Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Hanson.
Hi Danielle, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a poet and editor. I have a couple of books: Ambushing Water from Brick Road Poetry Press, Finalist for Georgia Author of the Year Award, and Fraying Edge of Sky, Winner of the Codhill Poetry Prize. I edit for Doubleback Books. I occasionally translate Swedish films and poetry.
I studied writing and poetry in college and grad school and then spent 15 years financial modeling for AT&T, ending my career as a pricing executive. Those corporate years have been very useful in how I view my writing. For one, I value the time and space I have to write. For another, I have the business skills and perspective to help me be more effective in getting my art to the reader/viewer. I would be a very different poet and less good at having whatever impact I have with my art if I had immediately gotten published in my 20’s. And also, creative jobs are challenging. There are often a lot of failed attempts on the path to finding your audience and your voice. Since I had a successful career, when I’m facing a lot of rejection, I remind myself that I’ve done other things well. It gets me over the hump and allows me to try (and maybe fail) again.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Mostly, the road has been smooth, and I’ve been so lucky with the opportunities I’ve had. But like a lot of writers and artists I know, the pandemic has been a creativity killer. Between the existential stress, the disruption in schedules, the re-prioritization of our lives, we’re processing so much. It’s hard to reflect and make something out of the chaos. The Black Lives Matter movement impacted my work as well. For several months, my role was to listen and respond to and promote people who haven’t been heard, not promote my own voice. I’m better for it, but it’s always hard to start writing again after a break. And we’re moving to California part-time next year, where I’ll be teaching Creative Writing at the University of California, Irvine. My husband moved to Irvine already for his new role as Dean of Engineering. So I’m single-parenting high school seniors and trying to keep a 120-year-old house standing. These aren’t bad changes, but being this busy does impact the time I have to write. It’s all just a lot of processing. I’m looking forward to seeing what I’ll create in a year or two on the other side of this.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My mission is to create and facilitate wonder. Whether I’m writing, editing, translating, making connections between creatives, it all comes back to wanting to foster moments of delight. It’s really hard to have a lot of conflict and negativity when you’re delighted. Wonder and play are basic human needs.
The last couple of years, I’ve been collaborating with other artists. I love the intersections of ideas. We did a poetry-based puppet show at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta a few years ago. One of the puppeteers told me that the proper material for a puppet show is material that only puppets can do. If it can be done by a human actor, it shouldn’t be a puppet show. It’s interesting to think of that concept for poetry too. Poetry is a good at distilling life.
My latest collaboration was with a visual artist. We did a project at Arts Beacon in Atlanta, where I’m Poet-in-Residence. The project paired poets and artists and gave us six weeks to produce a poem and a piece of art. Then a couple of musicians/sound designers joined the team and made recordings of the poems. We put QR codes next to the art in the gallery so the viewer could hear the poem and the music while viewing the art, experiencing them simultaneously. It’s amazing and powerful. Each pair decided on their creative process. My partner and I each picked a topic we find interesting and figured out how those two ideas (Migration and Perception of Color) coexist in our pieces. We all ended up with pieces outside our normal practice, and I think we all loved what we created. The in-between spaces are so rich with inspiration.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I absolutely love connection and engagement with people and the world around us. I love good food, nature, circus shows, gardening (really, just the dirt), and sitting next to water. Atlanta has it all, and I love the openness and variety of the city.
I dislike being still in meetings for too long. Anywhere.
Contact Info:
- Email: danielle.j.hanson@gmail.com
- Website: daniellejhanson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellejhanson/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielle.hanson.986/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/daniellejhanson
Image Credits:
Kelley Klein, Erin Brauer, Colin Potts
