Mass-Produced Love Story
by Florence-Susanne Reppert
It starts and ends the same way.
Old words, new formations.
The dog eared,
sugar-lipped,
mass-paperback of our own creations. We are novellas.
Dramas.
Lines and lines of dictionary variations. So go on.
Open me up.
Bookmark your favorite parts with something that smears,
trail your greasy fingers over the coffee stains on my thigh.
Break my spine.
Leave me out in the rain or tear me to shreds with your canines.
Put me back together with tape and glue,
promise you will never do it again,
You wouldn't dare hurt me anymore.
I won't be neglected by your leather-worn hands. Replace my cover with something more aesthetically beautiful and tell me lies.
Only read the first page of all I have to offer and put me back on the shelf with the rest of your ‘Do Not, Could Not Finish’ collection.
Tell me you love me if only to ruin me.
I promise it’s all I’ve ever known anyway
Why do you write poetry? What are your poetic muses?
My reasons for writing are extremely abundant. But the ‘why’ always trickles to two that stand in the forefront. The first being my Mother. When I was a teenager I was sitting in front of our huge boxy Dell computer and, being a nosey kid, I was rifling through papers. I happened upon a small folder filled with poetry written by my mom. I never knew she wrote and I don't think we ever spoke about it again. But she had written a piece about what it felt like to be a bird stuck in a cage. I took it, kept it in a notebook and must have copied it a dozen times to work it into my memory. She later was angry I took it, but as an adult I understand a lot more about her because of that poem. The second why, is because growing up and well into my adulthood I never felt like I had an outlet for all the things I struggled with. I never shared how I really felt with anyone but my journals. To this day I still struggle with being transparent in my emotions but my writing has helped immensely.
My poetic muses are simply my experiences. There are a few poets I’ve had the honor to meet that inspire me and helped me find my voice, but at the end of the day it’s what I've overcome that pushes me forward in my poetry.
There are a lot of cityscapes and industrial themes in your work. Is this a product of where you live or where you grew up?
I've always been fascinated with buildings and history. Architecture is such a huge part of our world, for better or worse. I grew up in the country, on a cul-de-sac with a farm at the beginning of the street. I dreamt of the city and looking out over the buildings. Now I live in a small city and dream of the country.
You have a new chapbook out. Tell us a little bit about Trigger Warning.
Trigger Warning (published by the incredible team over at Two Key Customs) actually started as a very different project. I hadn’t intended to write a book about my trauma and more harrowing experiences until Steve and Lindsay of TKC reached out to me about the manuscript I was tinkering with. At the time, I was dealing with a multitude of things from my past and struggling with my PTSD. So when they reached out I knew they were people I could trust with the heavy stuff. What started as 2 poems I had written about domestic abuse turned into 14 really heavy pieces that I never thought I would write about. I am horrible when it comes to describing my own work, so if you want a more eloquently worded review of the book go to @tinamariecox on Instagram and check out her blog. She recently reviewed my book and I am grateful for her!
I believe you are also a photographer. Does poetry influence your photography? Does photography influence your poetry?
My photography and my poetry kind of bounce off each other in my mind. I've been doing both since I was about 10 but I always felt more of a deeper love for my photography. I tend to write more pieces about my photography than take pictures to go with my writing. I’ve just always been fascinated about capturing moments in picture form, taking a memory and making it permanent. I’ve always felt like I had the capability to capture a feeling with my camera better than I could ever try with my words, and sometimes, words aren't always needed or necessary.
What do you find most fulfilling about the writing process. Do you have any writing habits or strategies that help in turning the blank page into an artform?
The one thing that is always helpful when I'm in a writing slump is going to an open mic or picking up a book of poetry or, honestly, any book. Inspiration is all around us, in the abandoned garages in an alleyway in the city, in the scents floating on the air that triggers a specific memory, even something as simple as watching your cat attempt to be graceful and somersaulting his chunky butt off the couch. I wish I could say I sit with my laptop and a cup of tea while writing. However, most times I'm surrounded by the chaos of toddlers, power chugging a Monster energy drink and hiding in my bathroom to get the thoughts into my notes app. The most fulfilling thing about my writing process is that once I'm done hacking away at a piece I feel lighter. Almost as if the final poem was a part of a bloodletting ritual.
Where can readers buy your books/read more of your work?
If you want to buy Trigger Warning, go over to @twokeycustoms on Instagram and click the link in the bio! Or go over to CatchsteveZ on Etsy! (and please also check out the other books they've published! They do fantastic work!) If you're interested in either of my self published books (Love Lust and Misery or Poems from a schizophrenic mind) I am not so sad to say that I have pulled them out of circulation. BUT I'm rewriting some of the poems from those books for another project I have in the works! You can find my poetry on Medium! My name there is under Florence-Susanne Reppert, and I think it would be also super cool if you checked out our literary magazine,
Poetry as Promised! On, basically, all platforms! My photography can be found on Facebook under Florence-Susanne Photography!
Florence-Susanne Reppert is a 25-year-old Poet from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Their first publication was at age 12 (Eber and Wein poetry contests) and they've been featured multiple times in the past year and half at open mics spanning the New Jersey and Pennsylvania poetry scenes. They also, more recently, were published in Viridian door magazine as well as Soupcan magazine. They also co-edit and co-founded Poetry as Promised Magazine and Nowhere as Promised Open Mic. You can find them online at IG- schizo_trash_poet.
And in real life crying over all the books they will never be able to read before they die
John Wojtowicz grew up working on his family’s azalea and rhododendron nursery in the backwoods of what Ginsberg dubbed “nowhere Zen New Jersey.” Currently, he works as a licensed clinical social worker and adjunct professor. He has been featured on Rowan University’s Writer’s Roundtable on 89.7 WGLS-FM and several of his poems were chosen to be exhibited in Princeton University's 2021 Unique Minds: Creative Voices art show at the Lewis Center for the Arts. He has been nominated 3x for a Pushcart Prize and serves as the Local Lyrics contributor for The Mad Poets Society Blog. His debut chapbook Roadside Oddities: A Poetic Guide to American Oddities was released in early 2022 and can be purchased at www.johnwojtowicz.com. John lives with his wife and two children in Upper Deerfield, NJ.