New "Jackie O." Poetry Chapbook by McEntee Explores "Compression" Writing

Writer, poet and teacher Jessica Noyes McEntee explores “compression” and other writing techniques in her new poetry chapbook, Jackie O. Suffers Two Husbands and Other Poems, from Finishing Line Press. Here she answers questions about the project.

What prompted you to put together the chapbook?

I put the chapbook together for the 2018 New Women's Voices contest held by Finishing Line Press. I didn't place, but they said they wanted to publish me. I found this really amusing and surprising (I wasn't good enough for the contest yet I was good enough to be published!), and then I figured I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. The poems represent a smattering of my work from a particular period, as opposed to a collection centered on a theme.

How does your approach to poetry differ from your approach to fiction?
I felt my prose was becoming too verbose and that I was straying from specificity. Then I read that one of my favorite authors, Jenny Offill, had studied poetry for ten years while writing Dept. of Speculation. I started out writing the poems to learn compression, the poetic device of saying exactly what you mean with high-energy words that pull their weight and other editorial techniques — I was like a parasite trying to suck my host dry so I could move back onto my larger prey of fiction. Soon, I found I quite liked poetry itself. In contrast to writing a novel, a multi-month if not multiyear endeavor, I could generate a poem and hone it within a few weeks. I fell into a pattern of writing poetry during the fallow periods in between writing novels. I don't typically write both at the same time.

What main challenge did you encounter in creating and/or completing the poetry and chapbook, and how did you overcome it?
As someone who's really quite new to the genre — I had studied a bit of poetry in college and beyond, mostly Elizabeth Bishop and Gwendolyn Brooks – I'm still refining my ear. I don't totally trust my instincts yet so I remind myself to embrace this sense of uncertainty. I'm not really tied to the idea of myself as a poet, but I think this frees me to experiment. I'm grateful for my poetry teacher, Charles Rafferty, who leads a fantastic class out of Westport Writers' Workshop, and for my classmates, who are all wonderfully encouraging of each other. The workshop is hardly a staid atmosphere; we laugh a lot and goof around with language.

What primary writing lesson did you learn while creating the project?
In my experience, a lot of playfulness goes into writing the initial drafts of a poem so I try not to get too tied to an idea of what the poem “has” to be. As my writing process evolves, I have to become more and more definite about what I'm trying to say, giving great attention to my selection of each individual word. Unlike prose, a poem demands a lean precision. I have to root out anything that doesn't pull its weight. I suppose all of this happens with generating prose, too, although with poetry you're working on a more granular level. 

What would you like to add that you feel is important for other writers to know?
Because the genre of poetry is so distilled, I think great poets demonstrate the power of consistent voice and style. A short list of contemporary poets I'd recommend for total newbies are Ada Limon, Jenny Xie, Meghan O'Rourke, Billy Collins, Stephen Dunn.

For the chapbook by Jessica McEntee visit, Jackie O. Suffers Two Husbands and Other Poems.

A graduate of from Amherst College, Jessica Noyes McEntee worked as an editor at John Wiley & Sons and taught at St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn Heights, NY. She currently teaches fiction at the Westport Writers’ Workshop in Connecticut, and her work has appeared in Ragazine. Her poetry chapbook, Jackie O. Suffers Two Husbands and Other Poems will be published in June 2019 by Finishing Line Press, and she won an honorable mention in the 2019 Third Wednesday poetry contest judged by Robert Fanning. For more on McEntee, visit her at Jessica McEntee.

For more on the workshops, go to Westport Writers’ Workshop.

Gail Ingis Writes Historical Romance With a Twist of Mystery in the Gilded Age

Gail Ingis writes historical romance with a twist of mystery set in the Gilded Age. Her latest book, The Unforgettable Miss Baldwin: The Gilded Age Heiresses (Sept. 2019) is available for preorder on Amazon and through other retailers. Here, Gail talks about writing this latest novel.

What was your biggest challenge in writing the novel, and how did you overcome it?

What comes first, the outline, the theme? What will my focus be? Who are my characters? Where to begin the book—in a situation, at home, in the office, with friends, and what era? So many questions. Every author asks herself these and more when starting a book. My challenge wasn’t fear, it wasn’t lack of desire, and it wasn’t lack of time. The most difficult part of writing is plotting the story. For Miss Baldwin’s story, I created a timeline as I wrote, rather than an outline, before I wrote. The outline is the skeleton—the bones of the book. However, as you write, the characters often change the direction of the story, and the original plan gets lost. Then we’re left with a few cracks in the bones of the plot! After writing two books, and once I have an idea of the plot or the theme, I decided it would be productive to work from an outline—it helps create the scenes. I built the scenes with the main thrust, which in this case was women’s suffrage, fuelled by the common thread of intrigue and romance to carry both the love story and the mystery. Some backstory: I had the opportunity to teach the history of architecture and interior design for many years—I have always been fascinated by the Victorian era, the overabundance and exaggeration in design. The style of the period is known for its eclecticism and oddities in dress, homes, and architecture. There was an undercurrent of higher moral standards—this era was not quite like the Age of Enlightenment, but it was a period of change. As women, we continue to fight for equality so [I thought] why not write about the women’s struggle of the 19th century that led up to the nineteenth amendment giving women the vote? That’s how I found my theme—women’s suffrage. I’m Brooklyn born and bred, so it was easy to choose New York City as my setting, in particular, where my heroine and her family lived across the street from Central Park.

What was the most enjoyable part of the writing process?

The most enjoyable part of the process was creating scenes, entwining them, and watching how the characters came alive and helped build the story.

Are/were you part of any writing communities that supported your goal of completing the novel? If so, how were they helpful?

I can’t say enough about the importance of getting involved with a local writing group—taking mini-courses and talking to other writers. I highly valued your workshop, Adele. The writer’s group varied in experience, but I still valued the input, with your leadership.

What would you like to add about writing—or writing a novel—that you feel is important for writers to know?

Learn the craft. Every word and every sentence has meaning and importance. Understand the hook, show don’t tell, always keep the point of view in mind, write active scenes, and remember there is a rhythm to writing—cadence, as well as a rhythm to the chapters. Read your work aloud—the words, the beat, and the rhythm will be apparent, more evident than when you read quietly to yourself.

And remember to have fun!

More About Gail Ingis
Gail Ingis writes historical romance with a twist of mystery set in the Gilded Age. Her latest book, The Unforgettable Miss Baldwin: The Gilded Age Heiresses (Sept. 2019) is available for preorder on Amazon and through other retailers.

Her first novel, Indigo Sky, is also available on Amazon and through other retailers (2015 Soul Mate Publishing). The love story behind Albert Bierstadt’s Domes of Yosemite was Gail’s inspiration to write Indigo Sky. The painting, now in St. Johnsbury Atheneum in Vermont once hung in Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, Norwalk, Connecticut, where she serves as a trustee and curator of art.

Before her debut as an author, Gail illustrated the book Seeking Paradise by Deborah Galiley (2009, OakTara Publishers). Gail’s career in interior design and architecture culminated in her founding a school of interior design, Interior Design Institute, now part of Berkeley College. Her professorship extended to colleges across NJ, CT, and NY.

Gail has memberships in several interior design and art organizations, and membership in the Romance Writers of America. She resides in Connecticut with her scientist-writer husband, Tom, who is supportive of her work and her writing.