A Conversation with Perugia’s Intern: Emma Berver
Emma Berver is completing a summer internship at Perugia Press, sponsored by the Praxis Program at Smith College. This is the fifth summer Perugia has been able to offer this internship, as a partnership between Perugia and Smith College. Jean Blakeman, Perugia Press board member, conducted an interview with Emma about her experience as a Perugia intern and as a poet.
Q: What first brought you to poetry?
A: In high school, I started reading a wider variety of poems after subscribing to the Poetry Foundation’s “Poem-of-the-Day” email newsletter. I have a folder in my inbox with all of my favorite ones from the last few years that I revisit every now and then. Also, during this time, I was the Poetry Editor for the school literary magazine, which allowed me to read a lot of writing from students my age.
Q: How did you first encounter Perugia Press?
A: I first encountered Perugia Press through a Smith course for the Poetry Concentration, “The Chapbook in Practice: Publishing,” taught by former intern Adrie Rose. Perugia Editor/Director Becky Olander visited as a guest speaker to discuss Perugia’s mission and publishing process, which helped the class contextualize our work with Nine Syllables Press. Since then, I’ve encountered Perugia through events at the Poetry Center, and I even had Becky as professor for my Smith class “The Art and Business of Poetry.”
Q: What have you been involved with so far at the press?
A: I’ve engaged with the Perugia community by designing social media posts promoting the work of the press’s poets and board members. I created a classroom guide for the upcoming Daughter of Three Gone Kingdoms by Joan Kwon Glass and wrote and designed prompts for four past Perugia titles. I’ve also worked on publicity for the press by creating a PR sheet for the new book and a catalog of all press titles, along with sending queries to a variety of publications to generate interest in Daughter of Three Gone Kingdoms and the Perugia Press Prize contest.
Q: What are some things that stay with you from the books you’ve been working with?
A: Reading many complete books of poetry this summer has allowed me to admire the care and attention to the order of the poems, the book design, and the overall trajectory of the work in Perugia’s books. Not only is each individual poem engaging, but it contributes to the arc of the book overall. This is something I want to keep in mind when working on my own writing in the future.
Q: Other than being Perugia’s intern, tell us a bit about yourself.
A: I’m a rising senior at Smith College where I am a double major in English and Spanish, along with the Poetry Concentration. I’m the design manager for Voices & Visions Journal, which publishes creative work by students and alums of historically women’s colleges. I’m from Arlington, VA, and I hope to return to the Washington, DC metropolitan area after college. I can often be found at Smith College’s Neilson Library, either working a shift at the Central Service Point or doing a crossword puzzle with friends between classes.
Q: Do you have a favorite poet? Or a favorite poet of the moment?
A: My favorite poet is Kaveh Akbar. His long poems “The Palace” and “Forfeiting my Mystique” impacted my understanding of what a poem looks like when I first read them a few years ago. I also love his shift toward writing novels, and I was lucky to meet him at an event for his new book Martyr! in South Hadley. A recent favorite of mine is Natalie Shapero’s work and her book Popular Longing for its conversational writing style.
Q: Perugia’s work centers on highlighting the work of women writers. Do you see a connection between the mission of the press and that of Smith College, where you are a student?
A: Yes! At both Perugia and Smith, I have learned to not just accept the status quo, but to imagine a more equitable future and take active steps toward creating it. I see this in Perugia’s commitment to uplifting writers of color and developing high quality books as a small publication.
Q: How do you see poetry fitting into your life as you move forward?
A: In the fall, I am taking Advanced Poetry which will be followed by the Poetry Concentration Capstone class in the spring. I will also be the TA for the class “Reading Contemporary Poetry,” which aligns with the Poetry Center’s reading series. After I graduate, I hope to use the skills I have learned to continue working for literary publications and/or non-profits.
Editor’s note: It’s been such a joy to work with Emma Berver this summer – a great match was made between Smith, Emma, and Perugia Press! Thanks to Jean Blakeman for conducting this interview, to Smith for funding the internship through Praxis, to Matt Donovan and Adrie Rose for helping to connect us with Emma, and to Emma for your diligent, detailed, and beautifully designed work this summer.