Laura Stamps is an award-winning poet and novelist. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in over 2000 literary journals and magazines worldwide. She has published 65 novels, novellas, short story collections, chapbooks, broadsides, and poetry books with a variety of publishers. Her poetry book “The Year of the Cat” was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 2005. The recipient of 7 Pushcart Prize nominations, she has won numerous awards, including the Muses Prize. For over 30 years her books and archives have been collected by these permanent collections: Poetry & Rare Books Collection of the State University of New York (Buffalo, NY); Special Collections at James B. Duke Library, Furman University (Greenville, SC); and the Permanent Collection, Gandhi Library (UK). You can find her every day at Facebook (Laura Stamps) and her website: www.LauraStampsFiction.blogspot.com.
You have published 65 books of poetry and fiction. Do you remember the moment when you wrote your first poetry?
Yes! I’ll never forget it. At the time I was a successful artist. But that day, the day I wrote that first poem, was the day my art career ended. In high school and college my English teachers had always told me I had writing talent. But I’m dyslexic. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation were difficult for me. I also had artistic talent. Painting was easier. And I had won most of the art awards in school. That gave me plenty of incentive to major in fine art in college and pursue art as a career. When I was a senior in high school I began selling my paintings at art festivals, and I continued to do that for the next twelve years. After college my paintings were selling in galleries across the country. Prints of my paintings were published by my fine art publisher in California (Haddad’s Fine Arts, Inc.) and sold worldwide to galleries, frame shops, and chain stores like Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Target, K-Mart, etc. I had built a successful art career. But one day I bought a “Writer’s Digest” magazine at my local Waldenbooks. I loved every word in it, especially Judson Jerome’s poetry column. It was his column that inspired me to write my first poem. And what an awful poem it was! I had no idea what I was doing. But I was hooked. I dug out all my college English grammar text books, studied like crazy, and ordered a bunch of books from the “Writer’s Digest Book Club” about how to write poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. I read, studied, wrote every day, submitted to magazines, and eventually overcame my dyslexia. You can imagine how much the 2005 Pulitzer Prize nomination for my poetry book “The Year of the Cat” meant to me, considering the obstacles I’d overcome in order to achieve it. Today, I’ve published over 65 poetry books, short story collections, novels, and novellas with various publishers. Many of my novels and novellas have spent months or years on the Amazon bestsellers lists. My stories and poems have appeared in over 2000 literary magazines and anthologies worldwide. I’ve received 7 Pushcart Prize nominations and have won countless awards. This year my novellas “The Good Dog” (Prolific Pulse Press) and “Addicted to Dog Magazines” (Impspired) were published in April and May. In October Kittyfeather Press will publish my next poetry chapbook, “My Friend Tells Me She Wants A Dog.”
Do you write every day and how many hours do you devote to writing? What is your typical day like?
I have two offices in my home, and I keep regular business hours (7:00am – 4:00pm). I’m a fulltime writer. My writing day begins every morning at breakfast. I work on poems while I eat breakfast, lunch, and sometimes at dinner. The first draft of a poem is written by hand in a little 3×5 spiral-bound memo pad. I keep one of these pads, the first drafts of poems, and the poem I’m currently working on in a 5.5 x 8.5 zippered notebook. After I finish the first draft of a poem, I type it up on computer and print it out to edit. And that’s how I work until a poem is finished (edit by hand, type up the edits on computer, and print it out to continue editing). Afternoons are for editing. Each poem will go through 40-50 edits over the course of several days. When a poem is finished, I submit it to a magazine and begin working on the next poem. I’m a narrative poet, which means every poem I write is written according to the “story” of the poetry collection I’m currently working on. I rarely take a break after I finish a poetry book. By then I’ve already decided on the narrative theme for my next poetry book, and I’m anxious to begin.
What makes your poetries unique?
I write in a stream-of-consciousness style. Although this style of writing may seem chaotic, it’s actually how the subconscious strings thoughts together. And that’s why it makes sense in the mind of the reader. I love pushing this style as far as possible. It’s the perfect style for creating experimental forms, which I also love. I think the reason this style of writing appeals to me is because it’s structured in the same way an artist paints an abstract painting. And I can definitely relate to that! Gertrude Stein is famous for her stream-of-consciousness poems and stories. Virginia Woolf wrote an entire novel in this style (“The Waves”). However, my favorite poet is Anne Carson. “Autobiography of Red” and “Beauty of the Husband” are a few of her books. Every book of hers is written in a different style and form. She is an amazing poet. Always innovative. Always entertaining.
Have you ever experienced writer’s block?
No. Never. By the time I finish one book, I’m ready to begin the next one.
Do you consider yourself a successful poet?
No one has ever asked me this before. What a good question! In many ways I guess I am. I’ve always been fortunate to make a living from my writing. My writing resume is over 80 pages long with books published, magazine publication credits, awards, etc. I keep it in a large 3-ring notebook. That’s one measure of success. I think the other measure of success is that I still like what I do. New poems still come to me constantly. I still love writing and editing them. I still enjoy submitting to magazines and publishing books. And there’s still so much I want to explore in the craft of poetry.
What do you advise to new writers?
Read! Read everything you can get your hands on. Especially, the great writers who came before you in your chosen genre. Learn from their poetry by tearing their poems apart word by word. Study the way they form sentences and structure their lines in order to achieve a certain effect. It’s so important to be well read, to study great writers, to work on your writing every day, and to submit to magazines every month. That’s really all you need to do to become a good writer.
IRMA KURTI is an Albanian poet, writer, lyricist, journalist, and translator and has been writing since she was a child. She is a naturalized Italian and lives in Bergamo, Italy. All her books are dedicated to the memory of her beloved parents, Hasan Kurti and Sherife Mezini, who have supported and encouraged every step of her literary path.
Kurti has also won numerous literary prizes and awards in Italy and Italian Switzerland. She was awarded the Universum Donna International Prize IX Edition 2013 for Literature and received a lifetime nomination as an Ambassador of Peace by the University of Peace, Italian Switzerland. In 2020, she became the honorary president of WikiPoesia, the encyclopedia of poetry. In 2021, she was awarded the title of Liria (Freedom) by the Italian-Albanian community in Italy. In 2022, she was also nominated as the Albanian ambassador to the International Academic Award of Contemporary Literature Seneca of the Academy of Philosophical Arts and Sciences, Bari. She also won the prestigious 2023 Naji Naaman’s literary prize for complete work.
Irma Kurti has published 28 books in Albanian, 24 in Italian, 15 in English, and two in French. She has written approximately 150 lyrics for adults and children. She has also translated 19 books by different authors, and all of her own books into Italian and English. Her books have been translated and published in 15 countries.
