Member Spotlight: Cynthia Manick

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? I believe poetry is necessary all the time because words have weight and power. It tells the story behind the story – the humanity behind the dates and events in history.

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? Music always invokes a memory or sense experience. And reading work by others will invite a new perspective or question you can try to answer in your work.

What is your favorite time to write? I’m a midnight writer. It comes from working full-time and writing at night. But now it’s really about the low buzz of the city where it’s not that quiet–but quiet enough.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? No one sounds like you because they don’t have your experiences, your lexicon, or your view of the universe. Instead of being afraid of your uniqueness; embrace it and your “voice” will follow.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? There are so many ways to engage and see work by other people; between the various social platforms, Substack newsletters, online literary magazines, and in person and virtual events–we will never be in a “poetry desert.”

Cynthia Manick’s No Sweet Without the Brine is out now with Amistad.