Interview Q&A with Elizabeth Bonsera
We present our first exclusive Q&A Interview with Elizabeth Bonsera, whose literary works have graced our Spillwords pages and earned her the title of March’s 2026 Author of the Month.
- What does it mean to be selected as Author of the Month?
Author of the Month feels both humbling and deeply affirming. Writing has always lived quietly within me, but only recently has it begun to take shape on the page in a more intentional way.
To have that work seen, felt, and received by others reminds me that poetry is not just personal—it’s connective. It becomes a thread, weaving inner experience into something shared and understood.
More than recognition, this feels like an invitation to continue—to keep listening closely, to keep writing what feels true, and to trust that what moves through me may also reach someone else in a meaningful way.
- How have your friends and/or family influenced your writing?
My writing is deeply shaped by the relationships in my life—by love, by loss, by growth, and by the many ways we learn to relate to one another.
Motherhood, in particular, has been one of my greatest teachers. It has asked me to hold them close, to guide them both gently and firmly, and to let them go. And now I look back with more awareness at how I showed up along the way. Over time, it has become a space of reflection—of recognizing the love that was always there, witnessing my children in the lives they are living now, and cherishing this bond that continues to shape us all.
The people closest to me have been a mirror, exposing both the light and the darkness we all carry. Through those reflections, I’ve learned to look more deeply, to stay open where I can, and to see things from different perspectives. Along the way, I’ve come to understand how important it is to find and trust my voice, and how much can remain unspoken in the moment. Writing has become the place where those thoughts take shape—where I find the words I didn’t have at the time, and attempt to hold those experiences with compassion and care.
- What inspires and motivates you to write?
I’m inspired by life as it actually unfolds—not the neat version of it, but the moments that shift unexpectedly, where something deeper is revealed. It’s often in reflecting on those moments that I’m drawn back to the page.
Much of my writing is shaped by an ongoing inner journey—an intentional process of reflecting on my life, the relationships around me, and the deeper questions around connection and meaning. It’s not just about what’s happening now, but revisiting experience through a different lens, seeing more clearly and understanding what has always been there.
I find myself drawn to the space between what we feel and how it’s reflected back to us—how easily meaning can shift, and how much depth there is in looking more closely at those moments. Writing gives me the space to return with awareness, to see with new insight, and to express what feels most true, often with a clarity that wasn’t available at the time.
- Can you tell us about the catalyst that sparked your writing journey?
Words have always been part of me. As a child, I was drawn to language and the quiet magic it held, even before I fully understood it.
But for many years, those words remained within me. It wasn’t until more recent life experiences—through growth, challenge, and a more intentional inward journey—that something opened, and they began to spill onto the page.
That journey includes a deeper exploration of self—through reflection, spiritual work, and an ongoing process of remembering who I am.
Writing became less about trying to create something, and more about allowing something to emerge—something lived, something felt, something known.
- Please share a glimpse into your writing process.
My writing usually begins with an observation—a moment, a detail, a memory, or a quiet noticing that stirs something within me. Sometimes it’s a feeling, sometimes it’s a single line or a phrase that comes unexpectedly, but it’s always something that rings true before I fully understand why.
I often follow that thread without overthinking it, letting the words unfold naturally. I write intuitively at first, without editing, allowing whatever needs to come through to take shape.
Later, I return to the piece more deliberately—listening for its rhythm, refining its language, and shaping it into what it was meant to be.
It’s a balance between surrender and intention.
- What do you find most fulfilling about the act of writing?
It’s the moment something becomes clear—when a feeling that was difficult to name takes form in words.
There is a sense of release in that, but also connection. When something true is written, it has the ability to resonate beyond me.
That quiet recognition—that someone else feels it too—is meaningful.
- How does the use of imagery contribute to conveying your story?
Imagery allows me to express what cannot always be said directly. It creates space for the reader to feel something rather than simply understand it.
A well-placed image can evoke emotion, memory, and meaning in a single moment, giving shape to the unseen and allowing the experience to be shared in a more intuitive way.
For me, imagery is not just descriptive—it’s a way of translating what lives within into something that can be felt.
- What is your favorite reading genre?
Poetry has always been my first love. It has a way of reaching beyond logic and speaking directly to the heart.
I’m also drawn to writing that feels real—memoir, reflective prose, and anything that explores the human experience in a way that lingers, as well as work that reaches beyond what we think we know—exploring the unseen, the spiritual, and the quiet forces that shape our lives.
- What human being has inspired you the most?
It’s difficult to name just one person. I’ve been shaped by many influences over time.
My mother, who shared her love of words with me and first placed poetry in my hands, and my father, whose love of language and expansive vocabulary shaped my ear for words, were where it began.
My children, my grandchildren, my family, and the community around me have all shaped me in different ways, each offering something I was meant to see or understand more deeply.
I’ve found that inspiration often comes through connection—through the ways we reflect one another, shape one another, and grow through those experiences.
Those who are willing to look within—with the courage to truly see—and to meet life with an open heart, with awareness and grace have inspired me the most.
- What message would you have for the Spillwords Press community that voted for you?
I’m truly grateful. To be read, to be felt, and to be supported in this way is something I don’t take lightly.
Writing, for me, is a practice of solitude, but moments like this remind me that it’s also part of something shared.
Thank you for creating and participating in a space where words are not only written, but truly received.
- What would you like your legacy as a writer to be?
I would hope to leave behind work that feels authentically human, with a touch of magic—something that reflects both the vulnerability and strength of being alive, the perfectly imperfect way we move through it, and the expression of something much greater than ourselves.
If my writing can help someone feel seen, or offer a moment of reflection or connection, then that is enough.
More than anything, I want my work to carry truth—with depth, clarity, a sense of humanity, and a quiet recognition of the divine within us all.
- Is there anything else you would like to add?
Only that I’m still learning—to reflect more deeply, to trust what moves through me, and to allow it to take shape without force.
Writing, for me, is not a destination, but an unfolding, and I’m grateful to have found my voice, and to let it flow.
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