Lovely SplashReporter Champagne Shoes One On One With SplashHall Poet Sue May Ardila AKA Redsky
This week, SplashHall regulars and guests, I have the pleasure of posting my interview of Sue May Ardila, aka Redsky. This outspoken beauty is well-known at The Poetic AX for her distinctive poetry and her insightful critiques.You can also discover her lovely Haikai.c_s: Redsky, What brought you to SplashHall?
Redsky: the seriously talented mikki, although I prefer to call him Houdini these days, lured me to this site. Long story short, Mikki and I discovered each other's poetry in PC, we traded ideas and suggestions on our work and then he suggested this site. So I came over here, simply put it was love at first post. Oh, and finding out you were here was an added perk.
c_s: What was it like being " the new kid on the block?"
Redsky: A bit wary a first, just because I like to be honest in my critiques and I was afraid someone might take a comment the wrong way but I realized very quickly that I was dealing with a group of people who have a receptive and mature mindset on writing. Once I witnessed the exchange of critiques in the AX my attitude shifted to: "phew, I have no need to be walking on eggshells around here!"
c_s: And what about writers' block? Do you ever suffer from it? And if so, how do you fight back?
Redsky: I know some people might hate me for saying this but I'm going to say it anyway: writer's block is an EXCUSE to avoid writing, it's a MYTH, a LIE . . . it's an easy solution to getting around a problem, the problem being your work--what needs to be said, they way you want to write it--which is sometimes very difficult to do. The best professor I've ever had for fiction writing was John Dufresne, he emphasized that if you sit at your desk long enough you will begin to write, of course, you could be there an hour or three hours and you may have nothing but in the end something will come out, it's inevitable. So the answer to your other two questions: I don't suffer from writer's block because I don't believe in it. But I will say one thing, I think there's a fear of failure, that our writing won't meet our own expectations or standards. The only way to confront this fear is by accepting the fact that any first draft or writing attempt will always be a failure (let's be honest with ourselves, first drafts are always crappy) we're not perfect but the tenacity to reach perfection, just the simple act of sitting down and writing every day, is the key to fighting back.
c_s: How have you been enjoying your stay here?
Redsky: I'm having a great time. I've never felt so connected with any on-line poetry site as I have with this one. I'm stoked with the poetry, the people, the positive attitude.
c_s: Do you find The Ax(e) sharp enough?
Redsky:There's a balance to the Ax, it leaves teeth marks but doesn't draw blood, which is a good thing; there's a mix of respect, tact, support and camaraderie among the members in this forum, something that you really don't find on other on-line poetry workshops.
c_s: You obviously have outstanding talent as a writer. Do you put a lot of time into editing and revising your work?
Redsky: Such an oversized compliment, I'm flattered you'd say that, thank you. Well, I have two major problems when it comes to writing, I'm a perfectionist but a procrastinator, so I have these two monsters on my back that are constantly snapping and clawing at each other. I write every day in my journal but my jots and observations--what I like to call them--to me, never equate to a poem, so producing a poem doesn't happen in a day but rather a week. Once I have that first draft, I become obsessed with editing, start dissecting every line, scraping stanzas, playing with line breaks, it can get pretty out of hand. Even here, I won't post a poem before revising it several times, it's a fixation of mine that my poems must look "presentable."
c_s: Are you constantly experimenting with new forms and themes in your poetry?
Redsky: I have an itch for confessional and narrative poetry in free verse although I've started to take more interest in structured formats, specifically snowball and sonnet. As for themes, childhood and family are a norm that I love to write about but I've also started to delve into darker subjects, primarily on the nightlife in Miami, that party atmosphere and the destructiveness it can harbor.
c_s: Which writers have contributed most dramatically to
the shapes that your own writing has taken?
Redsky: I'll keep the list short: Denise Duhamel, Li-Young Lee, Sharon Olds, Donald Justice and Charles Simic . . . oh, and the wonderful Haikai masters Matsuo Basho and Yosa Buson.
c_s: Aside from writing, what are your passions?
Redsky: I'm a recovering party girl, although I do relapse from to time to time, so if there's a dimly-lit, cramped venue with music and people, I'll start scratching for a fix. Huge concertgoer, I listen to as much music as possible (genres vary but bossanova, ambient rock, new wave & indie mostly). Reading, mainly fiction. On the flip side, I love to sew, knit and embroider . . . just call me Granny Disco! I'm currently working on a collection vintage-looking rag dolls, all stuffed, sewn and painted by hand, it's been quite an endeavor but I hope to have them ready for this art show by next February.
c_s: Tell us a little about your "tough love" critique-dispensing philosophy?
Redsky: On the first day of my Poetic Techniques course, my professor marched in and handed out copies of a list titled "Top Ten Reasons You Shouldn't Take This Class." I won't go over all the reasons but two of the most resounding were: unable to cope with criticism (subjective/objective) and unreceptive to change. It was liking being slapped across the face, hard. I had never been told not to take a class and here was my professor encouraging us to do him a favor and "please leave, you're not going to like what I have to say or what your classmates will say about your work because it's the truth." We were about thirty in that class and by the third week we had dwindled down to about 14. It was a rough semester, but I what I learned was indispensable; my professor's tough love stance during workshops completely changed the way I approach my work and handle other peers' work.
c_s: Is there any message you would like to transmit to SplashHallers at large?
Redsky: "Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you've never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter Wait. It's not love I'm describing. I'm thinking of a monorail." ~Jack Handey
c_s: Your user name is poetically beautiful How did you come by it?
Redsky: Red morning sky,
snail;
are you glad of it?
~Kobayashi Issa
c_s: Thank you, Redsky, for this glimpse at the lovely you. If you see MikkiRat, by the way, tell him champagne_shoes sends her regards to him and Alexander Nevsky. At this point the interview clicks to "off the record." SplashHallers, if you are sufficiently intrigued to visit Redsky's luminous poetry ( as I am certain you are ) drop in at the Poetic AX (workshop).
Splashers: This week the relentless 
