‘Maybe because of my grandmother, my base feeling about humanity, is that we are essentially good. However, my father in particular did really bad things, and my mother also was very destructive towards me. So I guess in my books I am exploring why they did bad things, and trying to redeem them.’
We were delighted when multi-award winning poet Pascale Petit agreed to talk to us for our launch episode. In a wide ranging conversation, she told us about how her training as a visual artist informs her poetry, her ecological concerns, and how the influence of her parents overshadows much of her writing. She also read from her latest collection Tiger Girl, which describes the sanctuary offered by her relationship with her Indian grandmother. In this episode Robin and Peter also share thoughts about Home Farm by Janet Sutherland and Wild Nights: New & Selected Poems by Kim Addonizio.
Poems this episode – Robin reads The Son, by Mary Oliver (01:00). At (04:15) we begin our interview with Pascale Petit. She reads ‘Ortolan’ from Fauverie (15:14); ‘My Mother’s Wedding Dress’ (17:30) and ‘Corpse Flower’ (19:20) From Mama Amazonica; ‘Tiger Gran’ (24:09) and ‘Flash Forest’ (29:06) both from Tiger Girl. Peter shares ‘If’ by Janet Sutherland (36: 45) and Robin ‘Death Poem’ by Kim Addonizio (41:55).