Gretchen McCroskey (photo by David Grace)
Gretchen McCroskey was educated at King College (now King University) and Hollins College (now Hollins University). She taught English for 41 years, first at Virginia Junior High in Bristol, Virginia, and later at Northeast State Community College in Blountville, Tennessee. She is retired and while she misses teaching, she enjoys not facing a stack of essays to be graded. She has been a church musician most of her life and serves as chapel pianist at State Street United Methodist Church in Bristol, Virginia.
A! Magazine: Do you remember the first poem you wrote? If so, tell us about it and why you wrote it.
Gretchen McCroskey: The first real poem I wrote was in a class taught by Lawrence Reynolds for UVA at the Abingdon center. The title was “Queen Anne,” and it as a personification of Queen Anne’s lace.
A! Mag: How did you get interested in writing poetry?
McCroskey: I suppose one reason I chose to write poetry stems from a comment made by Dr. Pat Winship in a King College class. He said that poetry is the most challenging form to write. I have always liked a challenge; however, it was many years later that I tried writing poetry.
A! Mag: What poets serve as inspiration?
McCroskey:: Many poets have inspired me. I taught eighth grade English for 19 years before transitioning to the college level, and I admired a number of poems in the eighth grade literature anthologies. I especially liked Emily Dickinson, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg and Langston Hughes. When I started writing my own poetry, I was most influenced by Appalachian poets, specifically Jim Wayne Miller and Jeff Daniel Marion. Appalachian poets were writing about subjects familiar to my own experience. I was also influenced by Eric Trethewey, my mentor at Hollins College.
A! Mag: What subjects are inspiration for your poetry?
McCroskey: My poetry primarily relives my experiences growing up on a small farm in Southwest Virginia. I use free verse because it most resembles speaking, and my poems are as one cousin said, “simply family stories” related in poetic form.
A! Mag: What is the importance of poetry in our world today?
McCroskey: Poetry is important in our chaotic world today because poets attempt to bring order out of chaos.
A! Mag: What are some publications where your poetry can be found?
McCroskey: My poetry has been published in a number of regional publications including the following: Now and Then, Wind, Pine Mountain Sand and Gravel, Artemis, Clinch Mountain Review, A! Magazine for the Arts, Number One, Sow’s Ear, Mountain Ways, Fresh Breath, Appalachian Heritage, Grandmother Earth, Tennessee Voices,and, most recently, “The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume IX: Virginia.”My chapbook“FindingMy Way Home”was published in 2009 by Finishing Line Press.
A! Magazine: What awards have you received?
McCroskey: My poems have been awarded prizes in contests sponsored by Tennessee Mountain Writers, Mountain Heritage Literary Festival, Appalachian Heritage Writers Symposium and Poetry Society of Tennessee. I was named Poet Laureate of the Poetry Society of Tennessee for 2020-2021.
The Calling
We sat on the front porch
catching wind wisps of preaching
from Pine Hill Mountain
“They’re getting happy,” said Daddy.
Cousin Paul burrowed his head in “Dick Tracy.”
Mama reached for the obituaries.
I sat on the edge of the slat swing
divining the air for words.
Reprinted by permission
