The following is an interview with award-winning poet Maria Giesbrecht regarding the recent release of the poetry collection, A Little Feral, with Write Bloody Publishing. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Giesbrecht about her creative process in bringing the lyrical and personal collection to life on the page, the conversations that she hopes the poems may inspire, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the release of A Little Feral! What can you share with us about the genesis behind this lyrical and personal collection?
Maria Giesbrecht: Thank you so much! Honestly, A Little Feral was less of a planned project and more of a personal rescue mission. I wrote the majority of these poems in the five years after leaving a conservative, fundamentalist Mennonite religion. For a long time, I was just trying to figure out who I wanted to become while navigating a world that suddenly felt massive and unscripted. A central theme of the collection is reimagining where holiness can be found. After leaving organized religion, I found myself still craving the awe and wonder that spirituality had originally offered me. So I redefined holiness on my own terms, and discovered I could find it anywhere! In the spring, butter-yellow tulips. In the crackle of a thunderstorm. It felt so liberating to me that it was at the tip of my fingers. Many poems in the collection are about this close observation of the world, and how it can offer us an attention of sorts that feels otherworldly.
BD: How would you describe your creative process in bringing these poems to life on the page and creating a complementary collection for readers?
MG: I think I would call it the “cast the net wide” approach. I wrote a lot of poems, way more than I needed for the collection. When the time came, I printed all the poems out, rented a little Airbnb away from home, and spent a few days immersing myself in all of the poems. I asked which ones wanted to stay, and which ones weren’t ready for the collection. Themes and motifs started swimming to the surface when I did this. I believe poems have little souls and nervous systems of their own. I wanted to respect the art I had made, and allow it to show me what it wanted to do. I find it really hard to write “towards” a theme. I wish I had that ability, but I really don’t. So I have to overwrite, then pare down, and figure out what is happening after the fact.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums and genres. How do you feel this book might connect with and impact readers (especially in these challenging times), and what, if any, conversations do you hope that it might inspire?
MG: I’m hoping this book inspires a conversation about the ways in which we have allowed parts of ourselves to be “domesticated” by society’s expectations. Perhaps our stories, our relationships, our passions. I hope it feels like a tender call to readers to answer to the trembling truth of themselves, no matter how scary, messy, or imperfect. I hope readers are encouraged to find small moments, in a scary and ever–changing world, that feel holy to them.
BD: What makes Write Bloody Publishing the perfect home for A Little Feral?
MG: One of the best ways to assess a potential press is to look at who they’ve published in the past. I’ve long been a fan of Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley’s work, and Write Bloody was the press that championed and published their work early on. I admire Derrick Brown’s focus on live events for the poets he published. We need these gatherings in-person now more than ever.
BD: In addition to your work on A Little Feral, you are also the founder of Gather, an international writing community that connects poets worldwide. What can you share with us about the resources that Gather provides to aspiring and experienced poets?
MG: Gather’s mission is to care for poems. Very early in my writing career, I found myself needing the community of other poets for encouragement to keep going. Writing can feel isolating, scary, and sometimes like we’re walking in the dark. I wanted to create a space for knowledge sharing, cheering each other on, and genuine care for each other’s art. We started as a small group of fourteen writers and have grown to over 100 active members from all over the globe. Although we meet primarily online, we are planning on hosting a few in-person readings this fall as part of our 2026 Anthology launch. Always my goal is to bring poets together so we can not only learn from each other, but also provide the necessary encouragement that is required to sustain a writing life.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
MG: I’ll be heading on book tour this May, stopping in Toronto, NYC, Minneapolis, Chicago, Seattle, Victoria and Calgary. My favorite thing ever is meeting other poets, laughing together, and connecting over a shared love for words. If you’re a poet or poetry-lover, come on out! My tour dates are up on my website mariagiesbrecht.com
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about A Little Feral and your other work?
MG: Find me on Instagram (@theguelphpoet)! I love to chat, so don’t be shy. Send me a message, and I’d love to connect. I also post (not as often as I’d like) on my substack (mariagiesbrecht.substack.com).
