The Wise Owl talks to Susan Burch, about her latest Cherita collection Wear Plaid. Susan is an award-winning poet who writes in Japanese genres like haiku, tanka and Cherita.

Rachna Singh, Editor, The Wise Owl talks to Susan Burch, about her latest Cherita collection Wear Plaid. Susan is an award-winning poet who writes in Japanese genres like haiku, tanka and Cherita.

 

Thank you Susan for talking to The Wise Owl about your beautiful and touching collection, Wear Plaid, which explores and questions the void that your cousin’s suicide left behind.

 

 

RS:  In Wear Plaid, you explore the loss of your cousin Paige, who seemed happy on the outside but tragically committed suicide. How did writing this collection help you process such a profound and unexpected grief?

 

SB: Writing Wear Plaid  helped me to get my feelings out and process the anger I had at her for leaving. Oddly enough, none of the poems in the collection are angry. Instead, I used it to focus on the deep hurt that was at the root of the anger, and the questions she left behind.

 

 

RS: The cherita is a unique and concise poetic form. What drew you to this form when expressing your emotions, and how did its brevity shape the way you approached such a complex subject as loss?

 

SB:.  What drew me to cherita were the pauses, how they slow the poem down. They gave me a chance to breathe. And the extra space gave me room to process my grief in my own time, in my own voice. Haiku wouldn’t have been enough, tanka too fast, and the haibun too lengthy for the moments I wanted to capture.

 

 

RS: Grief can be a difficult subject to approach, especially in poetry. How did you balance the deeply personal aspects of Paige’s story with the universal themes of mourning and loss?

 

SB: I tried to make some of the poems specific to her, like the cherita that explains the title of the book, but others more general, so that other people could relate to them too, like topics about everyday things. One of my blurb writers said she could really relate to the coffee poem. I hope everyone that reads these cherita can find at least one that resonates with them.

 

 

RS: The title Wear Plaid evokes a sense of identity and memory. Can you share the significance of plaid in relation to Paige and how it symbolizes her presence or absence in your life?

 

SB: The title refers to an old joke we had from many Easters ago. We were both adults but still sitting at the kids table, when I looked over at my dad, my uncle, and my grandfather, and they were all wearing plaid shirts. I told her that when I was old, I too, would wear plaid. It was silly but it made her laugh. And years later, I made another joke of it and said if she died before me, that she had to come visit me as a ghost and wear plaid, so I’d know it was her. It made her laugh again and she agreed to it, though I have yet to see her… (hint hint Paige if you’re reading this, anytime now!)

 

 

RS: In this collection, you question the void Paige left behind. What are some of the questions that linger for you, and how did you address or leave them unresolved through your poetry?

 

SB: Of course the question is always why, and I questioned it multiple times in the book. I left it unresolved because I’ll never know. She left notes for others, but not for me, and none of those were shared. So I really don’t know why she did it. I heard she was depressed, so then there are those questions too, like why didn’t she get help? Why didn’t she say anything to anyone? I wanted answers and I realized that I would never get any. Writing this book helped me to accept that in at least a small way, and to honor her memory.

 

 

RS: What challenges did you face in conveying such raw emotions within the tight framework of cherita, and were there moments where you felt the form limited or liberated your expression?

 

SB: I love writing cherita. It was such a shocking event, that having this room to breathe was really important. I didn’t feel limited at all. In fact, most of the poems just came to me this way and I went with it. I’ve learned not to question my muse!

 

I will also say that I wanted a simple image that would capture the feeling or question I was posing. So, I deliberately picked patterns, like plaid, shapes, and colors (or lack of), as the basis for my images. All the poems except one have one of these embedded in them. The one that doesn’t – gas grills – I changed for meaning and left it without one on purpose, like it just went up into the air and disappeared. It seemed fitting, since this was how she died. I don’t think I ever said that specifically in the book, but hinted at it with this poem.

 

 

RS: Has writing Wear Plaid changed how you view poetry as a means of processing trauma?

 

SB: No. I think it’s a great coping and healing mechanism. Sometimes you just need to get your feelings out and writing is very cathartic. For me it helped ease the weight I felt like I was carrying around – the grief, the heartache, the loss – and let me carry it in a healthier way.  

 

 

RS: Grief can be isolating. What do you hope readers who have experienced similar losses will take away from Wear Plaid?

 

SB: That they are not alone, that we all lose people we love, and it’s never easy. There’s also no wrong way to grieve, or time limit on how long it takes. It took me three years to write the first draft of this book and another two more to “finish” it and publish it. And I’m still not sure I’m done grieving. Don’t let anyone tell you to “just get over it.” You’ll deal with it in your own time, in your own way.

 

 

Thank you so much Susan, for sharing your innermost vulnerabilities and pain in this beautiful collection of cherita. This collection would surely resonate not only with people who have been through a similar loss but also touch those who have not suffered the loss of a dear one. We wish you the best in all your creative endeavours and hope you continue to write such beautiful poetry.

 

Thank you Rachna. It was a pleasure to speak with you today and to publish with The Wise Owl.