A Conversation with Perugia’s Intern: Lola Stacy

In January, Lola Stacy completed an internship at Perugia Press, sponsored by the Praxis Program at Smith College. This is the second winter Perugia has been able to offer this internship, as a partnership between Perugia and Smith College. Jean Blakeman, Perugia Press board president, conducted an interview with Lola about her experience as a Perugia intern and as a poet. This semester, Lola is studying in Granada, Spain.

Lola Stacy at the Woodstar Café in Northampton, MA.

Q: What first brought you to poetry?

A: My interest in poetry began as a quiet appreciation and grew to become part of my core. One moment I remember specifically is being in a high school English class, analyzing a Dorothy Parker poem, and thinking how incredible it was that we could keep peeling layers back to discover deeper and deeper meaning. It felt like each poem contained an entire hidden world that was waiting to be discovered by a reader, and I loved that feeling. When I first began writing (in a more serious way), I would think of this moment often and I likened the experience of writing poetry to worldbuilding. Now, when I reread my writing, I often find worlds within my own poems I had not realized I created, and it restarts the cycle. 

Q: How did you first encounter Perugia Press?

A: I first encountered Perugia Press in one of my classes at Smith College, where I was reading manuscripts for Nine Syllables Press, and Becky Olander, director of Perugia Press, was a guest speaker. I loved hearing about the press, its mission, and the process behind running Perugia. Becky passed around copies of Perugia’s books and I was enthralled with them. I knew I had to get involved! 

Q: What were you involved with at the press?

A: I was involved with a range of projects. I read and assessed manuscript submissions for this year’s contest. That was an incredible experience because I got to interact with such beautiful work, with such variety. I will also be participating in the judging weekend in February. I also created a poetry film, based on the amazing work of Nancy K. Pearson. That process was unlike anything I have created before, and I absolutely loved it. It was such a unique way to interact with poetry, to envision it so abstractly with such concrete visuals. Beyond those two larger projects, I worked with Becky on background for the Perugia website and Youtube channel. It was a wonderful experience to see some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of how the press is run. 

Two stills from Lola’s poetry film based on Nancy K. Pearson’s poem “At the Colorado State Psychiatric Hospital” from Two Minutes of Light.

Q: What are some things that stay with you from the books you worked with?

A: Because of my poetry film, I spent a lot of time with Nancy K. Pearson’s 2008 book Two Minutes of Light. Her writing allowed me to dive into a world of suffering and healing for both her, as the writer, and myself, as the reader. It allowed me to confront my own relationship to pain and the ways in which the decisions I make and the memories of my life are connected both to each other and to a broader community that seeks unity. This book was inspiring from both a reader’s emotional standpoint as well as a writer’s perspective, because she was able to take such difficult topics and open them up with such grace, respect, and at times a touch of whimsy. I also spent quite a bit of time with Melody S. Gee’s 2010 book Each Crumbling House, and what sticks with me most from her work is the intense and detailed images she developed in her poetry, and how unique those images were to the context of the poems. 

Q: Other than being Perugia’s intern, tell us a bit about yourself.

A: The best way I can describe myself is that I am a maximalist in every sense of the word, in all facets of life. Beyond writing, I absolutely love to shop, mostly at thrift stores. I am very interested in everyday fashion, and I find so much joy in putting together an outfit, usually very colorful, usually very detailed. Both my school bedroom as well as my childhood bedroom have been described as museums, because of how much decor I put on the walls and ceilings. I’m from Sacramento, California, but my only fun fact about Sacramento is that I went to the high school that the movie Ladybird is about. I am an active participant in the postal service, and I have many pen pals via snail mail. I love to collage, to junk journal, and occasionally I paint with watercolors. I am a junior at Smith College, studying Psychology, Spanish, and concentrating in poetry, and I work as a student educator in the Smith College Museum of Art! Currently, and through the spring semester, I am studying in Granada, Spain, which has been magical. 

Scenes from Lola’s childhood bedroom in Sacramento, California.

Q: Do you have a favorite poet? Or a favorite poet of the moment?

A: Emily Dickinson is my favorite poet. I love how whimsical she is, the way she wields language as such a powerful weapon, and how she defied so many expectations of her time. She is such a master with words and I feel very lucky to go to school so close to where she grew up. I have visited her homestead thirteen times since starting at Smith! Another favorite of mine is Ocean Vuong, who writes in such a beautifully devastating way, both in his novels, as well as his poetry books. He inspires me every single day, and I love how thought-provoking and emotion-provoking his work is. My other favorite poet right now is Richard Siken. His poems are so incredibly emotional, so beautiful and perfect, I don’t know how to express it. His entire collection Crush changed my life and perspective on writing when I first read it.

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: There are many connections between Perugia’s mission and that of Smith’s, the most obvious being the inclusion of women and nonbinary people. Smith emphasizes the importance of amplifying women’s voices, and provides the space to do that in all fields. Perugia creates space to celebrate, circulate, and promote women’s writing, and it feels as though it is part of a larger ideal that aligns with Smith’s dedication to women. Both have also provided me the opportunity to exercise my creative voice surrounded by inspiring, supportive, and committed women, and for that I am very grateful. 

Q: How do you see poetry fitting into your life as you move forward?

A:  Poetry will never not be a part of my life! As it has my whole life, I expect my experiences with it to fluctuate between academic, emotional, personal, occupational, and social engagement. I will never stop writing it, and I will never stop reading it. I look forward to exploring the poetry scene in Granada, seeking inspiration from my travels and from a new way of life. I would like to read poetry in Spanish, or attend live events in the city while I live here. As a poetry concentrator at Smith College, I look forward to taking classes my senior year, and I look forward to everything the poetry world will have to offer me in the future.

Editor’s note: It’s been wonderful to work with Lola Stacy this winter – a great match was made between Smith, Lola, and Perugia Press! Thanks to Jean Blakeman for conducting this interview, to Smith for funding the internship through Praxis, and to Lola for your creative, thoughtful, and attentive work this winter.