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***This is #131 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 BACKSTORY OF THE POEM links
are at the end of this piece.
#131 Backstory of the
Poem
“Baby Jacob survives the Oso Landslide, 2014”
by Amie Zimmerman
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? In the fall
of 2016, I was taking classes at my community college, slowly accumulating the
credits I would need to finish my degree. I’d always loved the basics of
geology I’d encountered elsewhere, so when I saw this disasters-based class, I
signed up immediately. It may be slightly morbid, but I am fascinated with
natural disasters and their consequences. This particular class focused on
earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and landslides, and the causes/conditions
wherein they occur.
Also of note is that I live in
Portland, Oregon, very close to the Juan de Fuca Faultline, and it’s general
knowledge we are about 20 years overdue for the next big earthquake. Historical
documentation and geological evidence suggest we’ve had a megathrust earthquake
every 300 years, and the last one was in 1700. This has created a sense of
urgency in the preparedness communities in the Pacific Northwest, a heightened
set of stakes for us personally.
Coming from a working-class-white-poor
background myself, a story about a toddler who survived a major landslide in
Washington in 2014 really struck me. The area is rural and the people who lived
there were not wealthy. It had been raining and the ground broke loose from the
hillside, burying 43 people in a matter of seconds. You can’t be prepared for
something like that, you just have to not be in the way. Part of what
geologists are hoping to discover are more concrete predictors and ways of
using them to make safe living conditions. Of course, I consider wealth
disparity to be a concrete predictor. And in this case, logging had played a
role in soil erosion in the area.
Where were you when you
started to actually write the poem? And please describe the place in great
detail. I wrote this in class, instead of taking notes on the video we
were watching of the immediate aftermath of the Oso Landslide. I almost always
write on my laptop, so the circumstances of the writing weren’t outside the
norm. I also often write in class, for better or worse, because learning new
theory always creates urgency for me.
My body felt tight and I had to use
effort not to cry while we were watching the rescue footage. The poem’s lines
were always very short, they came out that way—restrained by my desire to
create focus on the specific moment. In the course of reading the poem, one can
imagine how much damage could be done by a wall of mud crashing down a hillside
over these single-family homes, some of them trailers. When Jacob (the toddler)
was rescued by helicopter, it was very emotional. I believe I used the phrase
“noticeable wriggling” directly from one of the workers’ descriptions of how it
was they could see Jacob on top of a hill of debris, surrounded by a lake of
mud.
As hokey as it may sound, my sense
of the consequences of systemic poverty and its direct ties to depression—the
cycle that creates—were the conceptual basis for the metaphor of the poem. I
wanted to remain as close to the actual events of the landslide for the surface
of the poem, in an attempt to respect the material and the humans whose story I
was working with. But underlying that was an urge to connect the visual of this
“unpredictable” event and the fact that in this country, economic disparity is
devastating, systemic, and utterly trackable if we have the desire to see it. If
these geologists are seeking answers for how to enact better infrastructure
through material decisions which could help save lives, one component must be
to address how our society chooses to distribute wealth.
What month and year did
you start writing this poem? December 2016
How many drafts of this
poem did you write before going to the final? I’d estimate it went through at least five drafts prior to
the final. I don’t work on paper much anymore and always do my editing within
the same file, so I don’t have a record of the phases.
Were there any lines in
any of your rough drafts of this poem that were not in the final version? Most of my edits
were an attempt to find the right word with the right amount of syllables and
mouth feel. It was a series of very tiny substitutions, waiting a few hours or
sometimes days before returning and reading the phrase to make sure I’d chosen
the right one. Word by word. A couple of examples are that I decided to use
“fractured” instead of “separate” and deleted the word “too” before “late” in
the last line.
What do you want readers of this poem to
take from this poem? Economic disparity is not
an act of God.
Which part of the poem was the most emotional of you to write and why? One of the survivors was a mother who had grabbed her baby and wrapped herself around him when the mud crashed into her home. She and her baby survived but were found several hundred feet from the site of her home, buried in the cushion pocket of an upturned couch. When I think of the terror of that moment, and the desperation it took to hold onto her child while getting swept away, bones broken by the debris, I get emotional still.
Has this poem been
published before? And if so where? No.
Anything you would like to add? The Seattle Times (https://www.seattletimes.com/) won some awards with their coverage of the event, the aftermath, and the geologist’s findings. That would be a good place to start to read about it all.
Baby Jacob survives the Oso Landslide, 2014
We are
all
walking
open
wounds,
Jacob
Couches
that
have
eaten
mothers
whole
Neighbors
that
sank
recession
deep
The
right
amount
of
duplicitous
silt
It’s
our
noticeable
wriggling,
Jacob
Faces
lifted,
propeller
arms
toward
bladed
noise
We
wait
on
each
fractured
island
And in
the
following
hours
help
arrives
systematic
and
frugally
late
Amie Zimmerman lives in
Portland, Oregon, with her teenage son. Her work has been published in Sixth
Finch, DIAGRAM, West Branch, Salt Hill, Third Coast, and Puerto del Sol, among
others. She has two chapbooks, Oyster (REALITY BEACH) and Compliance
(Essay Press), and is an editor for YesYes Books. She can be found at https://www.amiezimmerman.site/
BACKSTORY OF THE POEM
LINKS
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”
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”
010 March 03, 2018
Scott
Thomas Outlar’s “The Natural Reflection of Your Palms”
011 March 10, 2018
Anya
Francesca Jenkins’s “After Diane Beatty’s Photograph “History Abandoned”
012 March 17, 2018
Angela
Narciso Torres’s “What I Learned This Week”
013 March 24, 2018
Jan
Steckel’s “Holiday On ICE”
014 March 31, 2018
Ibrahim
Honjo’s “Colors”
015 April 14, 2018
Marilyn
Kallett’s “Ode to Disappointment”
016 April 27, 2018
Beth
Copeland’s “Reliquary”
017 May 12, 2018
Marlon
L Fick’s “The Swallows of Barcelona”
018 May 25, 2018
Juliet
Cook’s “ARTERIAL DISCOMBOBULATION”
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”
021 July 05, 2018
Marla
Shaw O’Neill’s “Wind Chimes”
022 July 13, 2018
Julia Gordon-Bramer’s
“Studying Ariel”
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!”
026 August 07, 2018
David Herrle’s “Devil In
the Details”
027 August 13, 2018
Gloria Mindock’s “Carmen
Polo, Lady Necklaces, 2017”
028 August 21, 2018
Connie Post’s “Two
Deaths”
029 August 30, 2018
Mary Harwell Sayler’s
“Faces in a Crowd”
030 September 16, 2018
Larry Jaffe’s “The
Risking Point”
031 September 24,
2018
Mark Lee Webb’s “After
We Drove”
032 October 04, 2018
Melissa Studdard’s
“Astral”
033 October 13, 2018
Robert Craven’s “I Have
A Bass Guitar Called Vanessa”
034 October 17, 2018
David Sullivan’s “Paper Mache
Peaches of Heaven”
035 October 23, 2018
Timothy Gager’s
“Sobriety”
036 October 30, 2018
Gary Glauber’s “The
Second Breakfast”
037 November 04, 2018
Heather Forbes-McKeon’s
“Melania’s Deaf Tone Jacket”
038 November 11, 2018
Andrena Zawinski’s
“Women of the Fields”
039 November 00, 2018
Gordon Hilger’s “Poe”
040 November 16, 2018
Rita Quillen’s “My
Children Question Me About Poetry” and “Deathbed Dreams”
041 November 20, 2018
Jonathan Kevin Rice’s
“Dog Sitting”
042 November 22, 2018
Haroldo Barbosa Filho’s
“Mountain”
043 November 27, 2018
Megan Merchant’s “Grief Flowers”
044 November 30, 2018
Jonathan P Taylor’s
“This poem is too neat”
045 December 03, 2018
Ian Haight’s “Sungmyo
for our Dead Father-in-Law”
046 December 06, 2018
Nancy Dafoe’s “Poem in
the Throat”
047 December 11, 2018
Jeffrey Pearson’s “Memorial
Day”
048 December 14, 2018
Frank Paino’s “Laika”
049 December 15, 2018
Jennifer Martelli’s
“Anniversary”
O50 December 19, 2018
Joseph Ross’s “For Gilberto Ramos, 15, Who Died in
the Texas Desert, June 2014”
051 December 23, 2018
“The Persistence of
Music”
by Anatoly Molotkov
052 December 27, 2018
“Under Surveillance”
by Michael Farry
053 December 28, 2018
“Grand Finale”
by Renuka Raghavan
054 December 29, 2018
“Aftermath”
by Gene Barry
055 January 2, 2019
“&”
by Larissa Shmailo
056 January 7, 2019
“The Seamstress:
by Len Kuntz
057 January 10, 2019
"Natural History"
by Camille T Dungy
058 January 11, 2019
“BLOCKADE”
by Brian Burmeister
059 January 12, 2019
“Lost”
by Clint Margrave
060 January 14, 2019
“Menopause”
by Pat Durmon
061 January 19, 2019
“Neptune’s Choir”
by Linda Imbler
062 January 22, 2019
“Views From the
Driveway”
by Amy Barone
063 January 25, 2019
“The heron leaves her
haunts in the marsh”
by Gail Wronsky
064 January 30, 2019
“Shiprock”
by Terry Lucas
065 February 02, 2019
“Summer 1970, The
University of Virginia Opens to Women in the Fall”
by Alarie Tennille
066 February 05, 2019
“At School They Learn
Nouns”
by Patrick Bizzaro
067 February 06, 2019
“I Must Not Breathe”
by Angela Jackson-Brown
068 February 11, 2019
“Lunch on City Island,
Early June”
by Christine Potter
069 February 12, 2019
“Singing”
by Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum
070 February 14, 2019
“Daily Commute”
by Christopher P. Locke
071 February 18, 2019
“How Silent The Trees”
by Wyn Cooper
072 February 20, 2019
“A New Psalm
of Montreal”
by Sheenagh Pugh
073 February 23, 2019
“Make Me A
Butterfly”
by Amy Barbera
074 February 26, 2019
“Anthem”
by Sandy Coomer
075 March 4, 2019
“Shape of a Violin”
by Kelly Powell
076 March 5, 2019
“Inward Oracle”
by J.P. Dancing Bear
077 March 7, 2019
“I Broke
My Bust Of Jesus”
by Susan Sundwall
078 March 9, 2019
“My Mother
at 19”
by John Guzlowski
079 March 10, 2019
“Paddling”
by Chera Hammons Miller
080 March 12, 2019
“Of Water
and Echo”
by Gillian Cummings
081 082
083 March 14, 2019
“Little
Political Sense” “Crossing Kansas with
Jim
Morrison” “The Land of Sky and Blue Waters”
by Dr. Lindsey
Martin-Bowen
084 March 15, 2019
“A Tune To
Remember”
by Anna Evans
085 March 19, 2019
“At the
End of Time (Wish You Were Here)
by Jeannine Hall Gailey
086 March 20, 2019
“Garden of
Gethsemane”
by Marletta Hemphill
087 March 21, 2019
“Letters
From a War”
by Chelsea Dingman
088 March 26, 2019
“HAT”
by Bob Heman
089 March 27, 2019
“Clay for
the Potter”
by Belinda Bourgeois
#090 March 30, 2019
“The Pose”
by John Hicks
#091 April 2, 2019
“Last
Night at the Wursthaus”
by Doug Holder
#092 April 4, 2019
“Original
Sin”
by Diane Lockward
#093 April 5, 2019
“A Father
Calls to his child on liveleak”
by Stephen Byrne
#094 April 8, 2019
“XX”
by Marc Zegans
#095 April 12, 2019
“Landscape
and Still Life”
by Marjorie Maddox
#096 April 16, 2019
“Strawberries
Have Been Growing Here for Hundreds of
Years”
by Mary Ellen Lough
#097 April 17, 2019
“The New
Science of Slippery Surfaces”
by Donna Spruijt-Metz
#098 April 19, 2019
“Tennessee
Epithalamium”
by Alyse Knorr
#099 April 20, 2019
“Mermaid,
1969”
by Tameca L. Coleman
#100 April 21, 2019
“How Do
You Know?”
by Stephanie
#101 April 23, 2019
“Rare Book
and Reader”
by Ned Balbo
#102 April 26, 2019
“THUNDER”
by Jefferson Carter
#103 May 01, 2019
“The sight
of a million angels”
by Jenneth Graser
#104 May 09, 2019
“How to
tell my dog I’m dying”
by Richard Fox
#105 May 17, 2019
“Promises
Had Been Made”
by Sarah Sarai
#106 June 01, 2019
“i sold
your car today”
by Pamela Twining
#107 June 02, 2019
“Abandoned
Stable”
by Nancy Susanna Breen
#108 June 05, 2019
“Cupcake”
by Julene Tripp Weaver
#109 June 6, 2019
“Bobby’s
Story”
by Jimmy Pappas
#110 June 10, 2019
“When You
Ask Me to Tell You About My Father”
by Pauletta Hansel
#111 Backstory of the
Poem’s
“Cemetery
Mailbox”
by Jennifer Horne
#112 Backstory of the Poem’s
“Relics”
by Kate Peper
#113 Backstory of the
Poem’s
“Q”
by Jennifer Johnson
#114 Backstory of the
Poem’s
“Brushing My Hair”
by Tammika Dorsey Jones
#115 Backstory of the
Poem
“Because the Birds Will
Survive, Too”
by Katherine Riegel
#116 Backstory of the Poem
“DIVORCE”
“DIVORCE”
by Joan Barasovska
#117 Backstory of the
Poem
“NEW
YEAR”S EVE 2016”
by Michael Meyerhofer
#118 Backstory of the
Poem
“Dear the
estranged,”
by Gina Tron
#119 Backstory of the Poem
“In
Remembrance of Them”
by Janet Renee Cryer
#120 Backstory of the
Poem
“Horse Fly
Grade Card, Doesn’t Play Well With Others”
by David L. Harrison
#121 Backstory of the
Poem
“My
Mother’s Cookbook”
by Rachael Ikins
#122 Backstory of the
Poem
“Cousins I
Never Met”
by Maureen Kadish
Sherbondy
#123 Backstory of the
Poem
“To Those
Who Were Our First Gods”
by Nickole Brown
#124 Backstory of the
Poem
“Looking For Sunsets (In the Early Morning)”
“Looking For Sunsets (In the Early Morning)”
by Paul Levinson
#125 Backstory of the
Poem
“Tracy”
by Tiff Holland
#126 Backstory of the
Poem
“Legs”
by Cindy Hochman
“Legs”
by Cindy Hochman
#127 Backstory of the
Poem
“Anathema”
“Anathema”
by Natasha Saje
#128 Backstory of the
Poem
“How to
Explain Fertility When an Acquaintance Asks Casually”
by Allison Blevins
#129 Backstory of the
Poem
“The Art of Meditation
In Tennessee”
by Linda Parsons
#130 Backstory of the
Poem
“Schooling
High, In Beslan”
by Satabdi Saha
#131 Backstory of the
Poem
““Baby Jacob survives the Oso Landslide, 2014”
by Amie Zimmerman
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/10/131-backstory-of-poem-baby-jacob.html
https://chrisricecooper.blogspot.com/2019/10/131-backstory-of-poem-baby-jacob.html
