Three Questions for Stacy

What inspired your choice of medium, genre, and/or form for your work?

About a year ago I started writing haiku. I was inspired by its containment of the present moment, elucidation of nature, and cutting turns in such a small space.

What was your creative process?

I have always been committed to concision and fragmentation, regardless of genre or form. I also see the page as my canvas (many thanks to my teacher, Roberto Tejada, for helping me realize this). As I was writing haiku in its traditional form (i.e., one line or three lines, minimal punctuation, no titles, etc.), it occurred to me that I could scatter the individual lines across the page as a measure of meaning. I also wondered how intersecting or graying out some of these lines might amplify impact, especially with regard to how this might introduce new sentences and ideas – new ways of reading the poem.

What is the significance of this work to you?

Like all creative work, I find these poems significant as proof of life—reminders of what I’ve witnessed and what I hope to remember, or have remembered, in my brief time in this world.

Stacy R. Nigliazzo is a nurse and the award-winning author of three poetry books. She is a member of the Humanities Expression & Arts Lab (HEAL) at Baylor College of Medicine, where she teaches poetry and art to physicians and students.