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***This is the seventh in a never-ending series called BACKSTORY
OF THE POEM where the Chris Rice Cooper Blog (CRC) focuses on one
specific poem and how the poet wrote that specific poem. All of the BACKSTORY OF THE POEM series links are posted at the end of this piece.
Backstory of the Poem
“That Night”
by Leslea Newman
www.lesleanewman.com
Can you go through the step-by-step process of writing this poem from the
moment the idea was first conceived in your brain until final form? The form came pretty quickly to me. I was struck
by the word “shot” (I am very much a language poet). I was thinking about being
at a bar getting shot while drinking a shot. And very quickly that made me
think of a bartender crying out “Last call” and people making last calls on
their cell phones. And then the poem grew out of that.
Where were you when you started to actually write the poem? And
please describe the place in great detail. I start each poem in the same place: sitting on
the couch in my study at home. I have a spiral notebook on my lap, I am holding
a pen, a cup of camomille tea is in front of me, and my cat is sitting on her
perch behind me.
What month and year did you start writing this poem? I started writing this poem
a few days after the event took place (June 12, 2016).
How many drafts of this poem did you write before going to the final? (And
can you share a photograph of your rough drafts with pen markings on it?) The poem went through at least 15 drafts, probably
more like 20, which is typical of all my poetry.
What do you want readers of this poem to take from this poem? I want readers to imagine
what it was like to be in that night club on the night of this tragedy. Real
people were killed. People who had friends, families, loved ones. People who
had hopes and dreams. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles,
cousins, friends. People who were just out to have a good time. It could have
been any of us. I hope the poem will inspire people to feel empathy towards
others and and think about what they can do to make the world a safer place for
all.
Which part of the poem was the most emotional of you to write and why? The whole poem was very emotional to write. I came
out in the 1980’s and went to many LGBT Bars (which we called gay bars at the
time). It was where we felt safe. Plus my spouse is a deejay and spent many
many nights playing in clubs. I never feared for her safety when she went to
work on a Friday or Saturday night. So in addition to the devastation of so
many lives lost, there was the devastation of losing that safe harbor. Above Right - Leslea and her spouse Mary Vazquez on their wedding day in September 1998 and in 2017.
Your Biography?
I am the author of 70 books for readers of all ages, including the poetry collections
I CARRY MY MOTHER, OCTOBER MOURNING: A SONG FOR MATTHEW SHEPARD
(novel-in-verse), STILL LIFE WITH BUDDY, and the children’s classic, HEATHER
HAS TWO MOMMIES. I served as the poet laureate of Northampton, MA from 2008 -
2010 and currently am a faculty member of Spalding University’s low-residency
MFA in Writing program.
Has this poem ben published before? And if so where? The poem is taken from my brand new poetry
collection entitled LOVELY which was published on January 2, 2018 by Headmistress
Press. More information about the book can be found here: http://www.lesleanewman.com/newbks.htm
Where were you when you learned what had
What was your response? I was so horrified at hearing the news. I
have very fond memories of the time I spent in gay bars, and the more I learned
about the events that took place and how terrified the people in the club were,
and the more I learned about specific people who died, including couples, a
mother out with her son, etc. the more my heart just broke.
THAT
NIGHT
Fifty
people are dead after a man opened fire early Sunday inside a gay nightclub in
Orlando.
New York Times
New York Times
June 12,
2016
That
night we drank a few shots at the bar
That
night we were shot many times at the bar
That
night the bartender cried, “Last call!”
That
night we frantically made last calls
That
night the music pulsed through our veins
That
night the bullets tore through our veins
That
night we got down and sweated together
That
night we fell down and bled together
That
night the bartender mixed Bloody Marys
That
night the killer fixed bloody Marys
That
night some of us shared our first kiss
That
night all of us shared our last kiss
That
night we danced in each other’s arms
That
night we died in each other’s arms
That
night turned into a cloud-streaked morning
That
night turned into a tear-streaked mourning
“That Night” copyright © 2018 Lesléa
Newman from Lovely (Headmistress
Press, Sequim, WA). Used by permission of the author.
001 December 29, 2017
Margo
Berdeshevksy’s “12-24”
002 January 08, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher’s “82 Miles From the Beach, We Order The Lobster At Clear Lake
Café”
003 January 12, 2018
Barbara
Crooker’s “Orange”
004 January 22, 2018
Sonia
Saikaley’s “Modern Matsushima”
005 January 29, 2018
Ellen
Foos’s “Side Yard”
006 February 03, 2018
Susan
Sundwall’s “The Ringmaster”
007 February 09, 2018
Leslea
Newman’s “That Night”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/02/7-backstory-of-poem-that-night-by.html
008 February 17, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher “June Fairchild Isn’t Dead”
009 February 24, 2018
Charles
Clifford Brooks III “The Gift of the Year With Granny”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/02/9-backstory-of-poem-gift-of-year-with.html
010 March 03, 2018
Scott
Thomas Outlar’s “The Natural Reflection of Your Palms”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/chris-ricecooper-caccoopaol.html
011 March 10, 2018
Arya F. Jenkins “After Diane Beatty’s Photograph, “History Abandoned" https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/11-backstory-of-poem-after-diane.html
Arya F. Jenkins “After Diane Beatty’s Photograph, “History Abandoned" https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/11-backstory-of-poem-after-diane.html
012 March 17, 2018
Angela Narciso Torres’s “What I Learned This Week”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/12-backstory-of-poem-series-angela.html
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/12-backstory-of-poem-series-angela.html
013 March 24, 2018
Jan
Steckel’s “Holiday On ICE”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/13-backstory-of-poem-jan-steckels.html
014 March 31, 2018
Ibrahim
Honjo’s “Colors”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/03/14-backstory-of-poem-ibrahim-honjos.html
015 April 14, 2018
Marilyn
Kallett’s “Ode to Disappointment”
016 April 27, 2018
Beth
Copeland’s “Reliquary”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/04/16-backstory-of-poem-reliquary-by-beth.html
017 May 12, 2018
Marlon
L Fick’s “The Swallows of Barcelona”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/05/17-backstory-of-poem-swallows-of.html
018 May 25, 2018
Juliet
Cook’s “ARTERIAL DISCOMBOBULATION”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/05/18-backstory-of-poem-arterial.html
019 June 09, 2018
Alexis
Rhone Fancher’s “Stiletto Killer. . . A Surmise”
020 June 16, 2018
Charles
Rammelkamp’s “At Last I Can Start Suffering”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/06/20-backstory-of-poem-at-least-i-can.html
021 July 05, 2018
Marla
Shaw O’Neill’s “Wind Chimes”
022 July 13, 2018
Julia Gordon-Bramer’s
“Studying Ariel”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/07/22-backstory-of-poem-studying-ariel-by.html
023 July 20, 2018
Bill Yarrow’s “Jesus
Zombie”
024 July 27, 2018
Telaina Eriksen’s “Brag
2016”
025 August 01, 2018
Seth Berg’s (It is only
Yourself that Bends – so Wake up!”
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2018/08/25-backstory-of-poem-it-is-only.html
026 August 07, 2018
David Herrle’s “Devil In
the Details”
