Janet Lynn Davis

                                                              

Magna on Magna feature interview with Janet Lynn Davis, a writer who has lived in Texas for most of her life, with brief stints also on the U.S. East Coast and in England. Janet has written for enjoyment ever since she was a child. Professionally, she has worked extensively in the fields of communications, advertising, and publications. She took up poetry as a serious creative outlet only a few years ago, however. Her free verse can be found in a number of familiar Internet-based journals as well as in print; her tanka have appeared in many of the publications currently associated with that genre.

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Question: Why do you write poetry? 

Answer: I wonder sometimes. Because I “must” write—and everyone who writes knows what I mean by that—and I enjoy the beauty and musicality of poetry, specifically, as well as the challenge of expressing myself in a such a compressed form. Or who knows, maybe I write poetry because I have too short of an attention span, as well as limited patience, to write lengthy prose instead. Actually, I’m rather surprised I fell into it.

I dabbled with poetry writing when I was much younger—you know, came up with some pretty sappy stuff—and then didn’t touch it again for years. I began writing it with more interest and focus only a few years ago, first, at a health-related internet forum, of all places. Three of us posted some off-the-cuff verse in an attempt to reach out to a desperate member of the group; at the same time, I received a fair amount of encouragement, so I continued. After writing free verse for two or three years, I decided to try my pen at tanka, and that’s what I write exclusively. . . for now, that is.