Hollie spoke to poet Leah Dodd about her collection, Past Lives. Grounded in the urgency of the moment - motherhood, housing precarity, politics - Past Lives also surges along on the nervous and joyful electricity of Leah Dodd's voice, taking us from buses to poetry readings, rental bathrooms to Runescape, sometimes through the power of astral projection.
What does a typical day look like for you?
An 8am rush to the bus with my three-year-old first of all. Then after kindy drop-off, a coffee on the walk to work. Pretty soon after I get home it’s dinner and bed, and after that is when ideally I would write but usually end up stewing in front of Netflix or Mubi for a good few hours and regretting not spending that time writing (sponsor me @Mubi).
What can you tell us about the cover art of Past Lives?
The art itself is called ’The Goldfish Bowl’ and was painted in 1870 by Charles Edward Perugini. I designed the cover myself, and ultimately realised that graphic design is not, in fact, my passion. I wrote an essay about this process on The Spinoff here.
What is your favourite snack to enjoy while writing?
Ooh! A good ol’ flat white probably. Or an earl grey. I think I’m a more beverage-based poet, but don’t get me wrong, I’m a lover of all snacks. Especially… little cakes.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Mostly other poems and books, if I had to chalk it up to one thing. But more generally, I get inspired by things I see and hear and touch. Memes, the moon. A gig, a baby goat in the wildlife reserve. Funny things that friends say. I have a page on notes app that’s full of stuff like “clotted cream” and “leave us alone, fancy feast!” lol
What’s your experience been like submitting for different literary journals?
I’ve been really lucky with having poems accepted into journals, and feel so grateful for this, especially for journals like Starling that have published my work many times over the past seven (!!!) years. These days I usually only submit work when I feel it’s ready to be published, rather than sending something in to a deadline for the sake of it. Lately that has looked like barely sending anything in anywhere, and for now that’s okay!
What are some of your favourite writers or books?
Some of my favourite poets are Mary Ruefle, Richard Siken, Mark Leidner and Kim Addonizio. Eimear McBride and Lauren Groff are two all-time fav writers as well (Fates and Furies and The Lesser Bohemians have my heart forever). I’ve been loving reading Mag Gabbert and Ama Codjoe lately. At the moment some of my favourite books are by friends, which is the coolest thing ever. Like Dream Girl by Joy Holley, and The Artist by Ruby Solly. Buy them!! (And buy Past Lives ofc)