What:
I write poetry in contemporary free-verse with influences of both ancient folklores and modern abstracts. I often use the natural world to find answers and connections to the themes in my work. My style developed from studying Native American and Asian American poetry which I admire greatly.
My most recent publication, Women Bones, a poetry chapbook, works to deconstruct the idolization of thinness by telling some of the story of my struggle with anorexia nervosa. The book celebrates women’s resilience and admires perseverance.
My earlier works take place in the American countryside, sharing eerie tales of neighbors and stories about the collapse of family structure (Sleeping Through the Earthquake), or they are an entire collection of ekphrastic poems about living works of art in the city and how they move the soul (The Ekphrastic City).
Currently, I’m working on finalizing a new poetry manuscript which tells more about how starvation led me into two years of psychosis and how recovery from anorexia nervosa led me out.
I have most recently been writing about my newborn daughter. Her sweetness offers me the ability to be in awe of our wonderous world.
Why:
I write to reflect on life’s situations and to make sense out of my experiences. I learn, heal, and celebrate through the physical and emotional process of writing. As a teenager, my writing of poetry first began out of a traumatic experience. Through this, I was gifted the powerful practice of making something beautiful out of sorrow. Writing allowed me great epiphanies and made me less afraid of suffering, which helped me through several other difficult circumstances. This is why I write poetry. But I share my poetry for a different reason, which is for the hope that others find healing through reading it. This is one of the many powers of storytelling.
With the birth of my daughter in 2022, I have learned to write in pure merriment of life, of all its wonders and abundant surprises! My poems before this may all share a thread of sorrow, while poems about my daughter hold no grief, only joy. So, in this way, I write to celebrate and to document beautiful moments in time.
How:
I rely on rushes of inspiration, writing things down in the moment when the motivation visits me. Some might call this “duende”. From there, I edit my work as needed. I write poems by hand in a notebook. I use a computer to edit and finalize my works.
If I want to become enthused in more predictable ways, I listen to poetic music, visit an art museum, walk/bicycle/kayak, or read poetry by other authors. I hike several miles per day (usually in nature) which helps keep my creative mind active and open. I believe that keeping the body moving is of utmost importance for creative and overall health. I also stay away from things that inhibit my imagination or clutter my mind as much as possible.
Bio:
Lauren M. Davis was born in New Jersey in 1988. She first studied creative writing on a National Student Exchange to the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Writing at Indiana University-Fort Wayne and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of Southern Maine. She designed and taught Poetry Through Literacy, a curriculum of poetry for illiterate adults and has worked as an adjunct professor of English and humanities at the University of Saint Francis, Indiana Institute of Technology, and Ivy Tech Community College. She was the writer in residence of Hypatia in the Woods in Shelton, Washington, the keynote speaker for the NEI Poet’s Society, and has taught multiple community writing workshops. Her work has appeared in several literary magazines, journals, and an anthology. She is the author of two poetry collections, The Ekphrastic City and Women Bones. She currently lives in Indiana with her husband, their newborn daughter, and their beloved dog.
In Woman Bones, Davis writes with the self-perception only possible from one on an extended spiritual journey; a journey which, despite its suffering, is finally informed by hope and love. With an eye for emotional nuance, natural detail, and the intimate experiences of the body, Davis depicts the suffering of anorexia, her moments as a writer and daughter, her hours of loss and joy. Come closer to these poems. Let them breathe on you, through you.
~Troy Myers, Sacramento City College, host of The Stone House Readers’ Series
Links:
Women Bones, Finishing Line Press (2023)
Instagram
Blog and Links to Other Published Works
Thank you for visiting!
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her multi-finalist award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her latest poetry chapbook, Sleepwalker
See LinkTree for Linda’s social media links