Jennifer Manthey, author of The Fight
Poetry Category, sponsored by Wellington Management, Inc.
Each week leading up to the 36th annual Minnesota Book Awards, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their fellow category finalists here.
What is one detail you wanted to include in this book, but couldn’t find a place for?
Not just a detail – I wrote so many poems I love that are not in this book. I wrote a series of poems about my grandmother, several series of poems about various women from American history that I admire. I felt very close to all of these women, and some of the poems, I think, were stronger and more beautiful than ones that ended up in this book. But they just wouldn’t fit themselves into this manuscript. I tried for a while, but I knew they weren’t working even when I hoped they would. The thing that made them not fit was that they were comfortable and comforting poems. And this is an uncomfortable book. So, the woman who made it into the book is the one I liked the least: Varina Davis. This book expresses some difficult things about adoption and whiteness. Varina helped me do that. Whiteness, becoming more aware of it and how it works in the world is important. Whiteness within ourselves, within myself, Jen, and how it has worked in my own life and as a mother – it’s an incredibly uncomfortable realization. It’s a discomfort that I hope is valuable to others, to feel like, yes, this isn’t a great feeling but acknowledging it is how we’re going to move forward. So, yeah, a lot of sweetness was left out of this book. But it probably didn’t belong.
Tell us about someone who proved instrumental to the creation of this book.
There are so many people who read drafts, gave feedback, helped me become a better writer. There are also poets I’ve never met who influenced me through their craft. But since I’m asked to name one person, I would say my husband, Tim, which sounds cliche and cheesy but it’s true. The one thing most valuable to a writer’s success is time, and he gave it to me. I would consider myself a feminist, and on its surface it sounds a bit contrary to feminism to say thank you to my husband for allowing me to write. But the reality of a family, the economy of a family, often demands that one person sacrifice something for another to gain. In our family, Tim didn’t just say go for it, I believe in you, he tangibly and practically made space for me to write, by rushing home early from work for me to go to grad school, by taking our three kids out to do something fun while I got time to myself, by taking over all household and parenting duties while I went to a week-long writing workshop, etc. He wasn’t crabby or resentful about it. And sometimes that is hard to do, even for someone you love – to keep saying, sure, you need some time? I can give that to you.
Tell us about a favorite read from the past year. Why did you find it enjoyable, insightful, or memorable?
I read Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, and I really loved it. It was this beautiful exploration of science and faith and race, of suffering and pleasure. It appealed to me for what it was exposing: the ways both faith and education can fail us. I love a book that can depict so precisely, so skillfully, the most confounding aspects of life. This book won’t let you leave it with any sense of certainty; it left me an absolute wreck but in a really satisfying way.
Please tell us something about yourself that is not widely known.
I don’t know that there is anything that is widely known about me! But I’ll tell you this random fact: when I was in preschool, I saw the movie ET and fell absolutely in love. I carried an ET stuffed animal with me everywhere. I refused to answer to Jenny at school and asked to be called Elliot. My parents still have preschool papers with the name Elliot written on them. When my second child was born, my husband and I both loved the name Henry so we named him that, with the middle name Thomas after my husband’s father. A few years later, I learned that the actor who played Elliot is named Henry Thomas. Isn’t that wild? Maybe part of my subconscious was still obsessed with Elliot from ET.
Share your thoughts about the role and value of libraries.
Libraries are one of the best things about any community. They give everyone access to information, entertainment, resources, warmth, and hopefully, welcome. Libraries give a sense of orderliness and calm, but at the same time, a sense of expansiveness and limitlessness.
Jennifer Manthey’s work has appeared in many literary journals, and she has received support from Bread Loaf Writers Workshops and Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. She earned her Master of Fine Arts from Hamline University. Manthey teaches writing classes at The Loft Literary Center.