Lilith Sonnet
Aria Ligi
To ne’er be, beneath the veil,
His breath and anvil on her rest.
Restless spirit held, compressed.
She-demon in the throes ~Unrepentant in she goes.
Her towering, wending, dangling arm,
Fuels the oil, kindling anon.
In her strident feet ~The foot on the path,
Comes the seed.
E’er a plangent forceful flower,
Dipped and vanquished o’ her rightful power.
She turns afore the mighty sun,
And wields the river.
Ascends and divvies further.
A shadow o’ what may become.
Artist Interview
I've noticed you often pull on a connection to the historical feminine experiences; where does that come from?
It comes from various places, and I should clarify that I try to give men and women an equal voice. The Romantic Series, a fourteen-volume collection, is divided into two halves; there are seven books for the men and seven for the women. (Although, I should say volume thirteen is unique; it has poems for six different women from the eighteenth century (noted as 'bluestockings, a pejorative in their time). One can argue that there are more poems for women than men, even though the books are parsed with equity in mind). The "where" in terms of where my interest comes from is primarily through seeking out voices from the past, many whose names are not familiar but whose lives made a lasting impact on humanity. For instance, most readers will not know Lady Blessington. Still, her accomplishments are great. She was the editor for The Book of Beauty and The Keepsake, author of novels such as The Idler in Italy and The Repealers, and the biographically eponymous Conversations with Lord Byron, first appearing in serial form. The same can be said for Madam de Staël, whose work "Corinne" was radical for its time and so upset Napoleon that he had the printing blocks for the text smashed to prevent its release. These personages' lives are of intense import not only for what they represented in their time but also how they bring meaning to ours.
What does the concept of Lilith represent to you?
Lilith is the woman who refused to lie beneath Adam and, for this, was sent away. She literally flew into the sky away from Adam because he would not accept her as his equal. She is the first representation of and is why we have the concept of a wicked witch flying off on her broom. Yet, what does the word "witch" mean? It means wise woman. I grew up in a very religious household, yet, no mention of Lilith ever occurred. I had no idea Adam even had another wife, let alone a first wife. All of this was something I discovered while writing volume thirteen of The Romantic Series, Poiein: Poems for William Blake. What fascinated me was that who she was, was completely excised, making what I learned about her even more intriguing and precious.
How do your poems manifest? What is that experience like?
I think what you are referring to here is the process. How does the chef make her soufflé? What ingredients does she use? I begin with a person who captures my imagination, someone I may have known very little about, but I have always wanted to learn more. When I started this process, I began with reading the letters of those I was interested in. letters are great because you can hear the person's cadence their manner of speaking, and that allows you to step inside, so- to- speak, their lives.
The experience is, to me, really wonderful. While I am writing for someone, I am, in a sense living with whoever it is (I am writing for the time), making the experience all-consuming and very intense.
What steps have you taken to hone your craft?
This is a great question, and I am so happy you asked it. First, and this hard, being open to criticism. Even if you are miffed at what is said, sit on it for a couple of days or weeks. Ask yourself if there was any merit in it? I have sought to learn from others, so I read a lot of poetry and other writing; this allows me to soak up different styles and approaches. I edit A LOT. As a former poetry editor (for two journals), I know many poets are of the mindset that they will wait for the muse to drop in and inspire them magically and further that once they are done, no edit is required.
I say pooh to that. No poetic fairy will sprinkle lines in your sleep or give you that eureka moment. You have to work for it. So, the steps I have faithfully used are creating an outline for every work an excel sheet to keep track of meter (this is something I did not do from the start but is a lifesaver in terms of making sure your work is metrically sound). I keep a journal at my bedside because I often get great lines while drifting off, so there are some poetic fairies, but they won't do all the work for you! (Also, if you do that, make sure to turn on the light because sometimes I can't read what I wrote in my sleepy haze when morning comes!) I also keep a journal with me wherever I go and a pen. I was pumping gas one time, and this great first line came to me, but I did not have a pen! So, I repeated it in my head until I got home (which, thankfully, was not too long) and then wrote it down.
Where do you believe your creativity comes from?
I believe it comes from hard work, diligence, and attention to detail, along with that spark that is intangible but which we call poetry.
If you had one message for the world's women, what would it be?
To support one another, and with that honor the right to disagree (thoughtfully) and listen to one another, we cannot hope to make meaningful progress until we do.
Equality is not a zero-sum game in which we must constantly compete. It is all of us together recognizing and honoring the beauty within one another.
About Aria Ligi.
The poet has several books currently in print including: the pushcart nominated Hammer of God published through Poetic Justice Books, Temple of Love: Poems for Marie Antoinette, and Blood, Bone, and Stone. Recently her work appeared in Sirius Editorial, publishing excerpts from Vol. One of the Romantic Series, Hymn to Equity poems for William Wordsworth.