The Lightning Room With Brianna Stout

Brianna P. Stout (poem in Jan. Issue)  cautions us against chasing planes and falling into dreams. Listen to her stand on the plain earth as it moves.

1) Reading your poem makes me want a hug. Why do I feel that way?

Well, some people just like to be touched, DeWitt.  Please don’t try to hug Jacob, though – he wouldn’t like that.

2) Both flight and freedom have historically been used to represent freedom. What is their connection?

I think it boils down to a desire to feel like we have control over a situation.  No one wants to feel pinned down, like we can’t do what we want or need to do.  When we see someone fly above us, we, envious, want to join in their locomotion.  It’s kind of like those chickens owned by that Causby dude (from the United States v. Causby case).  A plane flew over the Causby farm, and the chickens were like, “Whoa! We want to do that!”  The only problem was that the chickens were in their chicken house and couldn’t really fly, so Causby claimed that the trespassing planes caused his chickens to slam themselves to death against the chicken house walls in pursuit of the plane.  All right, so this question has taken a depressing turn (I’m starting to understand your first question more now), so I’ll have another go at it.  Maybe it’s more like my cat.  Whenever he feels uncomfortable with a situation, when he feels uneasy or slightly out of control, he doesn’t go hide under the bed, he finds the highest spot possible and perches there.  By being up high, he feels like he can handle things, like his abilities are, ahem, heightened.  His own little slice of freedom.  O.K., I know that a cat answer may seem typical, but don’t you prefer it to the depressing chicken analogy?

3) You’re standing in an airplane bathroom. You haven’t had a chance to use it and already someone is knocking on the door. How do you feel?

This event simply would not happen.  I know better than to go to the bathroom during a flight.  Unless, of course, the bathroom is all the way at the rear of the plane.  (Everyone knows that survival rates from plane crashes are higher for folks closer to the back of the plane.)

4) You read your poem like you are very comfortable reading poems aloud. That may not be true, but ti sounded that way to me. Do you read poetry out loud often? Do you feel a spoken poem is different than a silently read one and why?

I do read poetry out loud often.  I have the most experience reading the poems of others out loud as a teacher.  Though I think the world of the poem on the page is important as well, many poems take on new life when read aloud.  Rhythm and sound play become more clearly illuminated, and tone can be heightened.  I think my favorite poem to read aloud to students is Ricardo Pau-Llosa’s “Samurai” because of the misheard wordplay – “ham on rye” being mistaken for “samurai.”  The poem is very much about the inexactness of verbal communication, and it’s fun to watch my students’ faces as they figure out Bruno’s mistake.  When it comes to my own work, I do read my poems out loud a lot, but it’s usually when I’m by myself.  I find it helpful when I’m trying to revise or see if a poem’s working.  I can often tell something is missing when the poem just doesn’t click when read aloud.

5) Type for one minute, as fast as you can, beginning with the phrase: The apples didn’t belong to me but

The apples didn’t belong to me, but I threw them out anyway.  It’s simply not ethically responsible to allow someone, even a stranger or enemy, to eat apples that are soft.  Or not top notch.  I remember doing a science fair project in 5th grade answering the highly intellectual question of “Which type of apple has the most seeds?”  Totally necessary information.  I actually don’t remember which type of apple in fact HAD the most seeds, but the whole process allowed me to figure out my favorite type of apple (Fuji – it has a crisp outside, but a warm, sweet inside) and gave me some important factoids about apples.  This information proved useful the following year when I was interviewing for Happy Apple Days Princess.  “Well, personally I believe that apples are important for their nutritional value.  Did you know that apples contain vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, A, E, and citric acid?”  I was crowned Princess First Runner-Up.  Thanks, science fair!

6) When you email people you’ve never met, do you imagine how they look? If so, is there a standard cast of filler-people you imagine? If not, describe that jolt of falling when you wake up.

No.  I can’t help but think that you were imagining how I look while typing this question.  Let me help you out: I’m pale, and I have kind of a heart-shaped face and pointy nose.  I have a gap in my teeth that I like to think is more Madonna than Wife of Bath.  Straw-colored hair.  All right, this is making me uncomfortable now.  I see why you asked the question.  On a related note, doesn’t that dreamboat from The Carrie Diaries look EXACTLY like a cross between Cary Elwes and Jonathan Brandis?  Also, I try not to fall in dreams.  I get motion sickness easily.