FULL INTERVIEW: Fragility Is Their Strength

An interview with Susan Leary by Lili Gourley

Susan L. Leary’s More Flowers is her fifth published poetry collection and second publication with Trio House Press. The book is a declaration of resilience in the face of perpetual adversity against girls and women alike. Lili Gourley, Supporting Editor at Trio House Press, had the opportunity to talk with Susan about this new, exciting collection.

Lili Gourley: More Flowers is an internal and external exploration of womanhood in its many facets, and at this point, seems more necessary than ever. Can you tell us about your process for writing this book and your mindset while putting these poems to paper?

Susan L. Leary: More Flowers was initially written as my MFA thesis, but my work on these poems was interrupted when my brother, Brian, died, at which point I began working obsessively on Dressing the Bear. During this time, I also moved from Miami, FL, my home of over 20 years, to Indianapolis, IN, so it was a period of great emotional and physical upheaval. In a sense, two very different versions of myself wrote More Flowers, my pre- and post-grief selves. I also do not like anything to go to waste, be it a scrap of fabric or morsel of food. My Nana taught me that, so when I finished Dressing the Bear, I knew I wanted to return to these poems, dust them off and bring More Flowers to completion. When I speak of girlhood or womanhood, I am using these terms to hold a broader, more intense narrative of criticism I experienced most of my life, particularly as it relates to the body and the voice. I have never fully belonged either, and the experience of being a girl is the closest approximation to belonging I can achieve.

My writing process was both internally and externally driven. That first version of myself drew on memory, imagination, and the deep, private archive of my mind, but living in Indianapolis, suddenly I was able to acknowledge myself through a new environment that was entirely outside of me. I was unfamiliar with winter and had never seen a swan before or a landscape change, so images of this nature are replete throughout the collection. The past me and present me are very much colliding.