What is your name and where are you from?

I’m Laura DiNovis Berry and I grew up in Lititz, PA, a town that once had its own chocolate factory and now draws famous musicians in.

Yess to chocolate. What genre do you write in, why?

I primarily write poetry. I dabble in short stories, but poetry is like painting with words and there’s something about verse that constantly drives me to keep pushing myself to improve in that arena.

Got another poet in the house ya’ll. When did you publish your first book? What was that like?

I self-published my first poetry chapbook, Bright Pink Ink, right before my wedding last year. It was extremely liberating. I was planning a wedding and a move from Pennsylvania to Texas so having the ability to channel some of my frustrations and nerves into that book provided me with a fantastic stress reliever.

Congrats on the book AND wedding! Laura, are you employed outside of writing?

I am! I have had the pleasure of working and learning from a wide variety of jobs. Currently I work as a Drama Teacher and work with children all the way from kindergarten up to high school. On the whole, it has been a wonderful experience.

I love teaching children. What’s the best thing about working with children?

There is nothing like working with human beings who have only been alive for a few years!

Awwue. Right?

Their take on everything is fascinating. They can be exceptionally mean and fabulously kind – the reminder that they are still learning how to function in this world is sobering, but makes me feel extremely privileged to be a part of that growth. It can also result in some hilarious situations like having the kids be convinced that your hair is a wig since you’ve cut it short. I had to let my class of six year old tug on it to verify.

I understand also you write free poetry book reviews? Tell us about that.

I do! Book reviews are desperately needed in the poetry community so I created Berry’s Poetry Book Reviews last year. This is a platform for poets so they may reach out to a broader audience! The reviews I provide are free but I donate 10% of of my earnings and donations from patrons to a non-profit organization every year. Last year the beneficent of of these program was the Kennett Square Garage & Youth Center, an after school program which aims to empower middle and high school youth. This year, our combined efforts will be helping Lambda Literary!

Outside of writing, what are some of your passions?

Rugby has had a grip on me since college. Right now I play with the Corpus Christi Clams Women’s Rugby Club. I will be moving soon, sadly, but I have actually begun working on a full poetry collection inspired by the female rugby player’s experience so I don’t think I’ll be able to stop playing any time soon!

Alright now so we got another book in the works. If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house be like?

My husband would sniff at this, but there’s a very good chance it would end up looking like an earth witch’s hobbit hole.

Whaat.

It would be warm, cozy and lead out into a garden filled with vegetable, guarded by maple trees.

Okay that sounds better. Scared us there a moment. What skill do you think you’ve mastered?

Oh, that’s easy. The skill of being ridiculous.

Lol. Care to explain? What’s ridiculous about you?

Well, I am generally known to be silly – it is not an uncommon occurrence for me to start dancing…wherever really. I like to have a good time and make people laugh.

Yea, laughing is lit. Does blogging help you to write?

It does and it doesn’t. It helps in the sense that I practice different forms of writing (more journal-esque writing), but it hurts because I distract myself from working on my poetry.

Understood. Laura, life is not always pretty. We all experience hardship every now and again. What is your best advice for reducing stress?

Exercise – it doesn’t even have to be anything intense. Just the other night my husband and I were in, not quite a fight, let’s say more of a spat, but walking – taking a nice walk outside together – really helped both of us calm down and better engage with each other.

Nice. What do you love about yourself?

My parents once said I don’t know the concept of failure, and I think that is definitely something that I love about myself.

Thank you Laura for spending this time with us. We enjoyed you!

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Bio.

Laura DiNovis Berry recognizes that poetry is a near magical craft that she will never fully understand but will forever be held in fascination by it. When she is not working on her own poetry, she provides free book reviews for her fellow contemporary poets.

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