Interview with Danielle Pitter, poet, writer and recent SC&I graduate
Writing and editing the Books We Read Blog provides us with a platform to improve our scholarly research and writing, further enhancing our jobs as librarians. Producing meaningful posts that engage audiences on a regular basis also gives us experience with planning, discipline, research, collaboration and communication, as well as time management and of course practicing our writing.
BLD: You maintain your own blog. Tell us a little bit about it. How and when did you start? How has your own blog helped your writing?
DP: So I started my blog PoetryBooksYA.com in 2014, when I was about 21 years old. It was initially called “Poems and Book Reviews by a Young Artist,” but that name was so long! So around 2016, I rebranded to what it is now. I mostly write about book content like reviews, discussion posts; sometimes I do author interviews or virtual blog tours with PR companies. I’ve also written about mental health topics, like going to therapy, what I’ve learned and things like that. I started my blog because I wanted a space to share my love for books and reading. I only had a handful of friends who read as much as I did, and blogging helped me reach out to more people.
My blog has helped showcase my writing to other people. I’d always been super shy about sharing my work with other people, and having a blog helped me get out of my comfort zone a bit, and make some new friends.
BLD: How did this and other prior writing help with Books We Read?
DP: Books We Read came at an unexpected time with my writing. Once I started grad school, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to write as much because I wouldn’t have time. But joining the BWR team has helped create structure I was missing in my own writing. Writing once a week for two hours helped create a sort of writing schedule I was looking forward to. I also think that my previous writing experience working on WordPress helped with Books We Read because I knew the platform.
BLD: How does writing blog posts help your writing poetry?
DP: Writing blog posts helps me understand the history behind poetry, and the structure behind it too. I don’t have a set outline for how I write my poetry; I mostly just write whenever I feel like it. But blog writing helps me get everything down properly so it’s easier for people to understand.
BLD: How do you find poetry different than other writing (blog posts, monographs, research papers, etc.)? Is it easier, harder, or just different? What kind of writing do you like the best?
DP: Poetry writing is very different than other types of writing, for sure! Poetry is more vulnerable and has a certain rhythm to it, much like writing a song. I’ve never done songwriting, that’s one of my bucket lists, but I imagine it’s like that because poetry has a lot of cadence and rhythm to it. There’s a lot more emotion behind poetry than other forms. Blog posts come second nature to me because I’ve been doing it all my life. Blogging is a lot like writing for an audience, and you have to tailor it a certain way so the audience keeps coming back. Research papers are another type that’s always been with me, since I’ve been in school for nine years. Research papers are kind of stressful for me because there’s literal research that I have to add to my work; there’s not much creativity involved.
BLD: From a personal standpoint, it is often difficult not to go back and keep editing my work. (Much like a painter who keeps tinkering with their painting). Do you find it is the same with poetry? Have you had this experience?
DP: Yes! I do this all the time, and it’s such a bad habit for me lol! I’m such a perfectionist when it comes to my work that I tend to edit as I’m writing everything down. And it’s more spread out with poetry, you know, because it’s easier to change a line or word or sentence structure. But I’m glad that I have worked with an editor on my last two poetry books that really knows poetry and how to make it better without me having to do too much on my own.
BLD: What is your favorite poem? (both by you and someone else) Why?
DP: My favorite poem by myself is “Chandelier” from my first book, Reality Check. I love that one because it’s so descriptive of how glass can be broken but still made beautiful. I surprise myself on how good that poem is! And my favorite poem from Destinations is “My Hair” because it describes my natural hair journey, and how messy, beautiful and wonderful Black hair is, and how Black culture is.
My favorite poem by someone else is “Still I Rise” by the late, great Maya Angelou. It’s such an amazing representation of courage, determination, and strength of a woman. She’s my biggest inspiration, and I wish I had met her before she passed.
BLD: Explain your poetry writing process. What works best for you? (setting, time of day, etc.)
DP: I mostly write in my room, during the day. Or late at night when everyone else is sleeping. I find it best to write alone and then share, but I can do writing groups too. It just depends on my mood and what I’m feeling that day. I don’t try to force anything that isn’t on my mind already, because I know it won’t sound good. I’ll sometimes do brainstorming and freewriting to warm myself up before a big project.
BLD: Do you feel writing for Books We Read was beneficial to your current and future writing? Any examples?
DP: Yes, definitely. I had never written for a university book blog before being in the MI program. I had written for Middlesex College’s newspaper when I was a student back in 2014, but Books We Read was a little different. I thought BWR’s collaboration between Becky, Judit and I helped a lot for my future writing because it showed me how to work with a writing team. I’m so used to doing everything myself that it was nice to feed off other experienced writers who do the same thing I do.
BLD: What did you learn about library resources and the librarian’s role while researching your topics for Books We Read?
DP: I learned that the librarian’s role is pretty wide while researching for Books We Read. I found many hidden gems through the Rutgers libraries website that I probably wouldn’t have known before. I’ve also learned how to refer to library resources after relevant posts, like those books and other resources are what people should pay attention to after reading the post.
BLD: What was your most memorable moment with Books We Read? At the Alexander Library reference desk? On chat?
DP: My most memorable moment with Books We Read is when I went to visit the James Baldwin exhibit in February. I didn’t know much about him and his work, but I discovered a lot of things about him and his extensive backstory. I’m also glad that it was up during Black History Month to share such an important writer.
My most memorable moment at Alexander Library was when my supervisor Tom Glynn gave me a gift card for Student Worker Appreciation Week! I thought that was really sweet of him to show his appreciation and gratitude for my work.
My most memorable moment on chat was when I helped someone find information about their mother who used to live in Belleville, and she wanted to find resources about her family history and orphanage records. I thought her story was so touching and it was beautiful how she wanted to know more about her parents and family history.
BLD: What are your plans for the future, both as a newly minted librarian and as a published author?
DP: As a new librarian, I hope to continue working in adults, youth or young adults services, in public libraries. I also hope to work in academic libraries because that’s where I have the most experience so far. I also hope to continue doing instruction sessions with college students.
As a published author, I hope to keep writing and working on more books. I also hope to write in different forms like songwriting and screenwriting. I have my first author signing in Princeton Public Library on Saturday, May 10 so that’ll be fun to gain some new readers.
BLD: What is your message to incoming SC&I students?
DP: My message for incoming SC&I students is to keep going. The first semester will sound rough and it’s not all going to be easy. But there’s a lot of love here and we’re all rooting for your success. No one wants you to fail. Just keep going and everything will work out the way it should.
BLD: Any advice for other young writers?
DP: Stay present. It’s so easy to be eager to grow up and to be in a frenzy to be older than you really are. But please stay present in your writing and don’t be afraid to mess up and show people your first drafts. Sometimes it takes awhile to write that perfect story, and that’s okay. Don’t let your need to be successful get in the way of your own process.
Additional reading about graduate programs, careers, and personal stories
- Becoming a Librarian, Step 1: The MLIS – Harmony Birch’s recap of her personal journey to become a librarian
- A Collector of Things from the Master of Information Program – Kate Greenberg tells her story leading her to archives
- End of Semester Wrap-up from the Archival Project Assistant by Kate Greenberg about her role in creating a Digital Library
- Changing Careers: From Graphic Design to Libraries – Interview with practicing fine artist and promising librarian-archivist, Brian Michael Bell
Nicholas Allred, speaker at the Convocation of the School of Graduate Studies
Reflections on a PhD in Literature by Nicholas Allred, founding member of Books We Read, walks the reader through a reading-heavy graduate experience
More inspirational interviews
Becky Diamond about her passion as a food historian
- Books We Write: Historic Recipes and Stories from the Gilded Age
- Books We Write: Writing Food History
Art Librarian Megan Lotts on creativity in libraries that Books We Read adopted
Interviews with Authors: Images of America – South River by Stephanie Bartz
Interviews with Authors: A Bibliotherapy Reader in Hungarian by Judit H. Ward
Interviews with Authors:The librarian’s guide to bibliotherapy, by Judit H. Ward and Nicholas Allred