Poetry Podcast:
How a Poem Comes to Be

by Angie Galindo Perez & Kym Richardson

How does a poem come to be? Mentee Angie Galindo Perez reads her poem-in-progress, “Where I Am,” and shares how she is crafting the piece.

Angie: Hello, I’m Angie Galindo, a mentee!

Kym: And I’m Kym Richardson, mentor. Welcome to our poetry podcast: How a Poem Comes to Be.

Angie you’ve been working on several pieces during the Girls Write Now Writing360 Program.
So, I thought we’d start off by hearing one of the poems you’ve been working on. And then we can talk about it on the other side.

Angie: Sure. I’m going to read: “Where I Am.”

Angie reads her poem.

Where I Am
by Angie Galindo Perez
As the cold night breeze knocks on my window, I know it’s time.
As piano music plays, the noise of the real world begins to be silenced.
In my room, here I am.
As I lay on my bed, I’m consumed by my thoughts.
As my thoughts start to make the darkness around me gloomier,
the light of the moon pierces my curtain.
The moonlight begging to be seen.
As I start to get up from my bed, I start heading towards my window.
As I open the window, the cold night breeze embraces me.
Sticking out my head and inhaling the freshness of the night.
Skimming the starry night for the moon,
the diamond stars being the pearls of the dark night.
There she was.
The moon wearing a coat made of clouds.
As the beauty enchants my glance, I start to let myself fly.
Fly towards the moon and peacefully sleep on the moon’s coat.
Her light illuminating the darkest part of the world,
Being the source of my survival.
The enchanting beauty of seeing you one more day.
The magical notes of the piano dancing with the cold night breeze,
hinting me to ask for a dance with the moon.
In my room, devoted to being with the moon one day.
Thousands of miles away,
In my room, here I am.
Kym:
What inspired you to write this poem?
How did you approach writing this poem?
What are your influences?
Why is writing poetry important for you?

Well, thanks for sharing your work and giving us a glimpse into your process for making a poem. Looking forward to hearing and reading more of your work in the future!

Process

We thought that interviewing Angie about her process of crafting her poem, “Where I Am,” would be a great way to share a way a poem comes to be. We wrote a script for the interview, with guiding questions.

Angie Galindo Perez

Angie Galindo Perez is a high school senior enrolled in Environmental Engineering and Technology. She has taken two Advanced Placement classes and several College Now classes. Apart from school, some of Angie Galindo's interests include reading, writing, listening to music and visiting new places. She currently lives in Queens, New York City.

Kym Richardson

Kym Richardson writes fiction and screenplays. Her short stories were semifinalists in the 2020 American Short(er) Fiction Contest and her feature scripts have been finalists in the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters Lab and the Tribeca Film Institute’s All Access Program. She has been a juror for the Scholastic Writing Awards, the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), and the Bronx Council on the Arts. Kym received a NYFA grant and a MacDowell Fellowship. She’s a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and Colgate University. Right now, she’s at work on a middle grade novel.