Happy National Poetry Month! All throughout April, we will interview poets about working in this digital age. Recently, we spoke with young adult novelist Madeleine Kuderick.
Q: How did you publish your first book?
A: I allowed this story to channel through me and it came out in short, emotional bursts that had a poetic, lyrical feel to them. I didn’t set out to write a novel in verse. Not intentionally. But this story knew what it wanted to be and that strong, driven voice kept speaking out in verses. Ultimately, it was the power of that voice that connected with my first agent, George Nicholson of Sterling Lord Literistic, and my editor Antonia Markiet of HarperCollins that led to KISS OF BROKEN GLASS being published.
Q: Has the Internet changed the way you interact with readers?
A: Since KISS is my debut novel and it just came out in 2014, the internet has always been part of my reader interaction, so I can’t say that it has changed anything for me. But it certainly has made me accessible and I am moved by the many readers who reach out to express how the book impacted them personally or helped them to better understand a friend or family member who is struggling with self harm.
Q: What type of research process do you undergo for when you were writing your novel in verse?
A: In addition to what I observed in my own immediate family, I spent hundreds of hours on social media researching the blogs, tweets, and Tumblr pages of countless teens struggling with self harm. I sunk into their stories, looked at their agonizing photos, and tried to understand. In the end, my characters and the events they experience in KISS OF BROKEN GLASS are a fictionalized composite of all these brave and aching voices.
Q: What’s the difference between writing a novel in verse and writing shorter poetic pieces?
A: In many ways, the process is the same. Each poem in a novel in verse should be able to stand on its own, paint the scene, and conjure emotion, just as a shorter poetic piece would do. That said, a novel in verse must also build a character’s arc, show that character overcoming multiple obstacles, and reveal how that character changes over time. A short poetic piece would not be concerned with character development or plot points. So the trick with writing a novel in verse is that you have to deliver powerful poems that can stand alone but that also weave together to accomplish everything that novel would in terms of character and plot.
Q: Do you have any tips for people who want to read and perform poetry in front of an audience?
A: Try to perform the poem in a conversational voice that would be authentic for that particular poem. For example, when I read aloud from KISS, I become an angsty teen girl. When I read a poem I wrote about dyslexia, I become a frustrated eight year old boy. When I read a poem by Robert Frost, I speak like myself, wishing I could stop for just a minute by the snowy woods and let the world fall away, but sadly I have miles to go before I sleep and lots of promises to keep. The main tip I have about performing aloud is to let the natural voice of the poem flow through you.
Q: What advice can you share for aspiring poets?
A: Every once in a while, you’ll hear a phrase, maybe even just a word or two, and instantly you’ll feel something. For me, it’s like a tickle in my stomach. And right then and there I know that one day those words will find their way into a poem. It’s as though a seed has been planted. Pay attention to the words that make you feel something. That’s how poems begin to grow.
Q: What’s next for you?
A: I am writing another YA novel for HarperCollins and excited to be working with my tremendous and insightful editor Toni Markiet on this second book.
