Spring Break
Poet alumna to share her work
BRITTANY FORRESTAL
Issue date: 3/25/09 Section: Variety
As a child, Carrie Olivia Adams never wanted to become a lawyer, a nurse or a CEO.
Instead, the Chicago-based writer spent her childhood dreaming of the career that felt most natural to her - that of a poet, living a literature-driven life.
"Being surrounded by books made me want to try to do something similar. It was … the world that I lived in, and it was … natural for me," she said. "Now as an adult, I'm like, 'Why didn't I think to be an astronaut or a nuclear physicist or a diplomat?'"
Adams, a University alumna, released her first poetry collection, "Intervening Absence," earlier this year. She is returning to the University as part of the Homecoming series of readings, which seeks to connect the campus with former students who have published their own work.
According to Jordana Rich, creative writing program coordinator, the readings are "usually very well-attended."
Adams' poetry explores the confines of language, featuring innovative structures, word combinations and images that present an alternative world for her readers. Adams' poems tend to be constructed as a sequence of works, building upon each other to create a larger poetic entity.
"I'm intrigued by the architecture of poems," Adams said. "I tend not to write stand-alone poems. Instead, they build over half a dozen poems in a series."
Adams cites her interest in the many facets of language as a major factor in her poetic voice.
Where: 265 Park Hall
Cost: Free
"I think it's hard to be a writer and not be intrigued by language as a structure," she said. "I'm constantly playing with words. They're your tools, and if you're not really innovating with them, then you're not really doing your job."
Despite writing since childhood, Adams didn't begin submitting her work for review until her time in graduate school.
"It was a slow process. At one point, I had a shoe box of all my rejection letters. Eventually, you learn the literary landscape," she said. "You … find your place, but it takes a while."
Instead, the Chicago-based writer spent her childhood dreaming of the career that felt most natural to her - that of a poet, living a literature-driven life.
"Being surrounded by books made me want to try to do something similar. It was … the world that I lived in, and it was … natural for me," she said. "Now as an adult, I'm like, 'Why didn't I think to be an astronaut or a nuclear physicist or a diplomat?'"
Adams, a University alumna, released her first poetry collection, "Intervening Absence," earlier this year. She is returning to the University as part of the Homecoming series of readings, which seeks to connect the campus with former students who have published their own work.
According to Jordana Rich, creative writing program coordinator, the readings are "usually very well-attended."
Adams' poetry explores the confines of language, featuring innovative structures, word combinations and images that present an alternative world for her readers. Adams' poems tend to be constructed as a sequence of works, building upon each other to create a larger poetic entity.
"I'm intrigued by the architecture of poems," Adams said. "I tend not to write stand-alone poems. Instead, they build over half a dozen poems in a series."
Adams cites her interest in the many facets of language as a major factor in her poetic voice.
POETRY SLAM
When: Today at 4Where: 265 Park Hall
Cost: Free
"I think it's hard to be a writer and not be intrigued by language as a structure," she said. "I'm constantly playing with words. They're your tools, and if you're not really innovating with them, then you're not really doing your job."
Despite writing since childhood, Adams didn't begin submitting her work for review until her time in graduate school.
"It was a slow process. At one point, I had a shoe box of all my rejection letters. Eventually, you learn the literary landscape," she said. "You … find your place, but it takes a while."
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