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Literary ideas unfold at poet Hannah Stephenson’s monthly reading
Tessa Berg photo
Spirited monthly themes of darkness, letters, friction and even time travel have made Hannah Stephenson’s monthly gathering, Paging Columbus, a go-to showcase of local poetry and prose. “It’s really friendly, accessible and conversational,” says the CCAD and Otterbein University instructor. “I like to see it as a bridge to different literary worlds in Colum-bus.” While prepping for a Valentine’s Day edition Feb. 7, Stephenson shares how she found her voice. thestorialist.blogspot.com
I always felt an urge to record and make. I remember making tapes of songs and books, ever since I was little, with horrible drawings and horrible handwriting that has not changed that much. There was no rhyme or reason—it was just the words repeated over and over, anything that came into my mind. But it was a very serious endeavor.
I was also a huge reader. I always loved the books I read, and sometimes I would just make my own version of that book, like kids often do. Retell “Orpheus and Eurydice.” Retell “Jonathan Livingston Seagull.”
I started writing in earnest more in high school. Very earnest. Not angsty, not angsty at all. Earnest. That was how I’d describe it, embarrassingly so. I can see my voice really starting then.
When I started my blog The Storialist in 2008, my actual voice now started to crystallize. That’s been the start of my disciplined writing. Right now, more and more, I’m trying to fight the urge to overly craft my work. I write every day. I post a poem every weekday on my site.
I’m always thinking about this idea of sharing what I have noticed. I think that sharing something in a poem is empathy: I’m wanting to feel what they feel, before they feel it, and react preemptively to that. Empathy is something I always come back to in art.
I often am just people-watching or eavesdropping. Those are big sources of inspiration for me. Even if I hear a line or see a line on a sign, that might be a starting place for a poem.
Typos are also sources of inspiration. Typos make words strange again to us.
