It’s a good afternoon here at the pub, so pull up a chair as I introduce you to the lovely Miriam Euteneuer from the blog, Another Wandering Soul. Let’s start with a poem:

(Aquatic) Street Art
by Miriam Euteneuer

this face,
fastened
to the pavement
in white and green and blue
softens
with every drop
of li(quid)berty

parched perfection
transformed to
rivulets of imperfection,
chasing rivers
to the long abandoned sea

and laughter
leaves my lips in waves
to crash upon
your distant shore

in white
and green
and blue.

*

Welcome, Miriam. What have you been up to lately?

Oh, it’s been a busy and turbulent couple of weeks when it comes to family and work. In my time off, I’ve been enjoying the summer sun, and I keep myself occupied trying to ignore the jungle I see when I look out my back door… I am pretty sure by now, there’s a miniature Tarzan living in this huge patch of weeds, formerly known as my garden.

Tell us about yourself.

I grew up and still live in Siegen, one of the smaller cities in Western Germany. Most of my day, I spend working at a Neurological Rehabilitation Clinic as a physical therapist. It is an amazing, yet time-consuming job, but I am grateful to be able to witness so many badly injured people get back on their feet and start a new life. When I’m not busy bending and stretching human bodies, I love to throw dirt around in my tiny garden – preferably when it’s raining. To me, there is nothing more relaxing than the patter of raindrops on leaves and the scent of wet soil.

What about the role of poetry in your life?

Poetry has been a stranger to me for a long time; a stranger I admired from afar. Over the years, I have made some half-hearted attempts to write, but never really got into it.

Luckily, this changed about a year ago. I decided to finally welcome the ‘stranger’ into my life and started my main blog on WordPress.

Language is such an essential element in writing, and you’re from Germany. How do you manage?

English is not my first language, but I never write anything in German. I deeply enjoy the way the English language feels on my tongue; I love to shape and sculpt, to create and experiment; to learn.

What kind of poetry do you prefer?

The ‘darker shades’ of poetry have always fascinated me – I am a Gemini, so I assume my ‘other half’ has a hand in this. Since I never show my dark side in public, I am grateful to have found a way to balance the scales.

Hey, I’m Gemini, too. What’s your birthday? Mine’s June 20th.

It’s June 1st. A really cool thing actually… I tried the numerology chart for your wonderful, “What’s your number?”- prompt… my numbers were 1 and 6. What a coincidence… or is it?! Heh.

I was also amazed by the similarities I discovered.
Do you have any poetic influences?

My favorite poet is – and always will be – Dylan Thomas. If you don’t mind, I would like to share one of his poems with you. Not a week goes by without me reading it. If I could bathe in his words, I would.

I Have Longed to Move Away
~Dylan Thomas

I have longed to move away
From the hissing of the spent lie
And the old terrors’ continual cry
Growing more terrible as the day
Goes over the hill into the deep sea;
I have longed to move away
From the repetition of salutes,
For there are ghosts in the air
And ghostly echoes on paper,
And the thunder of calls and notes.

I have longed to move away but am afraid;
Some life, yet unspent, might explode
Out of the old lie burning on the ground,
And, crackling into the air, leave me half-blind.
Neither by night’s ancient fear,
The parting of hat from hair,
Pursed lips at the receiver,
Shall I fall to death’s feather.
By these I would not care to die,
Half convention and half lie.

Another great influence has been Salvador Dalí. It might sound a bit odd, but I always wanted to be able to write the way he painted.

Last but not least, I have to mention the wonderful poets here at the Pub. Their wonderful pieces have inspired me in so many ways, have helped me develop as a writer. I could not be more thankful for this caring, kind and absolutely stunning community.

We are grateful for you, too, Miriam… your poems are beautiful. Here’s another:

Glass Houses
by Miriam Euteneuer

silence surrenders
a maelstrom
truth’s deformity

all screams turn to glass
the bottom
of a shattered life

and every word tastes
like cat piss
swallowed greedily

~

Please explain the picture.

My friends and me attend Live Action Role Playing Events once or twice a year. It’s sort of a Fantasy ‘Game’ where you impersonate a character of your choosing and set out on adventures. Basically, you just shrug off ‘normal life’, don your armor, hike and crawl through the mud all day, beat up Orcs, Trolls, Dark Elves and other fearful creatures (the costumes are amazing, I’ve even been lucky enough to see a dragon) with latex weapons and get together in the evenings to drink the tavern maids dry. Heh. Since we’re a ‘Barbarian Horde’ (and I’m almost always the only girl in the group), we don’t really have to follow rules – our characters are too stupid to follow them anyways. That always means great fun and tons of bruises from all those ‘save the damsels in distress missions’.
After 2-3 days of this, you’re so filthy and so sore you don’t even want to move anymore, but it’s the most relaxing ‘vacation’ you can have… for this short period of time, real life doesn’t matter… you can tune out. Most people think it’s a pretty crazy thing to do, but honestly… who hasn’t dreamed about whacking a dragon?! I did. Heh.

What other than poetry, gardening and dragon slaying spurns your interests?

Next to writing, I am addicted to books. At age 12, my father gave me my first copy of Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’. Every year, I get it out of one of my countless bookshelves and dive into the wonderful world Tolkien created. It has always been my safety blanket, and, I assume, it will always stay that way.

Are you reading anything in particular right now?

It rarely happens that I don’t read anything. Even if it’s only a couple of pages before I fall asleep at night… my day wouldn’t feel complete without it. I am a big fan of Fantasy & Fiction. Right now, I am simultaneously reading Robert Jordan’s, “The Great Hunt” (Book Two of the Wheel of Time Series) and, for the third time Jim Butcher’s, “Cold Days”, the latest addition to the Dresden Files – just to pass the time until he releases his next novel in December. I confess to being a “Butcher-Addict” – the best Fantasy/Mystery series I have read in years. When it comes to his books, I am a kid and his words are my chocolate.

Mmm… speaking of chocolate… what is your favorite thing to snack on?

That would definitely be Beef Jerky. Yum. Hard to come by in Germany, but I have my sources…

What’s your favorite time of year?

My favorite season by far is autumn… I love the wind and rain. Where I live, across the road, there’s this huge cemetery with the most beautiful trees. Come autumn, it just radiates. It is amazing how the change of seasons can turn a place of such sadness into one of unique beauty.

It is gorgeous.Do you have any long-term goals, such as submitting to journals and/or publishing a chapbook?

Publishing a chapbook would definitely be a great thing. It has always been a dream, and I believe it will remain so for a couple more years. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to writing high quality poetry. Right now, I mostly experiment… and write for fun.

Thanks so much for sharing a slice of your life with us, Miriam… and thanks to all for stopping by. If you have any questions for Miriam, feel free to ask in the comments section.