Sweet Connections: Sandra Yannone

Several times a month we connect with our contributors showing where they have been, where they are now, and what’s up for the future.

Name: Sandra Yannone
Title of Pieces Published in Sweet: “The Taste of Blueberries“
Issues: 12.2

Find Her:

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While I’m still picking blueberries from the farm down the street from my house in Olympia, WA, when in season (even during the pandemic), I now host a weekly live international, intersectional, intergenerational reading series on Facebook, Cultivating Voices LIVE Poetry, and a monthly reading series, The Collectibles, with Headmistress Press, based on their lesbian trading card series.

What!?! That sounds amazing!

Find out more about Sandra on her website.

What are some major accomplishments you have had since your Sweet publication?

Eavan Boland published my poem “Gratitude Workshop, 1991” in her final issue as editor of Poetry Ireland Review in December, 2019, and of course, watching Cultivating Voices LIVE Poetry group emerge out of the shadows of Covid has been astonishing, nourishing, and inspiring. I’ve enjoyed connecting with poets and their poetry from around the world.

Can you tell us about a current/ongoing project that you’re excited about?

My debut collection of poetry, Boats for Women, came out in March, 2019 from Salmon Poetry. I am starting to organize the poems for my next collection, The Glass Studio, due out from Salmon in 2022 or 2023, and I am beginning preparations for my third collection, an erasure poetry project based on Walter Lord’s 1955 classic about the Titanic disaster, A Night to Remember. Then there’s always the curation of the special event readings for Cultivating Voices LIVE Poetry. Upcoming this spring/summer will be readings that celebrate the life and poetry of Eavan Boland, express solidarity with labor/fertility rights on May Day; bear witness with Asian-American/Pacific Islander women poets, and a 40th Anniversary tribute to Salmon Poetry. And that’s just by the end of May! In June we’ll host our 2nd Annual Poetry PRIDE Parade. All virtual, of course, nestled between our New Books Showcase readings.

Who is your favorite author?

I have a top ten or so of poets I return to often and necessarily. Easily, however, at the pinnacle of that poetry peak is Elizabeth Bishop. Not only do I absolutely adore and admire her poetry, but Bishop’s example of a poet who did not rush to publication gave me permission to feel comfortable with my slow, meandering journey (Boats for Women took 21 years from completion to publication).

What is your favorite poem/essay/book?

Now this one is much harder. I can’t exist without these books about poetry: Muriel Rukeyser’s The Life of Poetry and Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider. The book of poetry I have cherished for years is Suzanne Gardinier’s The New World (Pittsburgh). Poems I most share with people: Marie Howe’s “What the Living Do”; Li-Young Lee’s “One Heart”; and William Stafford’s “A Ritual to Read Each Other”.

What inspires you to write?

The quirky, poignant, unfathomable, prismatic aspects of humanity. The desire to discover something about myself and my connection with humanity that I could not perceive/receive in the conscious world.

What are you reading right now?

I continue to gobble up all the literary print journals I’ve accumulated over the years as well as reading or rereading anthologies. A few anthologies of note: All of Us: Sweet, the First Five Years, Poetry 2008-2013; Raising Lilly Ledbetter: Women Occupy the Workspace (Lost Horse Press); Even the Daybreak: 35 Years of Salmon Poetry; and HERS: a poets speak anthology (Beatlick Press and Jules’ Poetry Playhouse). I’m also reading lots of collections. I’d like to mention: Eduardo Corral’s Guillotine (Graywolf), Tamara J. Madison’s Threed: This Road Not Damascus (Trio House), and Hilda Raz’s List & Story (Stephen F. Austin State University Press). Then there’s always a book about some aspect of the Titanic disaster for good measure.

What is your favorite sweet? We would love for you to share a recipe or link to place that serves it. Pictures are great, too!

I know you will not believe me, but this is my favorite question that I always look forward to reading! It’s the essence of Sweet! My favorite sweet is a confection made in Gloucester, MA, at Nichols Candies, a family-owned candy store that’s been in Gloucester since 1932. The sweet: a pink wintergreen dollop of a wafer mint that literally melts in your mouth. Divine!

Thank you, Sandy, for taking the time to reconnect with us. We look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!

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