A photograph of Little Thoughts Press Issue Nine: Go Wild featuring the poem "The Tiger and the Wren" by Christiana Doucette and an illustration of a tiger by Liz Woodward.
Christiana Doucette spends mornings in her garden weeding, because just like her poetry, flowers grow best with space to breathe. She has judged poetry for San Diego Writer’s Festival for the past three years. Her poetry has appeared in anthologies, been set to music by opera composers, and performed on NPR. She is the 2024 Kay Yoder Scholarship for American History recipient. Her full-length verse novel works are represented by Leslie Zampetti of Open Book Literary. You can find her recent and forthcoming poetry in County Lines, Boats Against the Current, Full Mood Magazine, The Zinnia Journal, The Creekside Magazine, Frazzled Lit., Wildscape Literary Journal, Paraselene, engine(idling, and Wild Peach.
Little Thoughts Press: Your poem “Boundary Waters Dark Sanctuary” is an atmospheric, sensory delight. The reader is immersed in the images and sounds of this space—the mesmerizing expanse of glittering stars and the colors of the Northern Lights, the sounds of trees and of animals shrieking and bellowing—and yet there is a feeling of such peace and quiet reflection among all this noise (especially contrasted with the clatter and sensory overload of zooming headlights and booming construction crews that start the poem). You make the dark come alive in a way that is both haunting and comforting. Can you take us through how this poem came together? What images did you start with? How did you choose which sounds to include and how to describe them? Do you have any tips for creating such an immersive setting in the short space of a poem?
Christiana Doucette: I wrote "Boundary Waters Dark Sanctuary" specifically for this issue of Little Thoughts Press. We'd recently had several space events happen that left our family scrambling for a place where it was dark enough to actually see the meteor shower, or comet, or planet conjunctions. And I'd spent time reading about the dark sanctuaries of the world. The beautiful thing about a place secluded enough to minimize light pollution is that it often shelters a variety of endangered animals, such as some I reference within the poem.
When I began drafting, I knew that I wanted the poem to move. And to do that, I needed to take the reader from somewhere to the dark sanctuary. A bustling city full of sound and light seemed the right contrast, so I began there. My hope is that the contrast allows the reader to better enjoy the stillness, the nature, and the light that is not artificial and everywhere.
When you turn out the lights, all other senses intensify. That element seemed vital to this poem. It led to the final stanza full of nature's endangered sounds. I'm always drawn to verse that weaves sounds together to create an aural experience that mirrors the story. A poet I admire who uses this technique is Christian Wiman. His lines cascade with sounds echoing and chiming off each other. That's what I want happening in this poem. I'd love for it to be read aloud to someone who has closed their eyes and is just listening to a sound waterfall in the stillness of their own mind. I listen for similar vowel sounds like "shriek/tree," "canvas/dance" or "sphinx/drinks." In portions I just pour a rich helping of internal rhyme into a line like "perch on a boulder shoulder to shoulder and listen to older sounds." I wanted nature to feel rich and real and full of connection. As I worked through this portion of the poem there were animals I added and then took away because they did not add to that sound experience/endangered animal element that I wanted.
Tips for immersive setting? Set yourself in that place. However you need to do that. Maybe look at pictures. Maybe find Youtube clips of people there so you can get a taste of the sounds. How something looks is just one sense, and there are five senses. Use them! Here I use a lot of sound. But if I'd wanted to create something longer I might have gone further into the piney smell of the wood, the damp moss on the boulder's earthiness, or what the air tastes like next to the water at night. Layering senses is a great way to create immersion.
Little Thoughts Press: Let’s not beat around the bush: hatred, anger, and intolerance are proliferating in our society right now, and these messages are undoubtedly reaching our children. One of the things I love about your poem “The Tiger and the Wren” is that it offers a quiet message of harmony and tolerance without stating it too plainly or didactically. It reminds me of Aesop’s Fables. Do you have other examples you can share, either of your own work or other poems you admire, where this ability to subtly and deftly convey a greater meaning is on display? Do you feel a responsibility to use your poetry as a way to comment on the state of the world and promote the ideals that are most meaningful to you? If so, how do you balance that effort with the kind of lightness and joyfulness that is often needed to get young readers to initially engage with poetry?
Christiana Doucette: You are spot on picking up on the layering of the poem! I wrote "The Tiger and the Wren" for two of my daughters when they were preschool/kindergartners, each of whom has one of those animals as a nickname. They share a room, and sharing space can be difficult. The story under the story here is one sister upset at her sibling for invading her bed after a naptime nightmare. The sister whose bed was invaded was initially really grumpy about it, but then as the space invading sister snuggled in it ended up being a really sweet moment between the two of them. The frightened Wren started singing to herself and it calmed both of them back to sleep. The Tiger who'd been so grumpy came out after a nap, telling me how I needed to be very quiet so I wouldn't wake up Wren.
But you're absolutely right. I saw the story in multiple layers. I could see an animal level where it's reduced to only prominent character traits, as well as on the level of watching my children work through a struggle, and broadly, like you referenced, finding a way to appreciate how someone different than us adds light and beauty to our world.
I have a tendency to layer things pretty heavily. It's in a lot of my poetry. There's usually a surface story, with more beneath. I fairly regularly contribute to #HaikuSaturday on BlueSky and my haiku have multiple meanings. Some meanings may stay private, and others I hope readers will also pick up on. I have several published poems where that layering is especially present: "Ocean Haiku Sequence" in LitShark has a whole parade of two world, one breath haiku that I wrote picturing a school field trip using public transportation. There's such a long history of poets using similar layering, but for "The Tiger and the Wren" I especially think of Emily Dickinson. She wrote of nature, but some of those nature poems during the Civil War I believe referenced events current to her beneath the nature references. I especially think of "They dropped like flakes" written in 1862, and "The name of it is 'Autumn'" which might actually be describing the Battle of Antietam.
I don't know that I approached this poem particularly thinking of lightness. But perhaps the sweetness of the moment between sisters brought the light. It may also be the rhyme/slant rhyme and meter that help lift the feet of this poem. Where the first poem needed the freedom to be a fountain, this one stayed within careful syllabic boundaries, giving it a little bit of a bounce.
Little Thoughts Press: Issue 9: Go Wild! is about bringing attention to endangered and vulnerable animal species, and spotlighting conservation efforts that can help protect wildlife and their habitats. First, what is your favorite animal? And second, what are some things that you and your family do to help care for and protect wildlife and the natural world?
Christiana Doucette: My rescue puppy would be very offended if I didn't say he's my favorite animal. But among endangered animals, I'm especially drawn to the tigers and rhinos. One local species I hope will soon have its own endangered status and associated protection is the Carolina Hellbender, a variety of salamander native to our area. It's one of the largest salamander varieties in the United States.
As for how we help care for and protect wildlife, when we moved into our current home, the backyard was a tangle of broken shopping carts, thorns, plastic grocery bag litter and debris. We had no idea a creek ran through the back! But slowly over that first year we cleared away the invasive vines and the litter. I'll never forget dumping a load of leaves into the wheelbarrow and hearing the water come back to life and start running the way it was meant to. Now springs are full of tadpoles. My kids observe salamanders. We watch Blue Heron catch minnows in the creek. And at night, we are woken by a parliament of owls that like to hold their meetings in the trees out back. I love the slice of nature we get to help nurture from our own home.
Little Thoughts Press: How did you get started writing kid-lit and what do you find most challenging and rewarding about writing for kids?
Christiana Doucette: Growing up, my mom was a writer. She gave me my first poetry book when I was six. I still have it. There was a Kid Lit author in my neighborhood who would come visit us every few weeks to read aloud his story for feedback. I started writing a series of short stories about a frog that I'd share with him, too. And he encouraged my writing so much.
During college I didn't write much besides papers, though I sometimes took notes in verse.
I started writing Kid Lit again in 2017 during a very difficult surgery recovery for my husband. For nine long weeks he needed help for even simple tasks like rising from his chair, or laying down. And I had two toddlers to care for as well. I began writing during Nanowrimo that month as an escape since I couldn't bodily go anywhere and needed some place to not be responsible for anyone but myself. Of course then I was responsible for all of my characters. But it's a different type of responsibility. After finishing the story that month, I stumbled into the PitchWars community, found my first critique partners, and began querying. I love the community. I already loved writing for kids. Often my kids are the first to hear my kid-related work. I especially love sharing history and science in memorable ways. Once I started back into writing, it was like a water hose had turned on. I couldn't bear to stop.
Little Thoughts Press: Which kid-lit authors and books were your favorites growing up?
Christiana Doucette: I was obsessed with The Boxcar Children, and all the horse books. I also loved retold fairy tales like Ella Enchanted and Rose's Daughter. I read everything Enid Blyton wrote, all I could find from C.S. Lewis, George McDonald, Robin McKinley, and others. My brother and I were limited to checking out 10 books a week. I'd check out almost all fantasy and horse books, he'd go for the sci-fi. Within a day or two we'd finish our own books and swap. We are both still fast voracious readers.
Little Thoughts Press: And what about today? Any kid-lit writers you love and want to shout out?
Christiana Doucette: Oh, so many! My mentor Joy McCullough has such a lovely modern secret garden inspired book titled Across the Pond. I love Nedda Lewer's Daughters of the Lamp, Aisling Fowler's Fireborn trilogy, Rebecca Weber's The Painter's Butterfly, and Miriam Franklin's Extraordinary.
I'm pretty obsessed with one particular form, the novel-in-verse. And I could probably list dozens of those. But I'll limit myself to:
The Girl in the Walls by Meg Eden Kuyatt: A neurodivergent girl spends the summer with her undiagnosed neurodivergent grandmother in a house haunted by a vengeful ghost. It deals with generational trauma and breaking cycles in such a powerful accessible way. It comes out this year.
I am Kavi by Thushanthi Ponweera: A Sri Lankan girl sees the scholarship she just won as a way out for herself and her mother, only to learn her mother will be staying behind with her stepdad. Desperate to fit in at the elite school, she begins a life of deception that escalates, endangering her ongoing education, and way forward.
Flooded by Ann E. Burg: The way the author weaves points of view! If you like Spoonriver Anthology, it reminds me a bit of that poetry collection. It's the story of the Johnstown Flood when a dam failed, drowning whole towns in a valley. It's a fascinating read, and fascinating history. After reading I wanted to look up all I could on the event.
Force of Nature: A Novel of Rachel Carson by Ann E. Burg: A non-fiction story in verse following the life of the renowned naturalist who first wrote of the impact pesticides were having on nature in her Silent Spring. It's told on a middle grade level. And I just love how the story is brought to life.
Little Thoughts Press: What advice would you give to young writers?
Christiana Doucette: Read broadly! Read what you love! Talk with others about what you love. It's helpful to think of what movement is going to happen in a short piece, whether poetry or prose story. Use all your senses as you write! And find others who love writing too. You can encourage each other along the way in ways that won't happen on your own.
Little Thoughts Press: Is there anything else you wish I had asked? Any upcoming projects, publications, or other news you'd like to share?
Christiana Doucette: I have a whole page where I link to places my poetry has published. You can find that here. I also share novel-in-verse statistics about once a year on a portion of my website. Like I mentioned above, it's my favorite form. I've just shared one with a masterlist of all the middle grade novels-in-verse I can find, along with infographics about this year and last year's titles. You can see that post here.
Thank you for the opportunity to share. And I loved the compelling questions you explored!
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