What, Why, How, Diana Dinverno

What:

Each poem in my chapbook, When Truth Comes Home to Roost, is meant to be a revelation, a slant of light shining through a window. The poems lean toward autobiography, capture experiences, both large and small, over time and against shifting backdrops— childhood in the working-class Midwest, a Northern Michigan meadow, World War II Europe, a funeral during the pandemic, and in contemplation of what will remain of us in a thousand years.

The collection is a meditation on family and long-held secrets. Three years ago, I learned of family members caught in the tumult and suffering of the early and mid-20th century, relatives who’ve taken up residence in my imagination. These people, now long gone, are my current obsession; they’ve found their way into poems that I hope string together like celestial bridges connecting the past to the present. When the poems expose heartbreak, I look for consolation—sometimes it’s an expanse of blue sky, the recitation of a name, or simply space to sit with the truth and our grief. The chapbook, a winner of the 2021 Celery City Chapbook Contest, can be read in a single sitting, ideally, as you sip coffee in the morning sun.

Why:

Discovering the identity of my birth parents caused me to examine the past through a different lens, to consider a more complex, and sometimes unsettling, family history. The poems record moments that might otherwise be lost, travel across time and space, and illuminate the importance of truth. Devotion to truth-telling is the bright thread that runs through every poem. I find that poetry, with its close examination of language, is a valuable exercise for all writers. This compressed art form requires the poet to hold each word to the light and ask: How do you serve the poem? Do you have the ability to contribute in more than one way? Is there a better word to convey tone, conjure an image, or give wings to a metaphor? Can you sing?

How:

A few poems were written before the chapbook’s conception; most were composed specifically for the collection, and together create a narrative arc. I’m smitten with the book’s egg yolk-hued window on the cover designed by students in the Kellogg Community College Graphic Art Design Program. After receiving the books from the publisher, I stamped an image of a baby chick—an image that resonates thematically—onto pages of each chapbook. I was surprised how satisfying it was to hand finish the books. When Truth Comes Home to Roost owes a debt to my poetry group that meets twice a month. Several of the poems found their final form only after gentle nudging from my friends and my clear-sighted daughter. It’s the truth.

Bio:

Diana Dinverno, who writes and practices law in Southeast Michigan, is the author of When Truth Comes Home to Roost (Celery City Chapbooks, 2022). Her work has appeared in The Gyroscope Review, The Westchester Review, Mockingheart Review, Panoply Magazine, The MacGuffin, and other publications. She is the recipient of the Michigan Poetry Society’s 2019 Margo LaGatutta Memorial Award, the Barbara Sykes Memorial Humor Poem Prize, and the First Place Prize in the 2021 Art Talks Back Poetry Contest sponsored by the Muskegon Museum of Art. Her work received a nomination for Best of the Net in 2020, and a Pushcart nomination in 2021. Two of Diana’s poems and photographs will be exhibited at the Center for the Arts on Mackinac Island from June through October 2022.

Links:

Website
Order Diana’s poetry book When Truth Comes Home to Roost
Read In a Thousand Years
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram

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Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her multi-award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her poetry chapbook, Security

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