The Story of My Book: Amanda Auchter

Published periodically, “The Story of My Book” posts bring our collections to life through a series of five questions we ask all of our poets that highlight what makes every book unique and why Perugia is the right home for each of them (and may be for you and your book too).

Amanda Auchter on The Wishing Tomb (Perugia, 2012)

1. What was the genesis of your Perugia Press book? 

I began my MFA graduate schooling at Bennington College the year after Hurricane Katrina. I was having a conversation with a few students and somehow talk turned to New Orleans. In the course of the conversation, it quickly became apparent that very few people outside of the South, where I live, understood that the impact of Hurricane Katrina was not just the tremendous amount of lives, homes, and businesses lost, but the historical heart of the city had been damaged as well. I began researching heavily, took several trips over (it’s about a five-hour drive from my house in Texas), stayed with my friend who lived there, and just began to write. I wanted to create a collection as both history and love letter to a unique American city that was built primarily by Indigenous peoples, immigrants, enslaved people, and free people of color. I wanted others to see the beauty and the tragedy that formed the heartbeat of New Orleans. I hope that’s what readers find in my second book, The Wishing Tomb. 

Café du Monde in the French Market in New Orleans. Photo by Amanda Auchter.
St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. Photo by Amanda Auchter.

2. How did you find out about Perugia Press? 

I saw the listing for the contest in Poets & Writers and then checked out the catalog of authors. I was beyond thrilled to see that Perugia Press was (is) a publisher of poetry for, by, and supporting women. That was important to me.

3. Can you describe an experience that confirmed Perugia Press was a good fit for you? 

I remember being at AWP in Boston in 2013, sitting with other Perugia Press writers and sharing a meal at an Indian restaurant. We were all getting along, eating, interested, engaged, and I thought to myself, “These are my sisters. These are my sisters in poetry.” I really felt like I belonged. I still do, even more so.

4.  How have you changed as a poet, writer, or creative person since your book came out? 

I don’t know how I’ve changed other that I have more gray hair and probably have more cats (my husband will concur on that last one), but I have branched out into writing more prose, primarily creative nonfiction personal essays and book reviews. I love writing of all kinds. I have finished a third manuscript that’s been a semi-finalist at a few places, but I still feel like it needs tweaking to get just right.

Poet Amanda Auchter. Photo by Jeff Wood.

5. Other than poetry, what moves and motivates you? 

I am moved and motivated by others’ experiences and how they witness the world. There are so many awful things going on in the world right now, especially in the United States, Gaza, Ukraine, etc. The stories and poems people create to bring light onto their difficult lives and journeys always moves me and is inspiring. I believe that no one is boring. I love every story — from someone’s sandwich that got stolen by a squirrel to the larger things like fleeing a country, every voice can be moving and is important and necessary.