Mini-interview with Emma William-Margaret Rebholz aka Billy

Please help us celebrate our Underblong reader Emma William-Margaret Rebholz aka Billy!!!

Emma William-Margaret Rebholz aka Billy (they/them) is a recent MFA graduate of Lesley University who probably wants to be your friend. They’re a Pushcart nominated poet and previous reader for The Blueshift Journal. Their work has has been recently published by Vagabond City, tenderness lit, Bad Pony, and Spy Kids Review. Talk to them about Animal Crossing and your favorite tea blends. twitter: @continuitea.

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What themes, emotions, questions, etc. will always speak to you in poetry/art?

Bein’ queer.

But seriously. In poetry you can inhabit any kind of body you choose. There are, of course, lots of ways to do this with no empathy or thought, but removing the burden of my literal physical self (whether through my own writing or reading someone else’s) is a relief and an exploration that I always come back to.

Tell us about your ~*writing rituals*~! (Or tell us the story behind a poem you’ve written recently!)

This goes against all the ~work from home listicles~ and good sleep hygiene tips I’ve ever seen, but I love to write in bed! All my best poems were written while I was snuggled up in my own covers, totally free from the possibility of being perceived. I also love to read my writing out loud as I go, so this set-up helps me avoid any stares from people thinking I’m a weirdo (which I am, but reading poems out loud isn’t why).

What have you been snacking on recently? (food or non-food!)

Teen dramas! Boston crime thrillers! 80's aesthetics! Music I know exclusively from TikTok! Looking at bolo ties on etsy! Cookies of all shapes and flavors! The urge to do something drastic to my hair!