On Junkyards

On Junkyards
Olivia Jacobson

Etchings Press, UIndy
ISBN 978-1955521369
24 pages
Order at bookshop.org or other online sellers

Olivia Jacobson’s debut poetry collection is for every kid still a kid, or anyone who ever watched their dad wobble after a few bottles and never lost faith, in spite of the times he blamed a customer, the government, or a family member for things gone bad.

Interview with the Author

Etchings Press: How long have you been writing and compiling On Junkyards?

Olivia Jacobson: I’ve been working on these poems since about 2018. I was a sophomore at Eckerd College when I started taking writing poetry seriously. I had two wonderful mentors, Christina Mun-Lutz and Jon Chopan, who took me under their wings and really helped guide me. They’re the ones that sat me down and encouraged me to pursue making art.

EP: You have obvious bonds to your father and are able to evaluate your relationship with some objective expertise. Do you feel like you grew up with normal parenting?

OJ: I don’t think anyone grows up with “normal” parenting. I think I grew up different than my peers, but I’m grateful for that difference. I’m proud of where I’ve come from, and the people who raised me. My father is a complex person, but complex is interesting. He loved me the best way he knew how, and gave me a really great life. He still does. If there’s one thing I hope I got right in these poems it’s that you can tell the speakers always come from a place of love.

EP: How does your teaching influence your writing?

OJ: Teaching is vulnerable work. You stand up in a room full of students, eyes watching and ears listening (you hope). They can tell when you’re nervous, or when you’re putting on a facade. Teaching demands the same things good writing demands: openness to being put on display. The best teachers I ever had were the honest ones, the ones who were comfortable in their skin. The best writing is honest writing, at least in an emotional sense. I think teaching has helped me be honest with myself, which I hope translates to my writing.