Valley is also naturally beautiful. I live just a few miles from a national forest, where mountain springs babble and hiking paths allow soul-refreshing experiences. I often consider how my ancestors first saw this valley—the beauty and joy they felt in the presence of the mountains—and I recognize centuries later, those same sights are inspiring me.

Macrame: What advice can you give our readers regarding writing or life in general?

Sarah E N Kohrs: Take time to be in nature. I cannot stress this enough—our most visceral life-giving experiences are related to connection to nature: the smell of pines, the gentle shiver of wind through hair, the glee of noticing a meteor trail across the night sky, the search for shells between the wrack line and the rambling of the frothy waves, the warmth of the sun on shoulders, the silk-soft dance of a campfire’s orange flames. Spend time with the people you love, the people who make you feel safe enough to be your true self. Our family loves camping and traveling—we’ve visited all fifty U.S. states together, savoring historic, cultural, and nature-infused sites. It’s important for people living in the same country, under the same government, to have an appreciation for one another. Traveling gives us a greater appreciation for our country and for our fellow Americans, but also for the planet. Stay open-minded and treat others the way you would want to be treated. I really believe this specific advice would solve so many of the world’s problems. We don’t listen to hear, but to respond; listen more, breathe deeply, and smile for yourself, not to appease others. All of this can impact your writing, as well as your life.

Macrame: What projects or ideas are you currently exploring, and what can readers look forward to next?

Sarah E N Kohrs: I have a decade’s worth of research on African Americans in Shenandoah County; so, writing projects related to their life experiences are in the works. Most of my poetry is free verse or experimental in form—I intend to continue exploring those poetic forms, as well as modern haiku and haibun. One of my sons is graduating from high school this year; so, I anticipate writing poetry related to the guttural shift in being a mother of a young man entering adulthood—especially related to his living on a college campus this fall and what that means in terms of the loss of daily hugs from someone I hold so dearly in my heart.