Interview with Fiona Sze-Lorrain
In Off the Coast’s interview series, we correspond with a writer about their latest book. This issue, we wrote to Fiona Sze-Lorrain about her new book Rain in Plural (Princeton), which has been shortlisted for the 2021 Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry.
Fiona Sze-Lorrain is a poet, literary translator, editor, and zheng harpist. She is the author of three previous books of poetry, including The Ruined Elegance (Princeton), which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. She has also translated more than a dozen books of contemporary Chinese, French, and American poetry. She lives in Paris.
A.E. Talbot: Your poems have such breadth and depth. If you were to identify a poetic lineage for your work, what would it be?
Fiona Sze-Lorrain: Thank you for your generous words. I can’t say I have a poetic lineage, since I don’t seem to have a home culture, even though I write poetry only in English. I often credit the late Mark Strand for introducing me to poetry, when I was at a crossroad in life.
A.T.: Do you have a writing process or does a poem come differently each time?
F.S.L.: I don’t have a writing process, in part since I fear it may encourage me into romanticizing or fetishizing the act of writing. I try to write whenever I find the time, and that is hard enough, especially now. I write best in-between tasks, so perhaps that becomes a “writing process” of sorts. And yes, each poem lives differently—it is like a beast, or a flower.
A.T.: Would you say you were a poet first, a translator first, or did you come into both roles at the same time? Have your translations influenced your poetry?
F.S.L.: I work more at being a human being, and don’t think much about being a “poet” or “translator.” If having published a book of poetry automatically makes one a poet, hmm . . .
Translations have influenced my way of reading more than writing, I would say. I have, for instance, translated a Chinese “Lower Body” poet Yin Lichuan (1973-) whose book of poems Karma was out from Tolsun Books shortly before the pandemic broke out. Her work is very different from mine both in terms of subject matter and language. Unlike Yin, I don’t write explicitly about sex, though I wish I had. Also her poems are mostly, if not all, free verse.
Another poet whose work in my translation was published during the pandemic is Yang Jian (1967-, Green Mountain from MerwinAsia). Yang’s way of thought is significantly influenced by Confucianism. My lifestyle and outlook is Zen enough alright, but I am a Singaporean-born European who had spent years in America, so I can’t always relate to Confucianism without putting up a mental fight.
A.T.: Can you describe the process of collaborating with composer Peter Child?
F.S.L.: It has been one of my most pleasurable collaborations. For one, it found its flow once we started, and I was surprised. Peter and I did our homework before we began proper. Over and again I listened to his compositions, particularly his Emily Dickinson settings.
The collaboration worked probably because we were not afraid of making errors in front of each other. Needless to say, some weeks were better than others and we had to accept things as they were when they couldn’t come together. Each poem and its music had its own trials and errors. Peter and I were focused on creating something enduring, more so when the lockdown in Europe felt like a tunnel. The Cantata Singers were very supportive and patient throughout this cross-continental project [US-Norway-France]. It was such a privilege. Readers can listen to the poems sung, The Year of the Rat, here [the piece begins at 21:54].
A.T.: Who is an underrated poet that more people should be aware of?
F.S.L.: This is a hard question. I don’t know how to interpret “underrated.” Too bad that the mainstream media and publishing cares more for the “show” than poetry, thought, and reflection. I do wish more American readers were exposed to Helen Dunmore’s poetry, or for that matter, many other well-deserving British poets—and vice versa!
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To accompany this interview, we have included three of Fiona Sze-Lorrain’s poems. You can find Rain in Plural, her latest book, here