8 Questions for... Dr. Maya C. Popa

Poetry Today

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Dr.

Maya C. Popa

is most recently the author of Wound is the Origin of Wonder (W.W. Norton 2022; Picador 2023) named one of the Guardian’s Best Books of Poetry and a finalist for the Levis Reading Prize. American Faith (Sarabande 2019) was runner-up in the Kathryn A. Morton Prize judged by Ocean Vuong and was awarded the North American Book Prize in 2020. She is previously the author of three chapbooks published in the US and the UK.

Popa is the Poetry Reviews Editor of Publishers Weekly and teaches poetry at NYU. She holds a PhD on the role of wonder in poetry from Goldsmiths, University of London and is at work on a book on literary wonder. Her newsletter, Poetry Today, is one of Substack's best-selling literature publications. She works closely with established and emerging writers through Conscious Writers Collective, her online writing platform and community.

1. Why Substack

It strikes the perfect balance between literary, discursive, and idiosyncratic. I can read splendid longform essays or shorter meditations on socks. I can watch writers draft and share poems that may look different by the time they appear in a book, and that’s exciting. I can enjoy photos of beautiful things strangers saw on their walks. I discover new art and artists all of the time.

2. How long did it take you to find your groove?

Not long, because I had no real strategy. I just showed up to talk to a very small audience about Emily Dickinson’s gingerbread recipe. Then I began sharing poems I enjoy and never stopped.

3. How has it changed you?

It has pushed me to generate essays that I’m very grateful to have written and might not otherwise have undertaken. It has introduced me to a larger and fantastically supportive community of writers that I cherish.

4. What mistakes have you made?

Well, I typically only learn the absolute essentials for any platform that I use. I didn’t understand how threads or chats worked, so, I definitely sent my subscribers multiple emails in succession with different threads. Then I panicked and turned off the email function altogether. Also not a winning strategy.

5. To pay or not to pay?

Almost everything that I post is free, but Paid subscribers get access to live and past classes and the archive, which includes multiple months of writing exercises, craft lessons, etc. I teach in MFA programs and for various universities and institutions in the US and UK, so I love that I can offer a space where writers pay $75/year and still have access to classes with me. Not everyone can afford writing instruction, but I would like everyone to be able to deepen their poetic practice.

Offering classes on Substack has also been a great way to introduce writers to Conscious Writers Collective. I coach writers full-time and run an online writing community that is intensive—we meet live five times a month. Testing the water with a Substack class is a great way to gain a sense of whether I might be the right person to help you long-term. Dozens of CWC members originally discovered me through Substack. Some I’ve now been coaching for almost a year, and it’s been the greatest joy watching their growth and celebrating their writing wins on and off of Substack.

6. What artistic and technical choices have you made?

I’m not sure if it’s an artistic or technical choice, but my focus has always been on offering value and inspiration in whatever ways I can. If something has helped me, I want to share it with my readers and the writers that I work with. I’ve been teaching writing full-time for well over a decade and have worked as an editor since 2018 while writing my own books. So, I feel that I’m in a fortunate position to share insights that I’ve gained from a variety of angles. I genuinely want to see writers approach what they do with greater confidence and greater self-compassion.

7. What’s been the effect on your writing?

I’m so grateful to have a space that I can turn to when I want to write something that doesn’t necessarily fit into a clear category. I never have to worry about genre when I sit down to write a post, and I’m free from the restrictions of traditional pitching. I can just write—that is such a lovely feeling.

8. In it for the long haul?

Yes, almost certainly. I absolutely love hearing from readers in the comment section and feel so lucky that I get to read their brilliant remarks and stories. It’s a joy.

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Maya C. Popa