An Interview with Eileen P. Kennedy
Eileen P. Kennedy is the author of three collections of poetry. Banshees (Flutter Press, 2015) was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and won Second Prize in Poetry from the Wordwrite Book Awards. Touch My Head Softly (Finishing Line Press, 2021), Literary Titan described as “emotionally-charged poetry that explores life with observant poems that will appeal to anyone who loves inspired poetry.” Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth (Shanti Arts Press, 2026) was a finalist for the International Book Awards in General Poetry and a runner-up for the poetry prize from the New York Book Festival. She lives, writes, teaches and reads in Amherst, MA.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
I have been writing since I was eight years old, when I first discovered letters and words. I would draw pictures and make up stories to go with them. I have never been a good conversationalist, so I found writing a way of expressing myself. I have published four books, each one very different than the other. I write about what interests me, not what is trending.
Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
My new book title is Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth. The “dread” is the environmental crisis and the “splendor” is comprised of the beauty of the paintings and poems. Once we had the title “Dread and Splendor,” we put the subtitle to let people know that it was a collection of poetry and paintings. We added “for a New Earth” to let people know it was a prayer of sorts for the earth.
What part of publishing your book made it feel real for the first time?
This time the manuscript got two offers for publication from two separate publishers. I didn’t feel like it was real until I signed the contract with the publisher we selected, Shanti Arts.
What’s one thing you hope sticks with readers after they finish your book?
The planet is having an environmental crisis. Many people just ignore this. I want people to be made aware of the environmental crisis and motivated to do something about it, even if it’s something simple like recycling. It’s still an awareness, and hopefully activism, toward a solution.
What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?
The most rewarding part of the book was the creation. I met my collaborator/artist Irene Christensen in Costa Rica at an artist colony. She gave me a painting of a volcano and I gave her a copy of my book, Touch My Head Softly (Finishing Line Press, 2021.) After reading my work, she invited me to write poem responses to a series of paintings she made of the feminine presence at the heart of the environmental crisis. A few years later, we had a book manuscript.
What creative projects are you currently working on?
I’m now writing something I call “Water Journey.” It’s the story set in the future of a seventeen-year-old woman who gets caught up in a drowning world that environmentalists are predicting will occur in the future. The world is already starting to flood. She is swept away in a boat with her uncle and starts on an adventure in a new world of mostly water, with islands where there once were mountains.
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