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Annie Newcomer

The Flapper Press Poetry Café Welcomes Barbara Varanka—The Poet of Mothers and Daughters

By Annie Newcomer:


The Flapper Press Poetry Café features the work of poets from around the globe. It is an honor to share their work and learn more about their lives, influences, and love of poetry.


This week, we feature the work of Barbara Varanka.        


Barbara Varanka is the author of The Evening and the Light, published by Dancing Girl Press (2023). Her poems have appeared in CALYX, Off The Coast, Moon City Review, and elsewhere. She is a graduate of the UMKC Creative Writing MFA Program. She lives in Kansas with her family, and her work can be found at barbaravaranka.com.


We reached out to Barbara to ask her about her life, inspirations and her work.




Please meet Barbara Varanka!


 

Annie Newcomer: You write, "I'm now the mother of 19-month-old twins, which has radically changed my writing practice." How does a young mother preserve time in her busy life in order to make room to write? And I imagine it isn't just about time found but the ability to redirect priorities and mindset in order to temporarily stay focused on creating a poem when you are responsible for young children. Do you find this to be true? Please agree or disagree.


Barbara Varanka: I absolutely love being a mother, but before I had kids, I had no idea how all-consuming motherhood would actually be. The newborn phase with twins can only be likened to drinking from a firehose, so I am certainly glad we're past that stage.


Overall, it is difficult to maintain a writing practice as a mother of small children. I'm always thinking about my writing, though, even if it's not coming out on the page in a way I would like. I try to be really gentle with myself about all of this, though, and remind myself this is a phase. I can still do things to spark my creativity and keep the writing magic alive. For that, I have been reading craft books like Annie Finch's A Poet's Craft and a recent anthology called Personal Best, which was edited by Carl Phillips and Erin Belieu for Copper Canyon Press. Reading the best work of other poets helps me to stay inspired and reminds me of why I love writing. I also look for ways to hold myself accountable via deadlines that I share with accountability partners and friends. And I try to attend conferences like [the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP)], which happened to be in Kansas City this year. Going to AWP always gives me an opportunity to meet other poets, hear their work, and get so much inspiration to take with me throughout the rest of the year. 


This period of my life may be less productive than years past, but I know it's worth it in the end, and that I will come back to a more robust practice soon enough. 


AN: In addition to mindset and finding time, in what ways has the experience of motherhood impacted and/or changed the way you write poetry? Or the subjects you write about? Or has it? 


BV: Before I had kids, my poetry centered around food, women, my ancestors/family history, and the power of place. My parents are both from Poland, and I think being a first-generation immigrant with not a lot of immediate family around has always given me an appreciation of culture and family and food. From pregnancy onward, I have gravitated toward writing about motherhood and my children. The tricky part of that, however, is tackling such cliché subjects while maintaining a fresh perspective, and that is what continues to challenge me today. As much as I want to gush about my kids, I know that doesn't make for an interesting or unique poem. These days, my poems tend to chronicle the developmental stages that my kids are in, like snapshots in time. In the moment, it feels like they're always going to be in that stage, but then when I look back (even a few months later), it's amazing to see how far they've come. My poetry has always centered around family, but becoming a parent has given me a lot of new perspective on my own parents and grandparents and the power of family lines.


I think I will always be writing about my family in some way, but my perspective continues to shift as I age and more closely empathize with my parents and what they went through in raising their children in a country where they had no family and had to create their own community from scratch. 

AN: You shared that "Ode to Cabbage," which I love, was written in part to honor the women of your childhood. And as a point of interest, in March, the New York Times published an article declaring cabbage as the "coolest" menu item at the moment. Imagine yourself writing an ode through your children's eyes that evoked memories of their childhood. Would the smells and tastes in your kitchen still be those of your aunts', mother's, and grandmother's? Or might you have another signature dish using another fruit or vegetable for this imaginary poem?


BV: That's a beautiful question. It's so lovely to imagine my own children writing poems one day! The first dish that comes to mind is probably the polar opposite of braised cabbage-— gazpacho. My husband is from Spain, so gazpacho holds a very important place in our home. He grows the ingredients himself (tomatoes, cucumber, and bell peppers), and we always have it on hand in the summer. I can imagine the girls writing odes to gazpacho with a lot of love in the imagery and lines. The smell of tomato plants in the summer heat, the little kick of bell pepper and garlic, the bite of a good olive oil, all lend themselves to great poetry. Perhaps I'll even write an ode to gazpacho myself!


I do hope to keep some of the Polish recipes from my childhood alive, though. I would love to teach the girls how to make bigos, which is the Polish national dish. It's this amazing mix of cabbage, mushrooms, meat, sausage, onion, and red wine; it all simmers together over a few days and fills the house with the best smell. Memories of the women in my family making that dish was the spark for "Ode to Cabbage." I included an epigraph from Charles Simic at the beginning of that poem because I felt he captured how important cabbage is to the people of Eastern and Central Europe.   

AN: While  conducting my research for this interview, I was moved by the way you expressed the loss of your professor, Michelle Boisseau, a force for poetry in the Kansas City area who died nearly 7 years ago. Might you share why she was important as a mentor and a few ways she guided you on your literary journey? 


BV: It's wild that it's already been almost 7 years since she left us. I feel so incredibly honored and lucky to have worked with her. She was my professor and advisor during my MFA studies in creative writing at the University of Missouri, Kansas City from 2010–2013. She had such high standards—not just for poetry and writing but for people. She inspired me to think critically, work harder, and write more. During my thesis year, we worked closely together on my thesis manuscript, which was a collection of about 60+ poems. I am so grateful for the one-on-one time I had with her. We would meet up every few weeks, go on long walks, and talk about poetry. It was truly such a gift, and those memories stay with me. 


I moved away to Boston from 2014–2017, but when I came back to Kansas City, I was able to spend some time with her again in the year before she passed away. I'm so grateful that she was willing to spend that time with me, even when she was, I'm sure, tired and feeling unwell. 


I think about her often and wish I could still just give her a call on the phone or send her a text. She was such an incredible poet and teacher, and she truly cared about her students. I hope that one day I can be the kind of poetry mentor that she was to me. 


AN: Barbara, you helped facilitate two poetry contests for the Kansas City Public Library that included the winners' poetry being displayed on trolley car stops in downtown Kansas City. Please share how this came about and why this was such a successful project and what efforts this project took to produce. 


BV: I was a board member of the Young Friends of the Kansas City Public Library from 2018–2022, which was a fantastic group whose purpose was to promote and raise awareness for causes related to the KC Public Library. As members of the board, we had a lot of freedom to pitch ideas for events that would be relevant to library lovers. 


I had been inspired by public displays of poetry, from New York City's Poetry in Motion (which is a collaboration between the [Metropolitan Transportation Authority] and the Poetry Society of America to put poetry on the subway) to poems I saw projected on buildings during a study abroad summer program in Krakow, Poland. I was also moved and influenced by O, Miami, which is a program in Miami, Florida, whose mission is for every citizen to encounter a poem during the month of April (National Poetry Month) and which manifests in poetry on billboards, rooftops, and murals on walls throughout the city.


I wanted to bring something similar to Kansas City, based on all of those influences. I brought the idea to the board in 2019, and we were able to connect with KC Streetcar and a bookstore that was formerly in the River Market called Our Daily Nada. Both organizations were incredibly supportive. That first year, we ran a poetry contest called "Poetry on the Move," which called for Kansas City–themed poems by Kansas City poets. The winning poems were chosen by two judges, Jen Harris and Piper Abernathy, who are both local poets. The winning poems were illustrated by local artists and displayed along the streetcar line, and we hosted a reception and reading of the winning poems at Our Daily Nada. 


Unfortunately, the pandemic set us back a few years, but we were able to bring back the contest in 2023. We again collaborated with KC Streetcar and had design support from a local firm called Crux. We put out a call for Kansas City–themed poems and had a huge response. The winning poems were selected again by two local judges, Andrew Johnson and Piper Abernathy, who are also both poets and writers. The winning poems were turned into illustrated posters by the team at Crux and were unveiled during a reading of the winning poems at Bliss Books & Wine in Midtown Kansas City. The posters were also displayed along the streetcar line for several months after the winners were announced. 


Unfortunately, the Friends of the Kansas City Public Library and the Young Friends are disbanding this year, but I hope we can find a way to bring the contest back to its full glory in future years. We had such great feedback and so much interest in the contest that I can definitely see us reviving it in the future, even if it is produced via another organization. 


AN: What are some of the ways you will incorporate the love of poetry into your children's lives? Do you have some tips for other mothers? 


BV: Our house is currently filled with children's books, and I hope that we can always keep it that way. (In fact, I just keep buying more bookshelves so I can keep getting more books.) I've found that the girls gravitate toward books that have really strong rhythm, meter, and rhyme. Sandra Boynton's books are a great example of that. She pays attention to meter, and it comes through her writing so viscerally. I know the kids feel that, and I do too. In fact, I am even trying my own hand at writing a children's book because Boynton's poetic lines have inspired me so much. 


I certainly never want to force a love of poetry on the girls, but I hope that we can continue to enjoy reading poems together, especially the poems that fly off the page because they are so fun to read out loud. 


My biggest tips for encouraging a love of poetry are to find simple verses and to gravitate toward fun, short pieces that don't feel like a chore to read out loud.

We have a really beautifully illustrated copy of e. e. Cummings's "I Carry Your Heart With Me" that the girls love to look at because of the paper cut-out illustrations, and I love to read it because the poem so powerfully captures the love between a parent and child. 


I'm excited to continue teaching the girls about poetry as they grow older, for their sake but also for my own. It's easy to forget the magic, but reconnecting with it through the perspective of a child is such a gift. 


AN: Barbara, think of a question(s) that I didn't ask you and then ask this of yourself and share your answer(s) with our readers. 


BV: When did you first get into writing poetry? Who were your biggest influences? 


I remember writing a lot of stories in first grade, and in grade school in general, and I was always reading books. I loved Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, and I remember reading them both over and over again. 


It wasn't really until I was 10 or 11 that I felt like a poet. I discovered Pablo Neruda around that age, and I was struck by how visceral and accessible his poems were. He wrote about love, but he also wrote about everyday things like laundry and lemons and french fries. His work opened my eyes to the idea that poems could be about anything you like, even the most basic elements of your daily life, and I loved that. In his poem "Poetry," he writes, "And it was at that age . . . Poetry arrived / in search of me." (The original text is in Spanish.) When I read that line, I related so much to it. I don't know where poetry came from for me, but it just appeared, and it has been a force in my life ever since. And for that, I am eternally grateful. 


I wrote a lot of cryptic, dramatic poems in middle school and high school, and I was lucky enough to have great English teachers who took an interest in my work and showed support for it. Although it's not technically poetry, I felt a huge shift in my perspective after reading Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time. (I am still blown away by it every time I re-read it.) She's paints such lush and vivid scenes with such delicious language. Her writing showed me how impactful it is when each word is so carefully crafted and how fun it can be to travel to another place and time solely through someone else's writing. 


I test drove many different majors and subjects throughout my high school and college years (including journalism, art history, and Italian), but I continued to come back to a love of poetry. I feel so grateful to my parents for encouraging me to pursue my passion, which led me to the UMKC MFA program for poetry. 


At this point in my life, I'm nearly 40 and have the feeling that I know so much less about poetry—and everything else in life—than I did 20 or 25 years ago. (Back then I knew everything.) But I'm so happy that my love for poetry and my motivation to write it continues to be a through-line in my life. I truly don't know what I would do without it. 


AN: Barbara, thank you so much for taking the time to stop by our Poetry Café. Those of us here at Flapper Press look forward to keeping in touch with your adventures in writing. We also wish you all the best in your literary endeavors as you continue on your beautiful life's journey.


BV: Thank you so much, Annie! This has been such a lovely experience. I appreciate all of your thoughtful questions, your time, and your attention and Elizabeth Gracen's inspiration that led to offering her readers this Poetry Café. 


 

William Scherbarth, The Green Monster, acrylic and oil pastel on canvas

William Scherbarth is six years old. He lives in Birmingham, MI. His biggest inspiration is Jean-Michel Basquiat.


Fenway Park 


All triangles and memory

signpost green on grass green

on a blue-black night 


when the floodlights blind

as you admire the green tower

from Beacon Street and its alleyways 


2004 was your confetti frenzy introduction

cheap August bleacher seats

you’ve worshipped from a hundred angles 


learned to keep score at a standing rail

conquered the monster with a hot dog

in hand and avoided a ball to the face 


in the front row on opening day

and always that red-orange sign

glowing like a lighthouse 


beckoning you back to Kenmore

all triangles and memory


"Fenway Park" was previously published by The Twin Bill and nominated for a Best of the Net award.


 

About the poem:

I used to live in Boston and would go to baseball games at Fenway Park whenever I got the chance. It's hard to describe how magical the stadium is, but there's something really sacred about the space. This poem is my attempt at capturing its mystery. 


 


Masha Hoffey, Unnamed


Ode to Cabbage

“My ancestors, meanwhile, are eating cabbage. They keep stirring the pot looking for a pigfoot which isn’t there.”

— Charles Simic


Translucent paper, watery veins.

I remember mom teaching me to steam

the leaves until light shone through,


so meat could be dropped inside like a parcel.

In Polish they call them little pigeons

but I think they look like envelopes in a dream.


There’s nothing that sends me more than that

holy trinity: cabbage, onion, bacon

frying in the pan. It transports me


to the women of my childhood

who are now gone — grandmothers, aunts,

who always had bouquets of dill


decorating the kitchen counter,

ready to perfume the half-sours.


"Ode to Cabbage" was previously published by Kawsmouth.


 

About the poem:

My parents are from Poland, where cabbage is the backbone of daily cuisine. Anytime I smell cabbage cooking, it immediately takes me back to the nostalgia of being at my aunties' houses. I wanted to capture that feeling of being swept away by memory, which scents and tastes evoke so well, while also honoring the women of my childhood.


 

Photo by Courtney Gilberto of Rose & Marigold Photography

You are one now


and I hold you in my arms

your head resting on my chest 

as you sleep. The glow of my phone 


lights up your cheek, your ear,

your long black eyelashes.

Only minutes ago you were fighting 


sleep, exhausted from the day

but not ready to submit 

to your own heavy eyelids.


On your birthday we sang 

and ate strawberry cake 

and you wore your birthday crown. 


How did the first year go 

by so fast? Everyone says that,

but it’s true— 


It all goes by too fast,

the first year a spinning wheel 

we all ride until we’re dizzy and a little sick. 


Now you are snoring your small snore

and I force myself to breathe deeper

as my own tears come 


from exhaustion, from simply feeling 

overwhelmed by motherhood,

by your intensity. 


 

About the poem: 

I'm now the mother of 17-month-old twins, which has radically changed my writing practice. I'm pretty much always in "survival mode" these days, but I am trying to stay present and fully enjoy all of it, even in the hardest moments. I know it will all go by too quickly. This poem is about the intensity of parenting small children and the realization that there is truly no break when you become a parent. 


 

Annie Newcomer

Annie Klier Newcomer founded a not-for-profit, Kansas City Spirit, that served children in metropolitan Kansas for a decade. Annie volunteers in chess and poetry after-school programs in Kansas City, Missouri. She and her husband, David, and the staff of the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens are working to develop The Emily Dickinson Garden in hopes of bringing art and poetry educational programs to their community. Annie helms the Flapper Press Poetry Café—dedicated to celebrating poets from around the world and to encouraging everyone to both read and write poetry!


If you enjoyed this Flash Poet interview, we invite you to explore more here! 




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