Photo: Theodora Ziolkowski Lee Upton is the author of nine books. She is the recipient of a National Poetry Series Award, a Pushcart Prize, and was twice the winner of the Georgia Contemporary Poetry Series Award. Her fourth book of literary criticism, Defensive Measures, is forthcoming from Bucknell University Press. Her most recent book of poetry, Civilian Histories, was published by the University of Georgia Press. Her poetry has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, the New Republic, American Poetry Review, Harvard Review, DoubleTake, and many other journals. Her fiction appears widely. Buy her books here. See some work here, here and here. 1. What is the first poem you ever loved? Why? Emily Dickinson’s “I’m nobody! Who are you?” The poem is often considered coy and sentimental, but I never thought it was anything less than wonderful. I think it’s working in many ways with bitter ironies—and with a desire to break free of ascribed identities. I memorized it many years ago, and I’ve never forgotten it. 2. What is something/someone non-“literary” you read which may surprise your peers/colleagues? Why do you read it/them? The lives of the saints. The stark contrast to my own life. 3. How important is philosophy to your writing? Why? It’s important to my criticism, but it’s not directly important to my poetry. Any influence would be inadvertent. I can’t help but think of my poetry as aiming toward the condition of philosophy by other means. I hope that my poetry creates places for readers to begin to create additional provincial systems for making meanings and for experiencing meanings. That’s a lot to ask for, I know, but I want to ask for it. 4. Who are some of your favorite non-Anglo-American writers? Why? Homer, Ovid, Vallejo, Transtromer, Milosz, Szymborska. They need no defense. 5. Do you read a lot of poetry? If so, how important is it to your writing? I read poetry every day. It’s my favorite kind of reading—absolutely heightened reading. Reading a good poem makes me grateful. 6. What is something which your peers/colleagues may assume you’ve read but haven’t? Why haven’t you? The Magic Mountain. Over the years every time I started to read it I kept getting interrupted. If I picked it up right now the phone would ring. 7. How would you explain what a poem is to my seven year old? I wouldn’t presume to act like the sort of jerk who would tell your seven-year-old what a poem is. I have my own seven-year-old. When I asked her to tell me what poetry is, she said, “It doesn’t have to be true. It can be something like, ‘The lamb cried Help!’ It’s words kind of like what God uses. And there’s detail.” 8. Do you believe in a Role for the Poet? If so, how does it differ from the Role of the Citizen? The poet’s role is to be attentive to words as they make possible our imaginative freedom. The citizen’s role is to be fair and responsible. The imagination doesn’t have to abide by such limitations. 9. Word associations (the first word which comes to mind; be honest): Lemon**Curd Chiseled**Astronauts I**love you Of**mortgage Form**structure 10. What is the relationship between the text and the body in your writing? Inextricable, even when I want to escape from the demands of either of them.