An Interview with Lizzy Brendel

Lizzy Brendel is a new author whose debut poetry collection, The Human Condition Exhibition, details her life experience for the past decade. While pursuing a career in nursing, she often daydreamed of depicting her experiences in the written word. This fueled a full-blown poetry passion; giving life to the tumultuous, traumatic, and whimsical. So much so, in fact, that she pursued a minor in creative writing alongside her nursing degree at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her writing prowess, however, started much earlier. In her teenage years, she took two creative writing courses with Duke at Appalachian State University over two summers. She writes poems from her home in St. Louis, Missouri, where she lives with her husband and their two cats and dog. You can find her hiking, embroidering, and reading in her free time. You can find her latest work on her Instagram, where she enjoys sharing her writing and engaging with other writers.

Keep in touch with Lizzy on Instagram: @liz.the.poetess

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What inspired you to start writing this book?

I have always adored poetry and started engaging in writing poems as young as ten years old. While I was pursuing a career in nursing (and a minor in creative writing) I wrote my very first rhyming poem in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. I discovered that I really adore writing in rhyme and cadence. I have ever since. I have written scathingly, literally, and honestly. My poems read like a diary and secrets between friends. This collection of poems details what it has meant for me to be human. It feels like an exhibit of my very essence and humanity. I started sharing my work on Instagram and with loved ones and got incredibly inspiring feedback. I found the exact right indie publisher to take on my work and then, well, the rest is history. I wanted a physical manifestation of my dreams, grief, whimsy, rage, and all-consuming love. I am so happy that I finally have it, even more so to share it with the world.

Tell us the story of your book’s current title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

This book feels like, as I have said, the essence of my very humanity. The title, however, comes from an old blog that I had created several years ago. That blog served as a journal for all of my thoughts, experiences, travels, and a little bit of poetry. This book feels like an exhibit of the human condition. It is an incredibly varied body of work that covers several complicated feelings. I knew that I wanted the title to have the same rhyme and cadence that my poems have. My old blog title happened to fit the bill. I knew that that was what I wanted to title it from the moment I aspired to put my work into a book.

Describe your dream book cover.

Oh gosh, I would say that it is my current book cover. This is not me being arrogant whatsoever, but I really feel like it is absolutely perfect for this book. It is a picture that my husband took of me from a wedding. I rendered it in black and white and cropped out my face. I think that it adds an air of mystery while being a little bit risqué. It feels like such a personal image, which displays the theme of the book very well. It is vulnerability incarnate. A little tortured, but intimate. I am thrilled with this cover, and I could not think of anything better to embody this book.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Oh gosh, I love this question. Sharing songs and compartmentalizing them into themes is a love language for me. As an avid Swiftie, I would have to say that You’re On Your Own, Kid by Taylor Swift would definitely be on the playlist. That song embodies such a sweet, nostalgic feeling that fits this book perfectly. I also think that How to Save a Life by The Fray would be on this list. For context, I work in surgery. A couple of poems in my work are actually about surgery, and I think that this song embodies that part of my life. It is endearing, powerful, and a little sad. Finally (embodying my elder emo heart) would be a cover of David Bowie’s Heroes. This cover is by the band Malibu ’92. I was friends with their drummer and experienced a wild, tumultuous situationship with him that changed my life. This cover, specifically, has forever altered me. It is a triumphant and powerful take on the original work. Coincidentally, my poem Malibu ’92 is a take on how my heart was broken and brought back to life again. I recommend all of these songs to my readers, and really just the general public as a whole.

What books are you reading (for research or comfort) as you continue the writing process?

I am currently reading What Was I Even Sad About? by Gabrielle Lisk. She is a friend of mine who used the same publisher that I am currently using to publish my book (Alien Buddha Press). Her take on modern love and dating is refreshing and honest. It has inspired me to get my own work out there and to not be afraid of just plowing through all of the doubt and insecurity. I am also reading The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton for my book club. I am an absolute sucker for romance and whimsy, both of which are embodied in this book. Really, I just love love. Romanticizing every little thing is a consistent hobby of mine, as is reflected in my home library (which is absolutely riddled with romance and fantasy novels).

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I am currently a nurse in the operating room. I have been in my career for four years now. I scrub in to various types of surgery and work with surgeons directly for numerous procedures. Some of my poems encapsulate surgery with a profound precision and clarity. It is my hope that these poems are able to give the general public a glimpse into surgery and medicine through the poetic lens.

Another thing that I really enjoy is bead embroidery. I’m sure that we are all aware of the global phenomenon of Taylor Swift and The Eras Tour. Shortly after my mom died, the Midnights album was released. In an incredible and selfless effort to comfort me, one of my friends offered me their extra ticket to The Eras Tour in Detroit.

Taylor Swift became such a balm for me in my grieving process. I started making friendship bracelets for the event and eventually got into beading. The bracelets became gradually more complex, and I eventually started beaded embroidery as a result.

So, to answer the question, Taylor Swift inspired my prolific beading hobby and addiction. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

I started reading novels at a very young age and fell in love with the written word. It was always easy for me to find inspiration in all things that make us feel moved. Whenever I feel anything, I always think of how best to put it into metaphor and lines. It has become a sort of reflex for me. I obsess over paragraphs that creatively describe the big feelings that encapsulate our collective humanity. I think that these are the things that bring us together but can also be the things that drive us apart. There is power in that. A power that I think that everyone has the capacity to wield. I hope that answers the question.

Where is your favorite place to write?

‘My room,’ as my husband and I have collectively called it. This room serves as a place for my vinyl collection, crafting hobbies, books, and various haphazard journals. I absolutely love brewing a cup of blueberry tea and setting into my couch to write.

But, if I’m honest, some of my best lines have come to me completely out of the blue. I find that when inspiration strikes, I am instantly reaching for my phone to jot it down in my notes app. Usually, I settle in to make a completed poem around these impulsive lines.

What advice would you give your past self at the start of your writing journey?

Just do it. Just write it out and write every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad or somewhere in between. Writing is a craft that is honed over time. Part of capturing our humanity is to do it anyway, even when it’s messy.

What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?

As long as I can invoke a feeling in my audience, I know that I’ve done what I’ve set out to do. I want to inspire feeling in my audience, no matter what that may be. I want to show them my haphazard guilt, grief, rage, whimsy, and all-consuming love (with a little bit of lust). I want it to resonate. But, most importantly, I want my readers to read it. Simply picking up the book and experiencing it for yourself is the greatest gift anyone could ever give me. It is my hope that I can invoke the feeling of being moved in my readers.

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