Alex Pierce (poetry, ’97): Alex was recently interviewed by Open Book: Ontario about “setting up a writing colony, how living in Sable River, Nova Scotia affects her writing and her new poetry collection, Vox Humana (2011, Brick Books).”  Asked about poets who have influenced her work, she had this to say:

Writers as mentors, especially Don McKay and later Barry Dempster (at Banff) and Eleanor Wilner (in the MFA Program at Warren Wilson) influenced the way I write, though not so much the content or even the style. I met many poets who made a difference at various points along the way, among them Heather McHugh, Robyn Sarah and Jan Zwicky. It is so important to be read and taken seriously, and to be asked the pertinent questions: this attention to detail when I was beginning as a writer had a tremendous influence on me. The reverse is also true: I learned my craft by close reading –making observations and writing annotations on other poets’ work.