Poet Interview: Tara Zafft
Tara Zafft has a BA from UCSD and a Ph.D. in Russian literature from the University of Bath, UK. She has poems published in Rumors, Secrets and Lies, Poems about Abortion, Pregnancy and Choice, Write-Haus, Aether Avenue Press, The San Diego Poetry Annual, Vita and the Woolf Literary Journal, and Dumbo Press.
"She" by Tara Zafft was a Runner-Up in the MoonLit Getaway Grand Opening Contest.
INTERVIEW
MG: What got you into poetry?
TZ: Poetry first found its place in the journals of a pre-teen. I had no exposure to poetry, but—somehow intuitively—what I now understand as the muse was a voice that was helping me, through metaphor and imagery, to make sense of the world.
MG: Tell us more about "She"—what inspired it? What makes it unique?
TZ: "She" is about a woman who appeared in my dance class one morning. She broke all the “rules,” and her freedom of movement and expression awoke a thirst for freedom I had silenced. Poetry is the lens through which I see and experience the world. I am a collector of experiences, and I am always writing, even if just in my head. I write because I can’t not write. I write because, just like that pre-teen, it is in conversation with my muse that I can begin to make sense of my personal lived experience and the experience of being human in a very challenging time in our human history.
MG: Are you currently working on anything else? What’s your favorite piece you've ever made? Why is it your favorite?
TZ: One of my favorite pieces is Playlist, which is about a playlist my daughter made for my birthday. I love this piece because I love when various artistic forms influence and inspire one another and I love this piece because it expresses the love between a mother and daughter.
MG: Are there any poets that inspire the way you make your pieces?
TZ: I am influenced by so many poets, which is why I read widely. I love Emily Dickinson, Sharon Olds, Sandra Cisneros, Galway Kinnell, Audre Lorde, and Denise Levertov.
MG: Do you have any social media you'd like to share?
TZ: I don’t go on social media much, but I do post poetic news on my Instagram: @tarasmusings, and my website: tarazafft.com
MG: Do you have any advice for other poets?
TZ: My best advice for young poets would be to read, read, read. Read everything, not just poetry. Hemingway had no formal education, he just read voraciously. And write. Carry a notebook or use your phone and jot down whenever something catches your eye or a word sits in your heart. Poetry is out there. Poetry is life. Everything is part of the lived experience, and everything lived can be written about. My friends are used to me stopping in the middle of a conversation and saying, “Now that is a poem.” Because I believe that everything is a poem. Life is one big poem.
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