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Debuting Four Fields : An Interview With Dorinda Wegener

Set for release on July 1, Four Fields by Dorinda Wegener explores complex themes of motherhood, family, religion, and death.

Working on Four Fields, Wegener would often begin writing a poem after having a “flicker” of an image in her mind. The early stages of the poems would focus more on evoking feeling as opposed to perfecting content, leaving the writing unhindered. Wegener finds the most joy in the revision process.  

Since completing Four Fields, Wegener feels her writing process has changed from something more traditional to something more devised. She begins with extensive research on anything that sparks interest: “I will see something that will catch my eye–a headline or a picture of a flower I don't know anything about. And I will data dump.” After research, Wegener turns to a pencil and notebook before ending the process with intensive revision.

For example of research inspiration, Wegener spoke about an old buck that lived in a famous cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. The buck had twenty-nine points on its antlers, which caused more attention in creating a mythic status. Unfortunately, a group of hunters killed the buck and took its antlers as a trophy. When thinking about this story, Wegener questioned when exactly bucks shed their antlers and the complexities of the deer hunting process; the pages of her research informed a poem, much different in comparison to Four Fields. Wegener feels the intense sadness of the buck’s slaughter could at least be turned into poetry.

Writing Process

Inspiration

With Four Fields, Wegener relied heavily on sparks of inspiration that originated mostly from nature “as a window or a door to step through.” Other times, Wegener felt as if she were able to walk right into a poem without needing inspiration from nature. Aside from nature, Wegener found inspiration in religious imagery. She admits, “I don’t want to be pigeonholed into one type of writer, but growing up, I lived in the woods and my family is Catholic, so these were the two driving forces.”

Wegener does not write in other forms outside of poetry, because through poetry, she finds the ability to be associative and better reflect her experience as a neurodivergent individual. “Sometimes people ask, ‘Wow, how did you get that language… that diction? How did the images come together?’ And I feel sheepish… they were always like that. That’s how they are in my head. They’re not separate.”

While in her MFA program, Wegener felt underqualified due to her lack of background in literature, having to rewrite her thesis several times. She received feedback concerning her frequent use of ellipsis and lack of punctuation. Through prose poetry, Wegener finds the ability to demonstrate her associations; the form stuck with her and she does not feel other forms or genres give her the same ability.

One of the many draws to Four Fields originates in the collection’s strong sense of voice. Because she is neurodivergent, Wegener explained the process of finding her voice has been a laborious journey, going to a speech pathologist as a non-verbal child. Exposure to music and poetry during her childhood became a comfort and a way to explore the sounds of language. Wegener’s father often read her poems from Emily Dickinson, and she found she could use words to help people understand any desired emotion.

In elementary school, Wegener received an F on her poetry journal, finding the assignments meaningless. One assignment prompted students to copy a Robert Frost poem from the board and to recite it later in the week. The assignment made her question poetry: “No one talked about any of the magic that could have been captured and passed on.” Through learning how to cultivate language to match her internal voice, Wegener feels confident in her expression.

Authorial Voice

The cover of the collection originates from a photo of Georgia O’Keefe using a needle and thimble. Selecting the cover, she knew she did not want an image that showed a field, anything pastoral, or something that would signal the number four. Learning the image was Georgia O’Keefe felt perfect in depicting “a woman so fiercely independent in her own art to grace the cover.” The image felt elegiac to Wegener, fitting the themes in her own poems. The act of sewing resonated with her as a symbol of stitching the self together and the laborious work of her blue collar ancestors, living in the White Mountain of New Hampshire.

Thinking about the most prevalent images of the collection, Wegener used a program to see which words were used the most, finding the word “hands” and “fire” were among the most frequent. Wegener found the concept of hands became more important as she worked on the collection. Additionally, as a nurse, Wegener often thinks about hands as a way to carefully put things back together and mend. She explained, “Humans break other humans down, and then how we rebuild ourselves. And we do that with words. We do that with fists.”

Joel Coggins, the artist who designed the cover, flipped the photo to give subtle inclination to having the middle fingers raised after Wegener asked for the image to be a little provocative. She realizes the cover could also hint towards the sexual themes of the book. Regardless, Wegener desired giving the image interpretable meanings that lie beyond the surface of an initial glance: “Maybe your eye doesn’t see it. Maybe you don’t perceive it when you first look. But somewhere on the subconscious, I wanted that resonance, the energy to be picked up.”

Collection Cover

Acknowledging that birds are used frequently in poetry, Wegener still feels the image holds substantial power in relating to the human experience while simultaneously contrasting it. She connects birds to humans in how they raise their young but also sees birds as representations of what humans are unable to accomplish: “Our bones are not hollow, and they can fly.” Additionally, her connection to birds extends back to early childhood before any opinions were formed, feeling under the wing of protection from God.

The language of Four Fields has an intensive focus on the body. As a nurse, Wegener has found her work impacts her word choices but also finds that her neurodivergence in noticing how people are either macro or micro. Beginning in childhood, she has believed there are two types of people: those who think internally and those who think externally. She grew up obsessed with a book by Susan Stewart, titled On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection, which validated her desire to look inward. Poems, to Wegener, dive deeply into the internal: “And I think that's what you see in the poems. Everything is always looking inside.”

Imagery: Birds and the Body

Represented in the title, Four Fields has four sections grappling with different central focuses while also maintaining a complex blend and tension between loss and grief with familial and religious figures. The sections focus on the family, God, motherhood, and fatherhood.  

Wegener reminisces on her connection to religion: “I don't want to be classified as one type of poet, but I can't not pay tribute to what gets me to write.” She felt religious before knowing what religious meant, finding a strong fascination with the Catholic statues her mother and grandmother had in their houses. Wegener admits she was in love with Mary and found the symbols of religion comforting. Now, she feels she can reenter her childhood through the religious images within her poems.

The first section reflects the darker aspects of family and understanding motherhood from the perspective of a daughter. Section three appeals to the transition from being a daughter to becoming a mother. After giving birth to her daughter, Wegener found she could reclaim her own mother and feel her mother could reclaim her as a daughter. Section four grapples with Wegener’s relationship with her father, who she says was her best friend growing up. She watched his struggle with dementia. Returning to the concept of motherhood, Wegener watched her role shift from being taken care of as a child to taking care of her father like a mother.

The Four Fields

Providing advice for writers, Wegener says the best thing to do is to read, especially authors who have broken down barriers. The library or a local independent bookstore are great places to explore a wide variety of genres and a diverse range of authors. She recommends reading Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein, Sylvia Plath, and Anne Sexton. Wegener feels Sexton is often forgotten in comparison to her collogues and finds her confessionalism inspiring, especially in combating her reputation as a promiscuous, mentally unstable woman. Most of all, Wegener recommends reading anything that makes you uncomfortable.

When it comes to writing, Wegener suggests quieting the inner voice that doubts and criticizes the self. She also notes that ego should be kept in check. Even the best writers have horrible drafts that never see the light of day. For topics, Wegener suggests finding the doors to access language and feeling to make writing flow, like her doors of the body or birds. Finding themes of interest can be helpful when feeling stuck. Research also helps deepen a poem beyond the bones of the writing to create more levels to the language. As the final piece of advice, Wegener notes the importance of believing in yourself because there may not always be others who do.

Advice for Writers