all about Ivy
November 2023 (Issue #40)
Welcome to a love letter, a monthly publication from artist, writer and yoga teacher Colby Mackenzie featuring stories of my loving practices and support for yours. Thanks for being here.
Hello loves!
This month’s love letter is a very special issue.
It is our first ever ARTIST INTERVIEW!
A few weeks ago, I sat down with love letter member & poet Ivy Raff to catch up and talk about her debut book of poetry, “Rooted and Reduced to Dust”, coming February 2024 and available for pre-order now until December 15th.
I met Ivy in June at Jimmy Santiago Baca’s annual writing retreat. I had arrived a day late and didn’t know anyone yet and Ivy asked if I wanted to walk and get lunch and I appreciated her immediately - her kindness, her candor, her humor, and her commitment to creative practice. Plus, you really can’t beat that hair texture.
This artist interview is an idea from Jimmy himself during a moment we writers were all brainstorming how we can support one another’s work in the world. It’s something I hope to continue because supporting independent artists is one way we can keep investing in humanity everywhere.
We do not read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love — these are what we stay alive for.
During our conversation, we talk about the Eastern European roots of Ivy’s poems, the difficulty of living as a healthy artist in America, poetry as a form, the similarities between writing and yoga practice, and a simple tip to keep showing up to that blank page each day.
Plus, Ivy reads 3 of her favorites from the collection - ones that left me speechless.
Pre-orders are very important. More important than I realized (see quote paragraph 2).
Ivy told me in an email,
I've been sharing with people they get $2 off the retail price for pre-ordering - AND the number of pre-orders determines the royalty percentage that I, the author, ultimately make.
So, the more pre-orders, the greater the portion of the proceeds of my own work I get to keep.
Pre-ordering = big artist love.
So, if you’re able, consider showing some BIG LOVE to an independent artist and pre-order her work by December 15th!
If you’re unable, consider following Ivy on Instagram and/or asking your local library to order it.
I know what new book I’m getting myself for the holidays. I can’t wait to sit with her words, mark them and underline the smooth paper in my hands and feel seen and taken care of by the poems and by this gracious artist.
To investing in humanity - yours, mine, ours,
Colby
I really enjoyed listening to this convo!