Milla van der Have (1975)
wrote her first poem at 16, during a physics class. She has been writing ever
since. One of her short stories won a New Millennium Fiction Award. In 2015 she
published Ghosts of Old Virginny, a chapbook of poems about Virginia
City. Milla lives and works in Utrecht,
The Netherlands.
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What’s
inside the mind of a poetry author?
Poetry is
always on my mind. Like a salesman who looks at things and thinks, can I make a
profit out of this, I see things and immediately check: is there a poem in
this? Or at least a good line? That exact habit helped me write my poetry
chapbook Ghosts of Old Virginny. I wrote it during a writer’s residency
in Virginia City and literally anything I encountered there could work its
way into a poem. From Bernadette, the donkey that I passed on my way to the
town, to the wild horses that roam in Virginia City to the
legend of the last gunfight a local told me in the bar. Everything is food for
poetry.
What
is so great about being an author?
I always
have an ‘escape route’, something to pour myself in completely and something
that gives life its essential meaning for me. Plus, I get to have a whole
different kind of souvenir: all the poems in the chapbook have some memory for
me, whether it’s from a book I read on the history or an actual thing I
experienced, like a trip to the Chollar Mine. In fact, being an author is what
enabled me to go to Virginia City in the first place.
When
do you hate it?
When I
stare at a blank page or wrestle with a poem that just doesn’t want to be
written. The first ever poem I wrote for this chapbook was, much like a first
pancake, a bit of a mess. I needed to write it, to make space for the rest of
the poems, but getting a poem that just isn’t ‘it’ out of the way can be a
hassle.
What
is a regular writing day like for you?
I write
on my day off, usually in the morning, because that’s my best time. Then, when
I get stuck or my attention wavers, I go do some grocery shopping. On a good
day, I write some more in the afternoon and then I reward myself with a good
television show to watch. In Virginia
City I had a slightly different
routine. In the morning I worked on my novel in St. Mary’s Art Center, where I stayed. Then into town I went for a coffee in the
Roasting House. After a walk around I went back to write some more. The
afternoons were reserved for reading and writing poetry, in my ‘spare’ time,
when the day’s work on the novel was done.
How
do you handle negative reviews?
I’m lucky
enough not to have experienced really scathing reviews. It’s never fun to get a
negative review. But in the end I will remind myself that this is not something
that should bring me down. Part of being a writer is having a thick skin. You
pick up the things that you consider genuine flaws in your work and fix them.
The rest is opinion.
How
do you handle positive reviews?
They make
me float on air, for a bit. It’s always rewarding to see your poetry touch
someone. I especially like it when people see something in a poem I hadn’t seen
in it myself. In that way a poem gains in meaning and I always enjoy taking in
other people’s perspective on my work. It also helps in making a poem more
autonomous.
But after
a while I sit down to write a new poem, facing that blank page again and then
all deals are off.
What
is the usual response when you tell a new acquaintance that you’re an author?
People
mostly want to know what I write about. Especially when it comes to poetry,
that can be hard to explain. Although I found that ‘about love’ is an answer
that usually satisfies. But now with Ghosts of Old Virginny, it has
become much easier to answer that question, because it’s inspired on an actual
place and historical people. That makes the poetry come alive for people.
What
do you do on those days you don’t feel like writing? Do you force it or take a
break?
With this
particular book, I was on such a productive streak, I didn’t have days where I
didn’t feel like writing. Such is the magic of Virginia City
:) But back in the Netherlands, I do have days like that sometimes. My approach varies.
On some days, I just don’t write and give myself a break. On others, I do try
to force it. That doesn’t always work, unless I remember that taking a break,
whether or not it’s shopping or vacuum cleaning, generally results in better
writing. And you know, sometimes, forcing yourself can actually help you push
through and get something good out of it.
Any
writing quirks?
Speaking
along with my sentences and a penchant for jazz music as a background. I
recommend Cannonball Adderley’s ‘Something Else’ or ‘Quiet Kenny’ by
Kenny Dorham.
What
would you do if people around you didn’t take your writing seriously or see it
as a hobby?
Then they
wouldn’t really know me. The support of my partner and friends is essential for
me and I am very passionate about my writing, so I don’t think ‘considering it
a hobby’ is possible :)
Some
authors seem to have a love-hate relationship to writing. Can you relate?
In part.
Writing itself isn’t always a joyous occupation. It can be hard work. I spend a
great deal of my spare time on writing, where I also could’ve done other
things, like going to a movie or hanging out with friends. I write on holidays,
when on vacation. But that too is exactly the beautiful part of it. Writing is
always with me and I feel I am actually doing something ‘real’. And when I am
in a writing flow, it feels wonderful.
Do
you think success as an author must be linked to money?
Not
necessarily. It seems nice, because money can buy writing time, in a way. Right
now, I write next to having a day job and I can imagine if my books earned
enough money, well… ;) But money will also take writing time (at least when you
get real famous) and will maybe even dictate what you have to write next. Then
again, I wouldn’t turn it down when offered :)
What
has writing taught you?
To
persevere. I started writing when I was 16, during a physics class. Back then I
never imagined one day I would be going on a residency or having a book
published in America.
Leave
us with some words of wisdom.
A 1940’s
movie about Virginia City has the tagline: “Go West!...to Virginia City...for
excitement, for adventure, for primitive romance!!!” Even though Virginia City
has changed a lot since its heyday, I would still advise that. Excitement and
adventure can be found in many different ways, especially for poets. Ghosts
of Old Virginny is proof of that.
About the Book:
Title:
GHOSTS OF OLD VIRGINNY
Author: Milla van der Have
Publisher: Aldrich Press (imprint of Kelsay Books)
Pages: 42
Genre: Poetry
Author: Milla van der Have
Publisher: Aldrich Press (imprint of Kelsay Books)
Pages: 42
Genre: Poetry
BOOK
BLURB:
Virginia city,
Nevada has been drawing the adventurous for over 100 years. It
has been the home of gold-miners, businessmen and writers. After the bonanza, Virginia City
reinvented herself and became a ghost town that draws travelers and artists.
And, as it happened, a Dutch poet.
Milla van der Have visited Virginia
City in 2014, on a writer's residency to finish her novel. But
once there, something happened: the Comstock got to her. In Ghosts of Old
Virginny Van der Have explores the legends and history of the Comstock by
reimagining them. These poems deal with being uprooted and leaving the known
behind. They speak of miners, ghosts and horses and throughout of the
comfortable tension of love, that greatest journey of all.
You can purchase your copy of
Ghosts of Old Virginny at Amazon.
