Talking Pool Halls, Trailer Parks, & Zines with Rebecca Schumejda (Revisited)

Thom Francis introduces us to poet, editor, and educator Rebecca Schumejda. In their conversation they discuss writing about the people she met at the pool hall she once owned, her online zine “Trailer Park Quarterly,” and keeping poetry accessible. The latest edition of “Trailer Park Quarterly” will be available online at https://trailerparkquarterly.com later this month. —— Rebecca Schumejda has worked hard over her time as a writer and editor to make poetry accessible to everyone, not just those in academia. She herself graduated with a BA in English and Creative Writing from SUNY New Paltz and a MA in Poetics and Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Rebecca is the author of the following full-length books: “Falling Forward” (sunnyoutside press), “Cadillac Men” (NYQ Books), “Waiting at the Dead End Diner” (Bottom Dog Press), “Our One-Way Street “(NYQ Books) and the following chapbooks: “The Tear Duct of the Storm” (Green Bean Press) “Dream Big, Work Harder”(sunnyoutside press), “The Map of Our Garden” (verve bath press), “From Seed to Sin” (Bottle of Smoke Press) and is the co-author of “Common Wages” with Don Winter (Working Stiff Press). In her writing, she often tells the stories of the working class. She once took a job as a waitress for her book, “Waiting at the Dead End Diner”(Bottom Dog Press), and got inspiration from the people who walked in the door and sat at her tables. In her book, “Cadillac Men,” Rebecca writes about the regulars who frequented the pool hall she and her late-husband opened in Kingston, NY. She read about one of those characters, Mikey Meatballs, at the Albany Poets Presents event Restaurant Navona in Albany on October 19, 2016.