“I do not write things I cannot love”—An Interview with Patricia Saunders
Interview by Gabriela V. Everett & Katie Lynn Johnston
Today, our editors sat down with Patricia Saunders—playwright, poet, and teacher—to talk all about colors, nature, and Saunders’ latest project. Check out her poem, “Power of Purple,” here.
What drew you to writing? Why do you think you are a writer?
My own inclination drew me to writing. It was not something I could stop myself from doing. Everything I write is because I love writing it. I do not write things I cannot love. The topic has to be meaningful to me. Once it is, I cannot hold back.
Do you find that your poetry and plays sometimes coexist? Do you feel they are separate parts of your writing experience?
I guess they are separate parts in the sense that the format is different. Plays are call and response while poetry is, for me, free-flowing. It is always the same thing, though. My heart must be involved and that is where they coexist. I love the room to expand emotional development in my plays. I am not yet ready to write a poem that lasts, if read, for between thirty minutes and two hours.
What is the importance of the color purple you? Do you often find yourself inspired by colors?
Purple has always had great meaning in my life. Although I have phases of loving other colors, I always come back to purple. And yes, I am inspired by colors. Sometimes, when I walk through a park, colors can move me to tears.
In “the Power of Purple,” you explore many connotations of the color, and many different sights of it. Do you find that nature is a subject you like to explore a lot in your work?
I think nature must be something that inspires every poet. It is all around us and we are part of it. I particularly love the sea and am drawn to it whenever I have the chance. I can sit for hours and watch the changing shapes of the waves and the colors of the sky.
What are you working on now? Anything exciting you would like to share?
I have just completed my first poetry collection. It is titled As Pine Trees Sway and consists of about sixty poems falling into seven categories. The poems range from glimpses of the transcendent level of life to the beauty of human emotions.
Patricia Saunders writes romantic thrillers, poetry, plays, and music. Two of her plays have been performed in Iowa and her poems have been published in the online journals, Ariel Chart, and Literary Yard. Another of her poems is being published by Eskimo Pie. Patricia has written articles and reviews on consciousness, music, and politics. A recent review on the music of Palestrina was published on the Quail Bell magazine site. She has also co-authored a non-fiction book about the power of transcendental meditation to calm down violence recently published by Changemaker Books, an imprint of John Hunt Publishing. For her books, please visit her website: www.patriciasaunders.org.