A haunting Airbnb poem for your Friday
Publishing "Booked a Three-Night Stay in Innity" by Kait Quinn + interview
We’re here. We made it to Substack. And we’re delivering poetry hot off the press every Friday.
Last week we published “I have my ways”—a stunning love poem by Tanja Lau ( Tania's Butterflies ) and we’re back this week publishing an intimate, yet haunting poem by Kait Quinn.
Kait Quinn (she/her) was born with salt in her wounds. She flushes the sting of living by writing poetry. She is the author of five poetry collections, and her work appears in Anti-Heroin Chic, Exposition Review, Full House Literary, Watershed Review, and elsewhere. She received first place in the 2022 John Calvin Rezmerski Memorial Grand Prize and Sad Girl Diaries’ 2023 Fall Poetry Contest. Kait is an Editorial Associate at Yellow Arrow Publishing. She enjoys cats, repetition, coffee shops, tattoos, and vegan breakfast. Kait lives in Minneapolis with her partner and their very polite Aussie mix. Find her at kaitquinn.com.
🪑Interview with Kait…
Maria: Kait! I’m so thrilled your poem found its way to us. Do you remember how it was conceived?
Kait : Thank you for publishing it! The poem was inspired by a prompt by Michelle Awad (@theconstantpoet), in which she asked us to write a poem inspired by the word “innity” from John Koenig’s The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. Some questions she asked: what is it like to inhabit this in-between space? who are you in that space? where do you feel both at home and disconnected?
I immediately thought of all the Airbnbs I’ve stayed in. They give me that feeling of “both soulless and homey” more so than hotels because they ARE homes, and while some might feel very homey (as in someone actually lives there when it’s not being rented by a guest), others just have basic living space items. The ones in-between make me feel like I’m a single woman in her own space, writing poetry during the day and binge-watching TV shows at night. (Note that I’m NOT a single woman and love living with my partner, but it’s nice to have that alone time every now and then, ya know?)
But then you get little reminders that other people have been here before you. Maybe even less than 24 hours ago. You find a drawer full of chopsticks, three seltzer waters from an 8-pack the previous guest didn’t finish, a black strand of hair on the pillow that is definitely not your strawberry blonde hair. It’s simultaneously revolting and intimate. It feels like the walls are full of ghosts and buzzing with residual energy. Sometimes I think that energy is what fuels my writing when I’m there. And yes, I do book Airbnbs in my own city from time to time when I need a few days to focus on writing and/or editing.
Maria: What is the best craft advice you’ve ever received? What is your best advice to poets looking to step outside their comfort zone?
Kait : One of the best pieces of craft advice I’ve received is from Megan Falley In her “Poems That Don’t Suck” course, she teaches the idea of “The Great Paradox,” which is that the more specific you are, the more connected your reader will feel.
The best piece of advice I’d give to poets looking to step outside their comfort zone is to practice writing form poems regularly. I know, I know. They’re not as fun and they’re quite restraining. But that’s the whole point! Writing form poems teaches you to make every word count.
And I know you only asked for one, but my go-to advice for poets is to write a poem a day for a year. I did this from April 2019 through April 2020, and it helped me grow so much as a writer. You learn consistency. You learn that you have to write a dozen bad poems to get one good poem. You learn you can write about anything, anytime. In fact, writing a poem a day for a year is what made me realize that writer’s block isn’t real (at least not to me). I’m capable of writing every day. If I don’t feel like I can write, (barring higher life priorities) it’s probably a matter of perfectionism or censoring myself.
Maria: Many poets experience physical feelings when they read a good poem. Emily Dickinson famously said she feels like the top of her head is coming off. What physical sensations happen to you when you read or write a good poem?
Kait : I know I’m reading or have just written a good poem when I get goosebumps and my scalp is tingling (like when someone plays with your hair or massages your scalp).
Maria: Lastly, we often speak of what poetry is. I’m curious what you think poetry isn’t.
Kait : Poetry isn’t therapy. I wouldn’t have said that five years ago, but that’s because I was too afraid to go to therapy. I think poetry is a wonderful to express your emotions, and it has been vital for me to express mine, as I have a hard time communicating emotions and being vulnerable vocally. I also think it’s great form of self-reflection and processing feelings. And poetry can certainly be used in conjunction with therapy, especially if journaling isn’t your thing.
Maria: Thank you so much for giving us the honour of publishing your work. Tell us where we can find you, say hi, and read more of your work!
Kait : Thank YOU! You can find me on Substack Kait Quinn , IG @kaitquinnpoetry, and Blueksy @kaitquinn.com. And you can find my poetry collections at kaitquinn.com.
Keep an eye out next Friday for Alina Kalontarov’s poem “Through a Sieve.”
See you soon friends,
EIC and Founder of Gather
🪑Gather is a writing table, lit mag, and podcast. In short: a home for poets.
You can join the waitlist for our writing table, submit your work to our lit mag, or watch our podcast episodes here.🪑
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I really love this poem AND great interview answers! The last Airbnb I stayed in had a guestbook, even. So interesting to read what people wrote down, the memories they were making
Innity - such a great word! Loved the poem and took a walk down memory lane to revisit all the Airbnbs I've stayed in over the years. Thanks, Kait!