Jane Levin

Scribblers on the Roof readers were moved by Jane Levin’s powerful and haunting poetry, so we decided to interview her and try and gain some insight into her creative process.

Scribblers on the Roof: Your poetry covers a myriad of topics, not necessarily Jewish. What inspires you to write poems based on Jewish themes?

Jane Levin: I don’t intentionally set out to write poems with Jewish themes but inspiration appears and I try to pay attention. For example, an image for “Matriarchs” began after I attended a very traditional service on a dark, cold Minnesota morning with a friend who wanted to say Kaddish for her husband. Then several weeks later, a memory surfaced – my six aunts sitting around the dining room table, smoking, telling stories and off-color jokes. Finally, I recalled the final two stanzas from a poem I had long ago abandoned. They were the perfect ending for this poem.
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SOTR: How much does your Jewish background affect your work?

JL: First, I should clarify “Jewish background.” In my case, it means growing up in the 1950s on Long Island. And it means leaving Judaism when I was 13 because girls weren’t allowed to lead junior congregation services. Ironically, it was in Minneapolis, almost 30 years later, that I first joined a synagogue. There I met Judy, my partner of 16 years.

As a writer, I believe those early years studying Torah laid the groundwork for the joy I find in turning words around and around, finding new connections, deeper meanings, and understanding that the white space on the page is just as important as the black space.

I also have no doubt my Jewish background gets both the credit and the blame for my quirky, sometimes dark, sense of humor.

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SOTR: So many Jewish writers automatically lean toward pieces about the Holocaust. Have you written any “Holocaust” poetry, or do you try to avoid it?

JL: I rarely lean toward topics but rather respond to whatever is pushing against me. The Holocaust has not pushed. But now that you’ve asked about the Holocaust, I just may feel a nudge.

SOTR: Your imagery in your poetry is incredibly powerful. Do you visualize your poetry as you write it?

JL: Sometimes, I do see very vivid images, for example in “Devotion.”  Other times, a short movie plays across the page. Often, a phrase or word will come into my mind and I’ll write it down on a napkin, or any scrap of paper. Later, I’ll transfer it to an index card. One morning, I may look at it, pull it out of the stack of cards, start writing and see where it takes me.

SOTR: Do any other Jewish poets inspire you?

JL: Let me name names:  Irena Klepfisz, Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz, Adrienne Rich, Denise Levertov, Fanny Howe, Yehuda Amichai, Marge Piercy. As a Jewish lesbian, I am particularly inspired by Jewish poets whose multiple identities are reflected in their work.

SOTR: I hear you are celebrating a decade of being cancer free. Mazal tov. How has your experience influenced your writing?

JL: Thank you so much. It is hard to believe, a miracle really.

My late-stage ovarian cancer diagnosis was the inspiration/desperation that led me to return to writing poetry. I took a writing class in an attempt to cope with my terror. Poems burst forth so fast, I could hardly keep up with them.

I never thought about publishing until a woman ran up to me after a reading and began to cry. She said that no one in her family understood what it was like to have cancer and she wanted to know if she could show my poems to them. So I began submitting them and was overjoyed each time one was accepted for publication. Then I received a Brin Jewish Arts Endowment grant to complete the manuscript for my chapbook Legacy (Moonflower Press, 2008), which focuses on the experiences of Jews, queer people and cancer survivors.

I haven’t written about my cancer experience in several years, though I always include poems about cancer in my readings so I can talk about the symptoms of ovarian cancer and the BRCA gene mutations. One in 40 Ashkenazi Jews carries these gene mutations. I inherited the BRCA1 gene mutation from my father, which I only realized after my diagnosis. Genetic testing revealed I had an 87% lifetime risk for breast cancer so I opted for a preventive double mastectomy. I urge every Jew to research her/his family medical history and consider genetic counseling if relatives have had breast, ovarian and/or colon cancer.

SOTR: What’s the key to writing good poetry?

JL: First, there’s the question, “What is good poetry?” For me, it’s like kugel: everyone has her/his own definition of “good” kugel. I doubt any group of poets, no less a group of Jewish poets, could reach consensus as to what is good poetry.

The key: that’s a different question. For starters, it takes patience, diligence, attention. Now the storm door is open. To really get inside takes a commitment to the craft of writing. I am so fortunate to live in such a literary city with so many wonderful poets, independent bookstores and The Loft Literary Center. I have had terrific teachers, mentors, and writing partners. I have also devoted the time required to revise poems, often 30 or 40 times, until I am satisfied.

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