Hello friends,
It is my great honor to welcome S.A. Borders-Shoemaker onto Ink-Stained Compass today. Samantha is a poet, novelist, and all-around creative individual who constantly inspires me. She kindly allowed me to interview her and shared a few of her love poems from Waiting for Scotland (we are in Valentine’s Day month after all). Please welcome my guest and check out her book and social media accounts linked below if you could.
Interview with S.A. Borders-Shoemaker (and a few of her poems)
1. Are there words you use to describe who you are as a creator?
You know, I’ve really struggled with this question for a while. Likely, it’s because my style evolves with my life (as it does with us all, I think). But if I stop to truly consider words that encapsulate my craft, I believe they are: thought-provoking, gritty, vivid, palpable, wistful, empowering, gentle, sincere, and honest. What I think sets my work apart is how it is simultaneously stark in its honesty yet gentle and approachable. I try to have my art reflect what I’m like in person; because I want readers to know that my words aren’t fluff, they’re intentional gifts. I am the friend who lovingly walks through fire with you, and will hold you accountable to yourself and others with the truth. While diplomatic, I try not to mince words.
2. When did you first discover you are a poet?
I’ve certainly dabbled in poetry throughout my life, starting when I was about six-or seven-years-old. However, I didn’t take myself seriously as a poet until college. I originally wrote novels (I have about eight manuscripts lying around) and thought that would be my literary identity. But when I started college/university, I realized that I didn’t have the same amount of time to commit to creative writing. So, I began to see what I could do with poetry. Ultimately, I found that my highest self-expression was actually manifesting in my poetry.
From there, I couldn’t stop. I was addicted and really wanted to take myself seriously. I began publishing poems in literary magazines and performing at open mics and only received strong encouragement to keep going. And I’ve never stopped since.
3. Does your creativity ebb and flow, or can you access it anytime?
There’s a “joke” I tell people who ask this question: that I am an utter slave to the muses. To put it more clearly, I pre-write in my head ages and ages before a poem is ready to be written. So while I’m constantly inspired, many poems sit in my head for months or years stewing before they finally make it to paper. On the other hand, sometimes inspiration strikes and I will stop everything to write the piece down. I can certainly conjure a piece on command, but I more often simmer on a thought. Thus, I am completely captive to my muses. However, in the end, the poems seem to lace together so well and comprehensively to create a narrative that I may not have first realized I was writing. So, it all works out in the end. It’s not a process I recommend to newer writers, though. Far too chaotic.
4. Where do you find inspiration?
So many places! But, regular sources of inspiration throughout the longevity of my work have been: my life, travel experiences, literature, nature/animals, my education, current events, activism, the little things, metaphors (I really love a good metaphor), and the divine. These days, I am often inspired by my farm life and the small glimpses of bigger truths that I find every day. If you stop to listen, there is so much wisdom being shared in everyday existence that I believe we’ve grown to ignore. By stopping and engaging with my surroundings, I have found a true fountain of inspiration. Also, it’s hard not to be inspired when you’re surrounded by horses.
5. Who are your favorite poets, and have their works inspired your own?
I am so indebted to poets who have come before me! While I am a great lover of the British Romantics, my very favorite poet is Kahlil Gibran. His works deeply influence my writing as well as my personal philosophy of living (to the point that his work hangs in my daughter’s nursery). Some other favorites include Mahmoud Darwish, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Edgar Allan Poe. I deeply admire their mastery of language and how their words are chosen so carefully that they even feel like they “fit” in your mouth when reading a poem aloud. Not to mention each writes with multiple layers of meaning in their work, and you can endlessly find some nugget in their poems that you haven’t seen before. The British War Poets of WWI actually play a heavy role in my style as well because of their salient, and sometimes brutal, honesty. I try to make a similar way of conveying truth that is stark and bare, though perhaps I am a bit softer in presentation.
6. What do you envision as your next creative endeavor?
Currently, I’m in the pre-writing stage of my next poetry collection. My present tussle is deciding what I want the overarching narrative to be about. Until that answer unfolds, I am relishing in the experience of being a new mother; its own creative endeavor, I think.
7. What has poetry meant for you in your life?
Poetry is the best means I have of expressing myself. There is no other medium that allows me to encapsulate myself the way poetry allows, and you truly come to know me if you read my poetic works. While the novels are an expression of myself, they’re limited. But in poetry, I can what I truly mean and how I truly mean it. Yes, it requires the reader to surrender themselves a little, but it is a surrender to the more esoteric truths of life. That not everything fits in a perfectly shaped box. Poetry has also been an immense source of self-discovery and healing for me. I’m so glad I chose to pursue it.
8. Do you write anything besides poetry, or dabble in any other creative mediums?
As I alluded to earlier, I have written and published novels. Because it was my original medium, I will always be a storyteller at heart; which I think comes through strongly in my poetry. It just so happened that poetry became the means through which I told my best stories. I sometimes fancy that I can write song lyrics, but really, what are they but just another road to poetry? I used to sketch, but haven’t taken the time to hone that craft in ages.
9. How do you find joy and magic in the ordinary?
I make space for and create my own joy and magic in the ordinary. I believe it is a very intentional practice to slow yourself enough to listen-in to the world around you. Sometimes, I will simply stop and take inventory of my senses in that present moment. I try to think of words to describe the sensations my body encounters and really mull over what those words mean. I do not take for granted my ability to sense with both a physical and spiritual body. When I stroke my stallion’s face, I focus on how it feels to have the fibers of his hair sluff off as he sheds his winter coat. Listening to my guinea fowl squawk, I ask myself what does the noise actually mean in their own language. The world has so much to share with us if we simply stop, observe, and ask questions. It’s in this intentional connection with myself and the world that I maintain a sense of awe and wonder.
Below are selected love poems of mine I’d like to share in light of Valentine’s Day:
From Waiting for Scotland: We are wildflowers without season, love without time. You were my unexpected turn, the latent wisdom in a divine revelation. Our love is the kind I never saw coming— you love every moment of my lifetime. —love is patient, love is wise
You crack open the geode of my heart without word or song to reveal vulnerable brilliance. It’s a simple invitation— you standing there with outstretched arms, wanting me in spite of myself. —when I forget to be soft
I say, Do not give me anything less than love that moves your soul. I did not come here for rescue or entrapment. My presence is a choice I constantly choose, choose, choose. I say, I want nothing less than a heart that respects mine. Any love before bears no weight here. Our kingdom serves no other kings, queens, or lost ones— just us. I say, Come as no less than the man you are. —the condition of romance
S.A. Borders-Shoemaker is an author, poet, and Ph.D. in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. Her extensive travels, conflict resolution work, and education all play unique roles in inspiring her writing. Waiting for Scotland is her fourth published book, alongside numerous anthology contributions and opinion editorials. Currently, she is building a conservation herd of Choctaw Indian Ponies with her husband, Tim, and newborn daughter, Gwendolyn. Among her menagerie of animals are also her two lovable corgis and a flock of Guinea fowl, who all vie for her attention.
You can find her at @sabordersshoemakerauthor on Instagram or @AuthorSABordersShoemaker on Facebook.