Meet the Faculty: Zachary Jepsen

“You have to listen to what a poem is trying to become.”

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Charlotte Lit welcomes Zachary Jepsen to our faculty for the first time to teach a workshop called “How a Story Becomes a Poem: Exploring the Narrative Lyric.” This online class will explore how poems blurring the line of lyric and narrative use detail, order of information, and pattern to direct focus, build tension, create surprise, and ultimately imbue their works with a deeper meaning. More information and registration here.

Zachary Jepsen is a poet who lives in New York City with his wife and daughter. He earned his master’s degree in poetry through Warren Wilson’s MFA Program for Writers, and his work has been published in The Westchester Review. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, and he loves syntax, but those two things are unrelated. We asked him a few questions so you could get to know him better.

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You and your family recently moved from Charlotte to New York, which is a great city … but is there anything you miss about Charlotte?

I miss our neighborhood and our washer and dryer. I miss the elementary school and
the great teachers Regina (our kiddo) had. I miss the barred owls hooting back and forth at night in the woods behind our house.

Have you found a favorite place to write in NYC?

I still do most of my writing at the same desk, actually! But it’s nice to have the city to wander through while chewing on a thought or two.

What led you to get your MFA after a stint in the Marines and making a career in tech?

I always wanted to get my MFA, but it never seemed like the right time. After Regina was born, there was of course even less time! Then, the pandemic forced us to completely reevaluate how we spent that time. At a certain point, Katie (my spouse) said, “You know, it’s never going to be easy.” So, I applied.

Name a few poets whose work inspires you.

I adore Kay Ryan’s work—each poem is an incantation; Christine Kitano, particularly her book Dumb Luck, which I’ve read half a dozen times; and lastly (sorry, I’m offering several rather than a few), Jenny George, whose book * (asterisk) is such a great example of the power of short verse.

What’s a piece of advice you got in grad school that you’d like to pass on to other poets?

The poem you finish isn’t necessarily the one you intended to write. You have to listen to what a poem is trying to become.

What are you looking forward to in teaching “How a Story Becomes a Poem” for Charlotte Lit?

While I adore discovering what gears contribute to a poem’s effects (and we will!), I’m particularly excited to communicate my enthusiasm and love for the poems we’ll discuss. Sharing with the students in that collective experience, cultivating a specific space in which we can all for a brief time breathe these poems—you can’t beat that.