Q&A with Eric D. Goodman

 

 

 

 

Eric D. Goodman is the author of the new poetry collection Faraway Tables. His other books include the novel The Color of Jadeite. He lives in Maryland.

 

Q: Over how long a period did you write the poems in your new collection?

 

A: Most of the poems in Faraway Tables were written during the pandemic, between late 2020 and early 2023. There are a few that date back to years ago and one or two that were more recent, but most of them fell into that range.

 

When COVID sent us all home to shelter in place, you would think that it would result in more focus time. For me, it seemed harder to focus intently on one subject matter. There were more distractions, and I was finding it more difficult to focus on longer forms—both writing and reading. I turned to poetry.

 

Q: The writer Toby Devens said of the book, “Faraway Tables is a dazzling collection--a mixture of the mundane and the monumental that travels to marvelous times and places in the world and in the heart, with surprise detonated in many of the poems' last lines.” What do you think of that description?

 

A: I love that description! It may be a little too kind, though I think it gets to the heart of what I strive for, both in my poetry and my fiction: taking everyday moments or situations and finding meaning in them.

 

The routine of making coffee in the morning or of going out on an excursion with a friend can be mundane. Those same moments can also be rich and meaningful.

 

The description also gets to the point that some of these poems are very introspective while some are focused on other places and other times.

 

Surprises are something I like to find when reading poetry and fiction. I don’t always achieve that (or even try to), but sometimes that can be fun:  to lead a reader in one direction and then give them something unexpected. 

 

Q: How was the book’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?

 

A: It took some time to come up with the title. When I was writing the poems during the pandemic, my original working title for the book was COVID -19, -20, -21, -22, implying this state of sheltered pandemic that seemed to drag on forever.

 

But as we came out on the other side, I realized that tying the entire collection to the pandemic wasn’t the best marketing move. People were tired of the pandemic.

 

Besides, although the poems were written during the pandemic, they’re not really about it. The poems are about this longing to be in other places and other times.

 

The poems in Faraway Tables span decades of memories and bottled-up thoughts. They’re about what came before the pandemic and what comes next. About the world that is out there waiting to be explored as well as the one that no longer exists and can never be visited again.

 

There are touches of nostalgia and longing in the book, a desire to be sitting with friends and family at those faraway tables. That happens to be a line in one of the poems, and it seemed to sum up the mood of the collection.

Q: How did you decide on the order in which the poems would appear in the collection?

 

A: That took some effort. Originally, I had them all together and was trying to balance out lighter poems with heavier ones. Then I tried lumping subject matters or moods together. And there were about a third more poems than ended up in the final collection.

 

A couple poet friends who were early readers recommended breaking the collection up into sections, which I did. I found emotional themes that I felt some of the poems fell into, like “Ache” and “Savor” and grouped the poems in that way. I cut out some of the poems that didn’t seem to fit and ended up with the selections and sections currently in the book.

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: It seems like I always have a few projects simmering on the back burner. I’m not sure which one will make it to the front burner first.

 

I’ve been writing a lot of travel stories recently, many of which have been published in print and online magazines. I’m thinking about revising some of those stories and collecting them into an armchair travel book. Travels with Charley, only on a plane with my family.

 

As I’ve been reading more poetry in recent years, I began reading a bit of traditional Chinese poetry. I haven’t started yet, but would like to write a themed poetry collection set in ancient China that revolves around an interesting scenario that was mentioned in one of my novels, The Color of Jadeite.

 

What I originally thought might be an extended section of the book and then thought might make a short novel or short story now seems to me like a good subject for a themed poetry collection. That’s really in the idea stage—no actual poetry written yet.

 

And on the fiction front, I’ve written a few dog stories that I think may be the start of a themed collection of short stories centered around dogs and their people.

 

Also, I’m considering plot ideas for a new adventure-thriller as a follow up to The Color of Jadeite. And my wife and I have been working on a new children’s storybook.

 

For the moment, I’ll be promoting Faraway Tables. I’m not sure which of these other projects will get my full attention next—but hopefully one of them will see the light of day soon.

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I hope readers find poems in Faraway Tables that resonate with them and that readers feel a connection with. I don’t pretend to have any great original insights, but do hope to remind readers of what they already know or knew at one time but forgot.

 

I love those “a-ha” moments when a reader feels an emotion or “gets” a moment and has a feeling of having been there. If I could watch a reader behind a one-way window, I’d like to see them sigh and nod, smile, occasionally chuckle. It’s all about connecting with the reader at an emotional level.  

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Eric D. Goodman.