Elizabeth Spires' I Heard God Talking to Me
Goucher College professor Elizabeth Spires has a fascinating new book that pairs her poetry with photos of the folk art sculptures of William Edmondson. I Heard God Talking to Me is accessible to both young and old, and the poems are as plain as Edmondson's cut stone. Here's a snippet from "Porch Ladies": But here on the porch/everything moves slow,/slow as molasses,/slow as a seven-year itch, slow as the day before Christmas./Slow, we tell you. Slow!
We asked Spires about the book and the creative process.
How did the idea for this book develop? I became interested in William Edmondson's stone carvings on several trips to Nashville (where he lived and worked in the 1930s and 40s). I like the strong sense of presence and individuality that each figure has, as well as the whimsy and humor in many of his pieces. ... He seemed like the perfect artist to introduce to young readers. I'm now finding out, however, that both adults and children like the book and really respond to his life story and his art.
Are you generally a fan of folk art? I love folk art, especially its simplicity, directness and naivete. Edmondson was a master stone carver, but completely self-taught. He was not afraid to approach the stone in a direct, simple manner. Nonetheless, his style is completely his own and very original.
Was your writing process different because you were describing things, rather than concepts? I would describe my process as 'playful.' I have often written poems in the voices of other people, in the voices of mythic figures (see my book I AM ARACHNE) and even in the voice of a mouse (THE MOUSE OF AMHERST). I decided in I HEARD GOD TALKING TO ME to let each carving tell his or her own story. Thus the poems are monologues spoken by the figures themselves. I also found quotes from Edmondson (taken from old newspaper interviews) that I arranged into four poems, so that the reader could 'hear' William Edmondson talking.
Did you write the poems in the presence of the sculptures themselves? I was lucky enough to be able to see a wide variety of Edmondson's work --- some of it in museums and some on private collections --- and yes, some of the poems were created from the notes I took when I was looking at various figures.
How did you recreate Edmondson's thoughts for poems such as "A Vision" and "The Gift"? Those two poems use Edmondson's own words. I selected some of his stories and anecdotes and 'spliced' them together to give the reader a sense of the way he approached his art. Basically, he believed that he carved by divine inpsiration; the title of the book is another Edmondson quote where he described his artistic process to a reporter for the Nashville Tennessean. In 1930 or 1931, Edmondson heard God talking to him and that was the beginning of a seventeen-year career where he produced over 300 limestone figures.
As you researched his life, what did you discover that surprised you? I was and am surprised by how much I continue to love his work, how I emotionally respond to it. It is still growing on me! I believe the way he went about making his art --- in a simple, unpretentious way, without any regard for fame or fortune --- is something all artists and writers should aspire to.
While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, 
