A Conversation with Perugia’s Intern: Apple Gilmore

In August, Apple Gilmore completed a summer internship at Perugia Press, sponsored by the Praxis Program at Smith College. This is the seventh summer 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 Apple about her experience as a Perugia intern and as a poet.

Q: What first brought you to poetry?

A: The reading list in my 8th grade English class. It’s something I think about a lot; every work we covered was brilliant, and for me had arrived at a perfect time in my adolescence where I was looking for something to really love. The reading list was incredible, and I learned so much about close reading and literary devices. I was given the tools I needed to be able to understand and engage meaningfully with poetry. We began with “The Red Wheelbarrow” and “This Is Just To Say” by William Carlos Williams, and every day since then I’ve seen poems in every ordinary thing.

Q: How did you first encounter Perugia Press?

A: I first encountered Perugia Press in a class during my sophomore year at Smith. I was reading manuscripts for Nine Syllables Press, and Becky Olander visited to talk with us about Perugia and small press publishing. I loved what she said about Perugia’s mission and what I saw of some of the previously published collections she showed us. Later that winter I took Becky’s course “The Art and Business of Poetry” at Smith and learned even more about the press, and I was eager to get involved.

Q: What have you been involved with so far at the press?

A: I was lucky enough to work on many projects this summer. My main task was helping with the rollout for the winner of the 2026 Perugia Press Prize, Everything Has Been Moved, Even the Dead by Jen Siraganian. I queried publications about reviews and features, curated a classroom guide with fellow intern Kate Hayes, and drafted writing prompts based on the poems and themes in the collection. I also worked on making a poetry film to adapt a poem from Megan Peak’s Girldom, and I researched marketing strategies for small presses and their authors. I finished the summer by reading manuscript submissions for this year’s contest. I was so impressed with what I read; I’m equal parts excited about the results and sad that we can only pick one.

Q: What are some things that stay with you from the books you’ve been working with?

A: I was lucky enough to read a good amount of Perugia’s books, and I found myself thinking over and over again just how unbelievable it is that these are just first or second collections. Each poet handled so beautifully and masterfully their chosen subjects. Frannie Lindsay’s 2006 collection Lamb had me blinking back tears just so that I could keep reading; her work is genius but also very emotional to encounter. Of course, I spent the most amount of time with Jen Siraganian’s book Everything Has Been Moved, Even the Dead. I was awed by the seamless weaving together of disparate topics through the lens of the collection’s theme. Of particular note was her way of writing each poem with enough delicacy that her words percolated intellectually, but were threaded with startling amounts of devastation and anguish as well.

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

A: The tagline of my Substack newsletter sums me up as “someone who thinks a lot.” My hobbies are in line with this description: I spend my free time doing crossword puzzles, taking long walks on the beach, and trying out vegan recipes, and I balance out my old-lady tendencies by rock climbing, surfing, and biking. I’d consider my occupation to be watching television shows, but I also work in a bakery and an ice cream shack because I have a huge sweet tooth and get to sample everything. I recently returned to the U.S. after a semester abroad in Edinburgh; my favorite thing was a trip to Morocco I took during reading week. I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and now live in Maryland. I am a senior at Smith College studying English, Environmental Science, and concentrating in poetry. On campus, I am an editor for Emulate, Smith College’s literary magazine, a library worker, and a peer writing tutor with the Jacobson Center.

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

A: Mary Oliver means a lot to me. She writes with such devotion to life itself that it seems an impossible task not to come away grateful to be alive at a time when we have her words, and grateful to be alive at all. I read Dog Songs for the first time after the death of my childhood dog, when I most needed her way of seeing the connections in all forms of living, including memories. As an environmental scientist, I appreciate the themes of nature, connectivity, and ecological history throughout her work. I also appreciate, like everyone who likes to be reminded that writing poetry is an exercise in freedom as opposed to restriction, Richard Siken. Crush was the first collection of poetry I read that seemed to revel in the not-fully-understanding aspect of feeling and remembering. I like how Siken embraces the intangible rather than trying to force his ideas into rationality.

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: Perugia, like Smith, offers opportunities to those with gender identities that have been historically underrepresented in academic and creative spheres. Perugia is a buoy for female and nonbinary poets, created with the intention to celebrate and share women’s creativity, experiences, and work. On a larger scale, Smith does the same, dedicating itself to women’s education and livelihood.

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

A: Honestly, it’s more difficult to think about how my life might move forward without poetry. Poetry is in everything I do, and it’s been that way for a long time. I love what that has made of me; days pass by and turn into poems in the privacy of my own imagination. It’s a nice way to live. I’m also looking forward to the culmination of my time as a poetry concentrator in my final year at Smith, and of course to keeping up with Perugia as the press enters its fourth decade.

Editor’s note: It was wonderful to work with Apple Gilmore this past summer – a great match was made between Smith, Apple, and Perugia Press! Thanks to Jean Blakeman for conducting this interview, to Smith for funding the internship through Praxis, and to Apple for your inspired, creative, and thorough work.