L. Marie Wood, a finalist for the Stoker Award for Superior Achievement. in Poetry for her book Imitation of Life, has been writing dark fiction and poetry for nearly her whole life. She balances this along with a tremendous presence in the writing world: VP of the HWA, member of the SFWA, Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, mentorships, teaching classes, writing (and winning awards) for her screenplays. She is a freestyle poet at her core and she writes because she has to—it is in her soul.
1. What first got you into horror?
Birth. 🙂 I have been writing horror since I was five years old – no, really, I have. I didn’t know to call it that, and certainly didn’t know that my particular brand of horror was psychological, but that’s what it was and still is to this day. I have always thought the world sat at an odd angle, so the genre suits me.
2. What are some of your favorite horror tropes? Favorite horror movies?
I don’t know that I have a favorite trope – as a writer, I have always attempted to subvert tropes and do the unexpected, so I can’t say that I am particularly fond of any specific trope as they can silo creativity. But as for my favorite horror movies, there are many. I am a big fan of religious horror, so the 1970s and 80s were really good to me. The Omen and The Exorcist are two of my favorite ways to spend a day. I am also a huge fan of vampires, so Fright Night tops that list, closely followed by Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I watch Halloween every single year on Halloween – it is my all-time favorite slasher. Late Night with the Devil leapfrogged a lot of newer movies to get onto my favorites list. But my favorite horror movie of all time is one that most people don’t label as such. Angel Heart. People like to call it a psychological thriller or suspense, but I urge them to look at it again with more wizened eyes and see what they think now.
3. Who are your favorite poets? What are some of your favorite poems?
An epic like Dante Alighieri’s Inferno cannot be overlooked, but the first poem to make me think deeply about connotation and nuance was “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning.
4. What inspired you to pursue horror poetry?
Dark poetry came to me when I least expected it and very early in my career (in the 1990s). Initially, my poetry was romantic and wistful, but I quickly realized that remaining exclusively in that space didn’t align with my writing interests. Still, my first few publications were, indeed, of the romantic sort. But then I challenged myself to try something new. I wrote a darker one and felt less constrained. That’s how I knew I had found my niche.
I write because I have to – because it is in my soul. When the driving force is that intrinsic to who you are, there is nothing that can get in your way.
5. Can you tell us a bit about your writing process? When do you feel like a poem is complete?
Like with my prose, it is a feeling. As one who writes predominantly freestyle, there is no counting involved in my work, so that marker is not something I can rely upon. I rely on this feeling in all of my work. I have a friend who is an artist, and she said one day (when I and others in her class were touching up paintings, making marks that were truly not adding to the integrity of the pieces at all) that sometimes we have to know when to step away. Something in me just knows when the piece is finished, when to back away from the keyboard.
I am a pantser to my very core. That means I don’t outline, don’t do a lot of plotting and research ahead of writing, and don’t subscribe to any conventions. I am a freestyle poet outside of the occasional haiku.
6. What are your favorite themes to write about in your poetry? How much is influenced by personal experience/emotions?
I don’t write about specific themes – at least not deliberately. I think that all writing is influenced by something personal. It could be someone I saw on the street or an interaction I’ve had – something in a person’s stance or tone of voice…anything. The key is to let whatever it is work its magic and conjure up your words.
7. What challenges have you faced as a poet?
I write because I have to – because it is in my soul. When the driving force is that intrinsic to who you are, there is nothing that can get in your way. If publication is the root of the question, perhaps there have been pitfalls along the way that I did not recognize at the time, slights or oversights, but I have kept writing through it all because that’s all I know to do.
[Poetry] is as compelling as other styles. It is speculative, yes, but it is also emotional, challenging, thoughtful, and impactful.
8. What is the most difficult part of writing poetry, specifically horror poetry, as a woman?
I think that writing horror anything as a woman has similar difficulties because women are rarely seen as practitioners in the genre…even though gothic roots would show otherwise. I am only the occasional poet (I am a novelist, short story author, and screenwriter with much more frequency than a poet), but the same holds true in each of these styles. Women, though we deal with many horrors (including body horror, naturally in more prevalence than men) are simply overlooked in the genre. It is getting better, yes, however, the sentiment still exists.
9. How has your poetic style evolved over time? Have you always written horror poetry, or have you delved in other genres?
I started with the romantic stuff and decided to add some of my naturally darker nature to it. I don’t write poetry very often, so I am happy to say that my style is relatively unchanged. This makes me happy because, once I found my pace and voice, I wanted to remain true to it. While the topics may have changed over time, my beat has not.
Poetry has shown me that I don’t have writer’s block, that I can still do this thing I love, and that my words are important. It is something I write between longer works just because and is sometimes the only way a story can be told. It is always there, in whatever capacity it needs to be.
10. Can you tell us what role poetry has played in your life thus far?
Poetry has shown me that I don’t have writer’s block, that I can still do this thing I love, and that my words are important. It is something I write between longer works just because and is sometimes the only way a story can be told. It is always there, in whatever capacity it needs to be.
11. What do you wish more people knew about horror poetry?
That it is as compelling as other styles. It is speculative, yes, but it is also emotional, challenging, thoughtful, and impactful.
12. Any advice for writers attempting to get into writing poetry? What do you wish you knew when first starting out?
My only advice is that people need to follow their passion. If writing is what you truly want to do, do it. Understand your motivations. And finally, don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t.
13. Finally, what are your current and future projects, and is there anything else you want to shout out?
My next release is not poetry – at least not exclusively. The omnibus for my series will be released in May 2025. A novella, two short story collections, and a poetry collection come together to form The Open Book Universe where the people in the novella read the short story collections and…things go awry. One person escapes and pens the poetry collection, Imitation of Life, in a fever dream fugue. I’ve been honored to see the poetry collection in this universe nominated for three prestigious awards: the Elgin Award, the Stoker Award, and the Imaginarium Award for Poetry. The Open Book Universe combines all four books and also has an alternate ending, new and dangerous stories, and more poetry.
My website is www.lmariewood.com. I also have a linktree with all of my social media.
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Rebecca Karas
Rebecca lives in the midwest with her husband and two cats. When she’s not baking or frequenting the library, she’s reading Gothic Literature to the eldritch wildlife around her home. Her work has been published in Witch House Magazine and she is currently writing her first novel. You can find her rambling thoughts here: @rebeccakaras.bsky.social
