By Gina Magno, Features Editor
In this interview, we sat down with one of our very own Portage Poetry authors, Katrina Serwe. Katrina is a poet, therapist, professor, and researcher in the field of occupational therapy. Katrina has published multiple pieces in Portage Magazine, titled Life isn’t always green, Haiku Waves, Backtracking, Looking Back, and What Was Underneath. In addition to her inspiration for these pieces, Katrina also discusses her writing process, her connection with nature, and her ongoing journey to hike the Ice Age Trail. We hope you enjoy it!
Interview Transcription
Gina Magno:
Alright, so we’ll just get started with the first question. So I was doing a little bit of research and noticed on your Facebook page and in your bio, you mentioned a lot of nature and hiking, and I also really love to go hiking! So I just wanted to throw out a first fun question and ask you what your favorite spot to hike is?
Katrina Serwe:
Oh my goodness, there are so many. In Wisconsin, I love hiking up in Door County. There are so many beautiful places like Peninsula State Park, Newport Beach, and Rock Island. But I also love the Baraboo area where there are all the Dells, somewhat like Devil’s Lake State Park. And of course, my absolute favorite right now is the Ice Age Trail, which covers most of Wisconsin. And I’m hiking that segment by segment. Each one of those I love. You never know what you are going to get in Wisconsin, you can get like Michigan, you can get woods, you can get prairie, you can get oak, Savanna Marsh, amazing.
GM:
I saw on your Instagram that you were like, posting pictures you took at spots along the way. And then little pieces or haikus that you were writing?
KS:
Yes, those are my own pictures. They’re little treasures from my hike that I share on Instagram.
GM:
So I also wanted to ask about your background history as a writer. How did you get started doing what you do?
KS:
Oh, great question. I came late to the poetry party. I’ve only been seriously writing in the last three years. And I came to it through a back injury, which is kind of a strange way to come to writing. I had a back injury with that kind of pain where you can’t really eat or sleep or concentrate at all. Poetry gave me just a little peace, a moment that I could be in, that I could relax and enjoy. As far as writing, then writing poetry, I could experience the art of the moment and soak it in, and not worry about the future or the past and just kind of be. And so since 2020, I really am very passionate about writing and learning as much as I can and really savoring it. Before that, I had a completely different profession. I was an Occupational Therapist and a professor and really grounded in the sciences. So that was kind of a strange turning point for me.
GM:
Yeah, I feel like in 2020, we all sort of started to learn about different hobbies or different things we were interested in or wanted to pursue. But did you ever have an earlier memory of wanting to become a writer? Did you love to write when you were in K-12 school?
KS:
Yes. So kind of a cliche, but I loved poetry and art as a child. Then I had that experience that many of us do in school where you get the feedback and then you’re like, “Oh, I’m a terrible poet. This is stupid. No, put it away.” It was something, you know, more grown up and real. Then I had to actually grow up to realize that feedback was important and real and that you don’t need to listen to feedback like that. And poetry is for everyone. It’s not something that we’re good or bad at, it’s just something that we can enjoy. So I have that kind of early memory of it going away and then coming back.
GM:
And what does a typical day of yours look like now? Do you still work as an OT and then do poetry on the side?
KS:
I am really enjoying life right now! I was able to retire from my first career, and so I focus on poetry and writing now. Each day is different. On some of my favorite days, I wake up early, and I get in the car and I drive to whatever segment of Ice Age Trail I’m hiking. I spend the day by myself immersed in nature with a little notebook, about the size of my backpack, and then I’m the odd person going down the trail, pulling out my scribblings.
GM:
I love that!
KS:
I have little postcards with poems on them that would be silly and give out to hikers that seemed interested. So if you were to meet me on the trail, I might give you a poem just for fun.
GM:
That’s awesome!
KS:
Then I come back and I have my time to reflect on what I wrote and create the poem. I’ve also been spending time during the winter in my studio learning watercolor and playing with different types of art, which fuels my creativity, and I think my writing as well.
GM:
Tell us a little more about the poetry you submitted to Portage. When we were all reading it as a class, we loved every single piece. I feel like nature as a whole, and just the way that you wrote about it, it just felt so nostalgic for a lot of us because we all grew up in Wisconsin. So how did you draw inspiration for each piece you wrote?
KS:
Oh, what a great question. It’s an experience for me. So I go out on the trail, and I just get grounded in nature. So I kind of ask, what am I seeing? What am I hearing? What am I smelling? What am I feeling? And I walk through, and I just pay attention, and it kind of comes to me. So it’s like, collecting poetry from nature, just experiencing what is. Then, as you noticed, in the poems, I listen to what’s going on inside as well. So then you get that fusing of my mood, what I’m thinking about, and what’s going on with where I am. And so that’s kind of the internal world and the external world. Then the poem just comes out from there. There’s definitely an experience, it’s almost in a way, like, cracks this poem. So at practice, poetry, of course, was about an artwork. And then this is about the trail, but then not just the trail, my particular experience of the trail.
GM:
Were there any challenges that you faced during your writing process? Like, while you’re out there, and you’re immersed in it? Is there ever any writer’s block, or any other challenges that you’ve experienced during the transition from working as an OT to then now pursuing something you love to do?
KS:
Yes, as an occupational therapist, I got to study the brain. And that was something that I was so interested in, but I spent all my time in my left hemisphere. Really linear thinking, and processing logic, and that’s where my inner critic lives as well. Then, of course, the right hemisphere is more visual-spatial processing. That’s where I think my poetry comes from, even though words are kind of more left hemisphere. So when I’m out on the trail, I’m not worried about writing a poem. I’m in my right hemisphere, my right brain, so I’m just having this experience. And it doesn’t matter what comes out, I’m just writing things that come to me or things that are amazing. So sometimes I have a finished poem, and sometimes I just have notes and fragments that will become a poem. So I’ve never had writer’s block yet, because I think I’m not in that space in my thinking, where my inner critic can come out and talk mean to me. Sometimes when I’m home, in my office, I’m working on editing. That’s when I’ll get stuck or get writer’s block. I’ll go back out on the trail to get over that because I do have that, you know, that left hemisphere when I’m working on editing or reading it and thinking, is this something worth sharing? I do have that mean voice, that “No, it’s not worth sharing. Terrible.” And that can be a big block to the writing process. But I think I leave that voice behind when I go out on the trail, and I think that’s why I’m able to capture the poems the way that I do. I’m just getting that unfiltered experience, without any pressure to have to do something. Just letting it be what it is.
GM:
And what do you think is your biggest accomplishment as a writer? Is there any certain piece that you’re just really proud of?
KS:
Yeah, I had a comment on Instagram from somebody who had never hiked the Ice Age trail, and read some of my little poetry snippets and was going to go try the trail for the first time. So that’s really what my goal is, to share my joy. I think we need more joy in the world. We need more time with nature. And so if I’m able to give even a small little piece of that to somebody else, that makes me really happy. And so that was a neat, neat moment.
GM:
What advice do you have for any aspiring writers who may see this interview? I know you said there’s that little part of people that self-doubt where you’re like, oh, I don’t think anyone would be interested in reading this, I don’t think that this would be good enough for people to see. So what advice would you give to people who are sort of in that space right now who aren’t trying to pursue writing but wish to?
KS:
Oh, two things. One, I think especially the first draft is writing for yourself, because writing can be a beautiful process, and it’s a way to experience your world more. But then also to be able to take a look inside of yourself and realize what’s going on. Sometimes I get busy, I don’t know if you have that experience. And I don’t really know what’s going on with me, I just do ABCD. And writing gives me that processing time to be like, oh, that’s what I was thinking about. I think even if we don’t share that, that’s tremendously valuable. So if people are interested in writing and you’re too nervous to share your poems, or whatever you’re writing, that’s okay. It’s important. If it’s important for you, that’s important enough. Then once you have some writing under your belt, to be able to share it is your gift to the world. Each of us is unique. Even though there’s that critical voice inside, and maybe you have one like mine, I think it’s important not to listen to it. When we have a conversation with each other, that’s when new ideas can be born and experiences can be shared. Inspiration can be contagious. So being brave, and then looking at it as a conversation. You know, we all know some conversations are amazing, some are kind of boring, and some don’t go well at all. But that’s okay, we keep talking. And I think that’s true of writing as well, that it’s worth the time. So write for yourself, then figure out what you want to share. And don’t be shy because everybody has something to contribute. We all have shared experiences, but we’re all unique, and that is worthy of sharing.
GM:
Absolutely. So for my last question, I just wanted to sort of pass it on to you to promote anything that you have going on, or what’s next for you as a writer. So if there are any essays or poems or books that you’re currently working on that you wanted to promote or talk about, then here’s your chance to!
KS:
Oh, you’re so kind, thank you! My book will not be out for quite a while. I’m hiking the full Ice Age Trail and I would love to share that in a book form. And I would love to donate the proceeds back to the trail, so I’m hoping it’ll be a community-building trail event. There are about 122 segments and I have hiked about 45. So they’ll be coming out in smaller magazines like Portage Magazine. And the book will be some time in coming. But people can follow me on Instagram, and I’ll give photographs and updates on Facebook as well. I hope that inspires people to write and to get outside and experience the joy of their life.
GM:
That’s awesome. We’ll definitely have to keep an eye out for your book because I love that you will be giving back the proceeds to the trial. That’s really cool.
KS:
It is. It is an amazing trail. It’s over 1000 miles and it’s run primarily by volunteers. It’s all different groups, state national, local, and landowners. And sometimes on the trail, you’re actually walking through somebody’s backyard that they’re willing to share with you. It’s kind of amazing, it’s a neat thing to experience.
GM:
Perfect. Well, thank you so much for sitting down with me! I really appreciate it.
KS:
Oh, it was great talking with you. Thanks for taking the time too!
Music Credit
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kem/lazy-love
License code: O4LOHS2JUOVPAHHK
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