Fives logo – a stylised number five

with Eloisa Amezcua

The last thing that made you smile

A mink sighting! I’m currently at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT, and have been looking out of my window every day in the hopes of seeing a mink dive into the freezing river to look for food. Today was my lucky day! And to top it off, when they come back out onto the riverbank, they roll around in the snow—it’s absolutely the cutest.

A secret

I don’t drink coffee. I’m a horrible speller. I can only tie my shoes using the bunny-ear method.

The last thing you wrote

He’s addicted to the stench
of sweat-stained wraps
unfolding, falling
to the ground.

(I’m working on a collection of boxing poems.)

Your favourite city

Marfa, Texas is a wonderland but the food in Florence, Italy makes it a tie.

What you’d place in a time capsule

The Legitimate Dangers poetry anthology with an alternative cover that says “Bible.” Fritos Flavor Twists Honey BBQ chips. A recording of Raúl Zurita reading from Canto a su amor desaparecido. A picture of my family. A mixed CD that includes Solange, Elton John, Pusha T, Jeff Bluckey, and Selena.

Eloisa Amezcua is an Arizona native. Her poetry and translations are published or forthcoming from Poetry Magazine>, TYPO, Cherry Tree, and others. She is the author of the chapbooks On Not Screaming (Horse Less Press), Symptoms of Teething, winner of the 2016 Vella Chapbook Prize from Paper Nautilus Press, and Mexicamericana, forthcoming from Porkbelly Press. Eloisa is the founder and editor of The Shallow Ends.