Interview Q&A with Dawn Pisturino
We offer our first and exclusive Q&A Interview with Dawn Pisturino, a writer whose literary works have been featured on our Spillwords pages as well as being Author of the Month of March 2024.
- What does it mean to be selected as Author of The Month?
The last year has been a tough one for me emotionally. I used my writing as an outlet. Achieving Author of the Month status on Spillwords Press is a great honor. This means that my poetry connected with readers in a meaningful way. All the turmoil I suffered was not in vain.
- How have your friends and/or family influenced your writing?
My daughter has been a huge inspiration since birth, and my husband is my rock who keeps me grounded. However, interactions with people outside my family have influenced my writing the most.
- What inspires and motivates you to write?
My daughter inspires me to create and keep going, and my life experiences and emotional well-being motivate me to write.
- Can you tell us about the catalyst that sparked your writing journey?
I was always an advanced reader and fell in love with the Bronte sisters and great Romantic poets like Elizabeth Barrett Browning. They inspired me to express myself through poetry and other writing.
- Please share a glimpse into your writing process.
My brain is always turning, so much that my husband tells me he can hear the wheels grinding. It really annoys him. But I can’t sit before a bare screen and wait for inspiration to hit. Sometimes, I dream poems while I’m asleep and scramble to write them down when I wake up. When I was in Walmart the other day, all of these great lines kept popping into my head. I wrote them down on the back of my shopping list. Sometimes, something somebody says or something I see triggers a poem. Recently, I went into a creative frenzy and produced poem after poem without much effort. It was weird, but I had been pushing myself to produce.
- What do you find most fulfilling about the act of writing?
Even if I’m writing something for myself, I appreciate it when other people enjoy it and can relate to its message.
- How does the use of imagery contribute to conveying your story?
I try to avoid cliches, tired-out rhetoric, pretentious language, and overuse of imagery. Some poets clutter their poems with so much imagery that the message—if there is one—gets lost. Poems like that are difficult to read. I believe in brevity and simplicity.
- What is your favorite reading genre?
Although I’m game to read almost anything, I like mysteries and thrillers the best.
- What human being has inspired you the most?
I don’t get infatuated with celebrities and politicians. To me, that’s a waste of time. As a registered nurse, I worked with a doctor who devoted his life to helping the sick and even paid for medical care for patients who couldn’t afford it. He was a role model and inspiration for what I believe the medical community should be.
- What message would you have for the Spillwords Press community that voted for you?
Thank you! I couldn’t have done this without you.
- What would you like your legacy as a writer to be?
I’ve done my job if one person is helped or inspired by my writing.
- Is there anything else you would like to add?
I want to thank Spillwords Press for providing an opportunity for established and emerging writers to express themselves, get published, and share their voices with the world.
- Interview Q&A With Dawn Pisturino - April 18, 2024
- The Squatter - March 16, 2024
- Sammy’s Sleigh Ride - December 18, 2023
