How did you get into writing? Do you remember your first piece of writing? 

I have a small notebook with a Beatrix Potter sketch on the cover, and my mother’s handwriting begins in the front. I was telling stories since before I could write, and she would capture them in this notebook. Halfway through, it turns into my awkward kindergarten scrawl, with me still writing these silly little stories. My mom is a retired English teacher…this could have something to do with the reason I caught the writing bug so early. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I seriously started writing poetry.  Now, I have written over 1,030 poems. I write to express myself, to explore a subject, to process an experience or feeling. 

Do you remember your first piece of writing?

One of my first stories involved talking animals. I used to collect mice, and had this tiny stuffed mouse named Max that I was particularly fond of (he was really quite homely).  I know I have written at least one (terrible, childish) poem about him.  

What section of your book Horizons are you the most attached to?

That is like asking me to choose my favorite child. When I want nostalgia, to be surrounded by those closest to me, I dive into Parent Material, because there I find my family and my past. When I want to be bold, to express my authentic misfit of a self on the stage and be proud of who I am, I read from the Subsoil. When I want to feel closest to Mother Nature, to dive into the scientist within, I need the Topsoil. 

How has living in the Great Plains influenced your perspective and your writing? 

I have two degrees in agronomy, which focuses on the crops of corn and soybeans in the Midwest. Some of my poems explore my role as an agronomist, and our relationship with the land here in the Great Plains: the plants, the animals, the insects, the soil, the biota we find in the soil. The fact that we are land-locked also affects my writing, as I focus more on the ground beneath our feet and the sky above it, not the water of the planet that is so far away from us. I have been fortunate to be close to Mother Nature in our plains, and it comes forth in my poems quite often. 

What author has inspired you the most?

In 1991, I was invited to the Nebraska Scholar’s Institute and studied under Bill Kloefkorn. He became a lifelong mentor to me. He challenged me in unexpected ways that improved my writing and brought me to an intimacy with my poetry and subjects, an empathy with the words I write that I would not have without his guidance. 

Do you have a writing routine or any methods that you use?

Every week, my mother and I (and a few other friends of mine) use the same prompt to write poems. We then email them to each other and comment on each other’s work. It is an encouraging way to stay in touch and witness how the same prompt can inspire such varying ideas in different writers.  I also use prompts from Writer’s Digest during the months of April and November when Robert Brewer has his poem-a-day challenges.  I write when an idea comes to me while I am walking or driving, which is often a good time to think. I have a folder full of scraps of paper with small thoughts written down, starts of things, that I pull out sometimes when I have some time to ponder. 

What inspires your writing?

Life. Living, and dying because that is a part of living. How we interact with each other, how we interact with the world around us. How we interact with nature. The amazing intricacies of nature—I am a scientist, so reading about science (I have a college botany book that I bought to read just for fun…) often prompts a poem. How my crazy brain goes off on tangents (I have a mis-wired brain) and connects things that sometimes don’t seem to be connected. I process problems, ponder confusing situations, wonder at the world. I talk to other people in my poems, write about others in my life and what we are going through together, what they are facing and I am seeing in their life. I mull other people’s poems in my mind, turn their words through my emotions, and see what comes out. So many things can create a poem. I also blog on two websites. Sometimes these ponderings prompt essays instead of poems, and they end up on my blogs. 

What is the hardest thing about writing, and how do you work through it?

Complacency, apathy, short-sightedness, impatience, lack of time. And something I call my brain “getting full.” I give myself permission to write bad poems. I write small ideas on slips of paper to gather later when they become big ideas, or part of a bigger picture. I let my brain rest. I wait until I have a bigger stretch of time to write in, when I don’t feel so rushed—or I tell myself I can whip something up even with a good idea running around in my head that I just HAVE to get down, even without much time. I pick up a new prompt.  I read a new poem, ones I haven’t read before—or go back to a book I haven’t read in a while, see if I find something new it is telling me. I try a form poem, because I don’t usually write them. I edit poems that haven’t been accepted into publishing yet. I talk to another poet, to my friends who enjoy reading my work. I accept that there are times to write, and there are times when I should not be writing—and that’s okay. 

Are you working on anything currently?

First, I have several manuscripts that I am exploring and submitting. A wide range of subjects, from the natural cycle of death, exploring mental illness and alcoholism, love and recovery from abuse, and how humans interact with nature. 

Not only am I writing my poem a week with my mom and writing group, but it is also National Poetry Month, so I am writing a poem a day with the prompts from Writer’s Digest and sharing them with a mentee.  I have also been playing around with a new form. I have merged the sonnet with Paul Tran’s hydra. It has 13 parts with 13 lines each that rhyme like a sonnet, but have the line rules of the hydra. I’m calling it a Sondra. A work in process, but fun to challenge myself now and then. I’m one of those people who have trouble sitting still. I’m a list person—always have a project up my sleeve.  

I’m also an artist, and I sew. So I am sketching with graphite and colored pencil and pens, playing with watercolor and acrylics, mixing media. I like to plan my next book covers—Horizons includes my watercolor on the front cover! 

What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Get uncomfortable.  What I mean by that is to not get too complacent, too settled in your own skin.  Don’t stick with one style, one way of writing or doing things.  If you only write freeform—try a form poem.  Or try rhyming. Try a prompt with a subject that you’ve never thought about before.  Choose a subject you know nothing about—read more. Stay new. 

Ask questions. Find mentors, people who know more than you do, who have been farther than you have traveled in the writing scene, and don’t be afraid of what you think are silly questions. Ask them. Become their mentee.  Join forces with friends and form a writing circle, send each other your work.  Have others read your poems out loud to you. See what that sounds like.  Always read your poems out loud. 

And don’t give up. Be in it for the long haul. Understand that when someone says no, they aren’t rejecting YOU.  They just don’t have use for your work at that immediate moment.  You will hear more no’s than yeses. And that’s okay.  Be confident in your work. 

Is there anything else you would like to add?

My daughter and I just finished recording my first poetry book, Horizons, into an audiobook.  It was quite the labor of love.  Please look out for this coming from Atmosphere Press soon: I haven’t found many audiobooks out there that involve poetry. For all of you who don’t read, or can’t read, who drive long distances, or listen to books while you work on projects: there is another option of getting Horizons into your hands!  Be looking for Horizons in paper AND audio form!

Also, thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way—my mentors, those who encouraged me, my writing group, my family.

And if you think you don’t “DO” poetry: you just haven’t met the right poem!  Poetry is for everyone!

About the Author

Julie S. Paschold (Tansy Julie the Soaring Eagle) is a poet and artist from Nebraska.  They have their BS and MS in agronomy from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Their first book, Horizons (Atmosphere Press) is a collection of poetry honoring soil, one of our nonrenewable resources. Julie has been published in several publications, including Plainsongs, The Awakenings Review, The Raven’s Perch, The Radical Teacher, and The Arlington Literary Journal. Their poem “Multitudes of Blue Arrows” was a semi-finalist in the first Kate Sommers Memorial Prize in 2023, and two of their chapbooks won honorable mention in contests by Writer’s Digest in 2021 and 2022. Julie sells their sketches at Ravenwood Crystals and Art Gallery in Norfolk, NE. 

Julie can be found on:

Blog: https://medium.com/@jpaschold

Amazon & Goodreads Author pages: coming soon!

Publications:

Horizons, poetry by Julie S. Paschold, found at https://atmospherepress.com/books/horizons-by-julie-s-paschold/

Additionally at: amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, target.com, Norfolk Arts Center in Norfolk, NE, Indigo Bridge in Lincoln, NE, Your Forte in Atlantic, IA, or directly from the author!

Julie can also be found as a published book with the Human Library, originating in Denmark, where she has opportunities to participate in international events. Find out more at https://humanlibrary.org/