When I began my MFA program in the fall of 2007 (has it really been that long?!), Jennifer Lynn Krohn was a part of my cohort. A poet at heart with a strong work ethic (she used to write poetry in her car on her lunch break at work) and a fun preoccupation with the dark side of fairy tales, Jennifer also is a sharp fiction writer. She won a flash fiction contest judged by Carmen Maria Machado! She has been a strong Plume supporter from the beginning, and we are so excited to finally feature her work. Please enjoy our interview with her!
Plume: When did you know you were a writer?
JLK: While I had been writing poems almost every day since seventh grade, it wasn’t until I had to declare a major in college that I realized I was a writer. While reflecting on what I wanted to do with my life, I realized that I was already devoting a good deal of my time to writing and taking every single creative writing class I could. Before then I had assumed that this was just a private hobby that I would only share with my family and friends. I made the short-sighted choice to focus on developing this hobby because it was what I loved doing.
P: Where do you get your ideas?
JLK: I kind of want to answer the question with EVERYWHERE!!!! There is no one place I go for ideas, though I do have my obsessions: ghost stories, urban legends, and fairy and folk tales. However, I’ve found that research has been particularly helpful for me. A few years ago, I became interested in the history of mental health care, and, from that research, wrote several poems. I never know what research will in turn become a poem or a short story, so I tend to let my curiosity lead me.
P: Where do you write?
JLK: I write in my home office at my desk. However, I also always carry a notebook with me in case I get any ideas or observe something that I want to record.
P: Do you have any writing rituals?
JLK: I always read a poem by another poet before I start writing. I also usually have a warm drink (coffee, tea or hot cocoa).
P: How supportive is your local community for writers?
JLK: I’m very lucky to live in a city with a large, vibrant, and supportive writing community. I’ve discovered a community through college who I am still able to share work with. Also, outside of academia there is a large community of poets that I’ve met by going to open mics and other readings.
P: What are some of your self-care practices?
JLK: I find it helpful to set time limits on how long I’ll work on something in a day. I will have an hour or 15 minutes, depending on what is going on, and will stop writing at the end the period.
Also, I give myself days off from writing. You don’t have to write every single day to be a writer.
P: What is your favorite book about writing?
JLK: What It Is? by Lynda Berry. This book is actually sequential art broken up into two parts. One deals with a lyrical exploration of her own development as an artist interspersed with collages that state questions like “Do memories have mass? Do they have inertia?” The second half of the book is prompts that Berry uses in her own creative writing class. What I particularly enjoy about the book is that it’s not afraid to be both serious and silly.
P: What are you currently working on?
JLK: I’m currently putting the final polish on a manuscript of poetry. I’m also working on several stories, most of which are going to be flash or short stories, but one maybe has potential to be something a bit longer.
Sign up for Plume for October and you’ll receive a letter of encouragement from Jennifer, as well as some of her creative work!
Jennifer Lynn Krohn knew that she was destined to be a zoologist, until one day, while dissecting a cat, she realized that her heart wasn’t in it anymore. After a brief foray into aviation science—where she discovered that no one’s life should depend on her math skills—she decided to take her poetry a bit more seriously. Since then, Jennifer has earned her MFA from The University of New Mexico, won The Golden Key’s 2017 Flash Fiction Contest, and has published work in Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Storm Cellar, and Tinderbox Poetry Journal, among others. She currently teaches English at Central New Mexico Community College. You can find more information about her at jenniferlynnkrohn.com.