In September: “A Spotlight on Sandy DeLuca”

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Continuing to look closer at the poets nominated for the 2014 Bram Stoker Award, this month’s Poetry Page shines a spotlight on Sandy DeLuca, who was nominated along with poet Marge Simon for Dangerous Dreams, from Elektrik Milk Bath Press.

In addition to her poetry, Sandy is also an artist.

Artwork by Sandy DeLuca

SD: My paintings are influenced by my own distinct world. Always changing. Sometimes bright splashes of color—without shape—fill my canvases. Other times figures emerge, eccentric women, with large eyes and fingernails painted black. Some occupy strange landscapes. Some are inspired by the fiction and poetry I write. Others are born from pop culture, politics and mystical studies. My work is a visual journal filled with experiences, imaginings and feelings. I am influenced by many artistic movements as well as artists whom I’ve met and admired. At times I study these influences and experiment. I study technique, style and I often create small canvases, trying to see what others have seen and felt. Painting after painting—one after the other. Night after night this goes on and always fragments of my own vision break through…
OF BLOOD

In 2013, Sandy teamed up with Marge Simon for Dangerous Dreams.

Artwork by Sandy DeLuca

Dark family secrets…Demon lovers…Treacherous beauties…These are just some of the Dangerous Dreams you will find in the latest offering from Marge Simon and Sandy DeLuca. With illustrations by Marge Simon, each poem in this collection is penned by both Simon and DeLuca, making Dangerous Dreams a truly collaborative effort.

To help celebrate this remarkable poetic achievement, Sandy was kind enough to answer some questions for the Poetry Page.

HWA: Do you still have the first poem you ever wrote? Would you be willing to share it?

SD: I wrote my first poem back in grammar school. It rhymed and was cast aside years ago. I think that sharing it would be a painful experience for everyone.

HWA: How does being a poet fit into the rest of your life?

SD: I am primarily a painter, but my verse often accompanies my visual work. I’ve written poems on the back of completed paintings, and when I did my first solo art show, thirty of my paintings were exhibited, along with thirty poems. I wrote a poem for each painting. Each poem told a continuing story from the first painting to the last. I think that I’ll continue jotting down verse to accompany my visual work until I can no longer do it.

HWA: What were your first impressions after leaning about the Stoker nomination? What is the impact and import of the nomination?

SD: The Stoker nomination is an honor. There are no other words to describe it.

HWA: Who are your favorite poets? Favorite poems?

SD: Sylvia Plath and her collection Ariel, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her Sonnets from the Portuguese are among my favorites. Edgar Allan Poe is one of my favorite classic dark poets.

Finally, I wanted to add that it was an honor to work with Marge Simon on Dangerous Dreams. She is an extraordinary poet!

For more on Sandy Deluca, visit her website at http://www.sandydeluca.com
For more on Marge Simon, visit her website at http://margesimon.com

For more on Dangerous Dreams, it’s available here: http://elektrikmilkbathpress.com/bookstore

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