What are your thoughts about reading your poetry in Cobourg at the POW! Festival?

I'm delighted to be a part of the POW! Festival and look forward to reading in Cobourg, a place I've never been before. My thanks to all the organizers for putting this festival together.

Please tell us about your most recently published book and also a little about any other books you've had that "saw print."

I'm the author of three poetry collections: The Watch (Abbey Press), Pupa (Insomniac Press) and The Red Element (Insomniac Press). Here's what Molly Peacock had to say about The Red Element, my most recent book:

"In her stunning new volume of poems, The Red Element, Catherine Graham distils the whirling ambiguities of memories into gorgeous, mysterious single images, making the short poem triumph again on the Canadian literary landscape. With the dense, new energy of The Red Element, where all the poems form a bravura lyrical sequence, Graham proves herself as one of Canada's premier younger poets."

At POW!, do you plan to read pieces from your book (or books)?
Do you plan to read new, unpublished work?

In addition to reading poems from the above collections, I plan on reading some poems from my fourth collection, Winterkill, which will be published by Insomniac Press, fall, 2010.

How would you describe your poetry?

Image driven. Minimalistic. Edgy and lyrical. And to quote The Toronto Star: "spiky little meditations."

When did you start writing poetry and what prompted it?

The deaths of my parents started my writing journey.

What inspires you to put pen to paper / fingers to keyboard?

The dark and the light sides of life keep me writing. The process of putting pen to paper grounds me.

Can you describe (a little) your writing process in creating a new poem?

http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/graham/write.htm

What are your thoughts about participating in the POW! Festival as a Poet In The School?

It's always a pleasure working with students of all ages. I've been a writer-in-residence at several high schools over the years and I currently visit high school students through Toronto's Diaspora Dialogues. I look forward to working with the Cobourg students!

www.catherinegraham.com