One month post-launch of Bitterness Because we sat down with author Raya Finkle to discuss the inspirations for their newest collection and what they’ve been up to since finishing it. Bitterness Because acts as a timepiece and journal for Finkle’s experiences with past loves and the heartbreak that inevitably comes with them.
“Slate gray skies and wind that smells of
mmm
electrons
My heart starts and stops with a lightning pulse
egg beater scream
hammered into metal and stone
so it may work as a barometer”
-Raya Finkle, Bitterness Because
Kennedy Intorre: Firstly congratulations on the launch of your second collection! What else have you been up to, other than writing?
Raya Finkle: I have moved to Tucson, AZ and worked as a medical scribe in an urgent care setting. Right now, I am working as a scribe in the emergency department. I got into PA school!!! Otherwise, I have picked up rock climbing (bouldering) to stay active. Haven’t been writing as much recently, but am hoping to get back into it more soon.
KI: That is so exciting! As far as Bitterness Because goes can you tell us a little bit about the main inspiration for it?
RF: This collection was based on sensory experiences from my recent years, mostly in college, though I wrote some poems when I was as young as 12. The inspiration is intangible, salty things and the bitterness of lost love. My destructive tendencies and failures are on full display for whatever judgment comes.
“Yet not that either.Let me tell you a secretwritten in peeling ribbons of thinly-sliced flesh.”
-Raya Finkle, Bitterness Because
KI: Those are definitely topics that resonate with readers! With that in mind, what is the main thing you want readers to take away from this collection?
RF: That you can channel pain and destruction into beautiful things. A lot of these poems were written in my darker times, and now when I look back on them I remember the darkness but through the lens of a poem. It helps me grow from that.
WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN AND IF YOU DO IT CREATIVELY, YOU CAN CREATE AND MOVE ON.
KI: How did the writing experience of this collection compare to your first, Raspberry Fingers?
RF: This collection feels a lot more focused/catalogued than Raspberry Fingers. It’s divided into 3 sections and feels more fleshed out creatively. While I will always write with a queer/trans, wlw lens, Bitterness Because is less about discovery than RF, and is darker and more emotion-based. It’s slightly more (and less) mature, as well.
“Your secret will die
On my lips
Even though it slips
around my tongue
inside my mouth,
it will not leave
my fingertips.”
-Raya Finkle, Bitterness Because
KI: Now that you have two published titles under your belt, what is some advice you have for someone looking to become a published author?
RF: Keep trying. It takes a million tries to get a million rejections, and a million and one tries to get a million and one rejections. But you might get lucky along the way. If you cast enough lines, usually something bites.
KI: Lastly, what can readers expect next from you?
RF: No clue. Hopefully something.
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