An Interview with Frances Klein

Frances Klein’s debut collection, Another Life, is now available for pre-order. We interviewed her so you could get to know her a little bit!

How long did it take you to write Another Life? What was your process for pulling it together?

The oldest poem in the collection, “Between the Devil and the Clear Blue Sky” was written in 2017, but the bulk of these poems were written in two stages. One group was written after the birth of my son in 2019, and the other was written after my pregnancy loss in 2021. Because this is my first full length collection, I built the plane while I was flying it, as the saying goes. I initially collected every good poem I thought I had ever written, and tried to figure out common themes and through-lines. With the help of some excellent mentor poets, I was able to really focus the manuscript on combining this theme of alternate, wished-for lives with the reality of parenthood and loss. The first draft was completed in January of 2023, and then I took another year to write more poems to fill in gaps in the collection, sequence the poems, and get the manuscript ready to submit.

What’s a favorite poem from the collection? Why?

This is the hardest question! It’s incredibly difficult to choose just one favorite, since there are some major tonal shifts in the collection. I’m going to cheat a little and pick two. When I pick poems for readings, I tend to choose the ones that are a little lighter in tone, and a little more fun to read. In that case, my favorite poem out of this collection is one called, “Prayer for the Dudes who Catcalled Me in Front of My Toddler.” I love that one because I got to really indulge in my pettiest impulses while thinking up a litany of insults. However, if I could only offer someone a single poem from the collection, I would likely pick the title poem, “Another Life,” which distills the collection’s themes of parenthood, loss, and longing for other, unlived lives in a single poem.

What’s your writing routine look like?

These days, my writing process is very entwined with the obligations that come along with parenthood. Almost all of my first drafts are written in the 20 minutes between getting my son ready for school and actually leaving the house. I do a lot of my revising while I am sitting on the sidelines of activities like swim lessons and pee-wee basketball. I have learned that—at least in this stage of my life—a writing practice requires more flexibility than discipline. I don’t have the option to set aside an hour of writing time every morning like all the “experts” suggest, so I have to make it work in the stolen moments.

Who are your favorite poets?

It’s not easy to pick favorites, but there are a few poets whose work I seek out when I feel a lack of inspiration in my own writing: Mary Ruefle and Tomas Transtromer especially. I quote Marianne Boruch and Terrance Hayes in the epigraphs of Another Life, and both of those poets have been incredibly important to my development as a writer. I also work closely every week with an incredibly talented group of poets: Robert Allen, Alex Carrigan, Bethany Jarmul, Tim Moder, Stefanie Kirby, and Rorisang Moerane. Being able to come together each week to discuss poetry with this group has elevated my work beyond my previous hopes.

What are you reading right now?

I’m always reading poetry in some form. Right now, I have Joshua Bennett’s book The Study of Human Life (Penguin 2022) on the desk next to me. I was inspired by Bennett’s book The Sobbing School while I was working on my collection, and I love how Bennett’s newer work explores fatherhood. In terms of prose, I recently read Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon, an incredibly inventive gothic sci-fi novel with all my favorite things (cults, fungus, parenthood, etc.).

What’s your favorite non-writing activity?

When I’m not sneaking time to write, I love to get outside and spend time in nature. I live in the Tongass National Rainforest in Southeast Alaska, and we are lucky enough to have some of the most stunning natural spaces easily accessible. I’ve found that when I’m stressed, walking in the forest or by the ocean brings a lot of relief.

Pre-order Another Life by Frances Klein today!