Interview with an Editor: Catherine Pierce

On 23 Years in a "Poetry Marriage"

Hi, Friend.

You may have heard me mention my friend Katie—the poet Catherine Pierce—before in an interview or during an event Q&A. I send my poems to Katie, including the very first draft of “Good Bones” (I’ve included a bit of that initial email from 2015 in this post), and she sends her poems to me. We’ve been doing this for 23 years now.

It’s been a thrill to see Katie publish poems and books, win awards and fellowships, and become the Poet Laureate of Mississippi. This interview with her sits at the intersection of two things I’ve been reflecting on lately: the importance of long friendships and the role of editorial feedback in my development as a writer.

I hope you enjoy this little peek into our process together, and I hope you find in her incredible poems and in her feedback what I have found: a voice I need in my ear.