Mary Lou Buschi’s collections of poetry are Blue Physics (Lily Poetry Review Books 2024), Paddock (Lily Poetry Review Books 2021), Awful Baby, (Red Paint Hill 2015), and 3 chapbooks: Ukiyo-e, Tight Wire, and The Spell of Coming (or Going).
Mary Lou holds an MFA in poetry from the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and a Master of Science in Urban Education from Mercy College. Her poems have appeared in many literary journals such as Ploughshares, FIELD, Willow Springs, Indiana Review, Radar, Thrush, Tar River, Cream City, Pank, Rhino, The Laurel Review, among others.
Mary Lou has been nominated for Best New Poets 2014. She was a finalist for Best of The Net Anthology, 2014. Mary Lou has received fellowships from The Santa Fe Writers Conference, Vermont Studio Center, and The New York City Teaching Fellows. Currently, she is a special education teacher in the Bronx. She lives in Nyack, New York with Max (dog) and Jeff (husband).
Kristina Marie Darling: Tell us about your stunning poetry collection, Blue Physics. What would you like readers to know before they delve into the work itself?
MLB: The mystery I was trying to uncover in Blue Physics is still a mystery. I still don’t know exactly why my brother disappeared, changed his name, lived in a place he must have hated; why he was in a coma for a week without anyone contacting us and why they were able to find us after he passed? In addition to those mysteries the poems explore the fault lines of memory and tease out the brutality of bullying, racism, and the hypocrisy of organized religion.
KMD: I admire the way you incorporate erasure and archival material into Blue Physics. The formal shifts that ensue create moments of surprise on the level of structure and architecture, as well as on the level of metaphor, diction, and imagery. What advice do you have for poets who are intrigued by experimental forms, but struggle to step outside of their comfort zone?
MLB: The best advice I can give is to try everything. Don’t be afraid to make a mess, to step outside your voice and style. Have fun. You don’t need to show anyone what you have written until you are ready. There’s nothing to lose.
The decision to incorporate archival material and erasure came about two weeks before I sent the book into my publisher, Lily Poetry Review. I also re-read Cynthia Barger’s brave book, Sleeping in the Dead Girl’s Room that also includes archival material and felt that it was the right decision for Blue Physics as well. I wanted my brother John’s handwriting and words with me in the book. The erasures seemed natural because the first letter written to Lucy is in code. Therefore, I was interested in getting to what was really being communicated. The letter was meant for John’s then wife, Rose.
KMD: Throughout Blue Physics, you weave together inherited literary forms with postmodern approaches to language. I find this conversation between tradition and innovation to be compelling and arresting. Can you speak to the importance of formal shifts and juxtaposition when crafting a manuscript?
MLB: That’s an interesting question. I really work one poem at a time. The poem tells me what is needed. “Universe of Heaven and Earth” had to be a Haibun. I can’t imagine that poem working in any other form “Black Maria” had to be a direct address. The Abecedarian came about during a professional development speech. Prose poems invite surrealism, imagistic leaps, while the shape implies a narrative. There is so much experimentation going on right now with form. Why not play? It’s an exciting time to be writing poetry and in the end, the juxtaposition of formal forms and shifts in diction create an interesting texture for the manuscript.
After the poems find structure, I start to link poems together. It’s at this point I usually need input because the choices are many. Will the book be a concept album? A project? A story? A mixed tape? Do poems need to be deleted? Are there new poems that need to be added – hinge poems that link subjects? After the poems are in a tentative order, I read for the music of the last line of each poem and how it links to the first line of the next poem. Once I am clear on the tone of the book I write the first poem, the homiletic, last.
KMD: The title of this book is as unexpected as the poems themselves. Do you have suggestions or tips for poets who struggle to choose a powerful title for their collection?
MLB: I’m thrilled you like the title. The book was first titled, In Case of Emergency. At that time the manuscript had an urgent tone. Then I changed the title to De-fi-ant. That was the political iteration of the book. I sent a very early version to Joan Kwon Glass and she suggested making a list of possible titles. There were many. One of them, Rubbing Silly Putty into Sofas... So, that was a no. In the end, Blue Physics seemed to capture the movement and mood without being too on the nose.
As far as advice for people who struggle with titles, I struggle with titles. I think we all do to some degree. Keep playing with the language in your book. Make a list of as many possible titles as you can. Live with them for a while. Eventually one will rise and feel right.
KMD: What surprised you most as you worked on this book?
MLB: I think the biggest surprise was the thread arriving at the 100th hour. My publisher, Eileen Cleary and I met and after we spoke it was clear to me that more poems needed to come out and new poems had to be written and deep edits had to happen 3 weeks before it was due. Yikes. However, I love a challenge and I love a little bit of pressure, so it was stressful, but also a lot of fun. Having a clear direction was wonderful.
KMD: What are you currently working on? What can your readers look forward to?
MLB: I just started writing a YA novel. We read so many of them at school. We’ll see how that goes. I will ask my students if it’s a story they would like to read. I can count on their honesty. Other than that, I continue to write with The Grind and where the poems will go or how they will take shape is unknown to me right now.