The Spiritual Poet: An Interview with Susan Miller

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In March, I discussed poetry and the creative writing process with Susan Miller, who is a poet, author, and professor at Rutgers University. She won two Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg awards for her poetry, and her writing was presented on BBC4 Radio. She published her first book, “Communion of Saints,” in 2017. Miller started teaching straight out of college, beginning at the elementary level. She has now been a professor at Rutgers for nearly 20 years. “I love getting kids of all ages to write.”

Miller has explored a few forms of literature, but she focuses on poetry and prose. As the mother of a ten-year-old daughter and a proclaimed “solitary writer,” thoughts and ideas are always brewing in her mind. Miller has been working on a potential book of essays with the working title “Sister Death,” which is a memoir, an art history, and a biography all in one. She notes that it’s different from anything she’s ever written.

Miller discovered early on that writing about religion, spirituality, or anything that could be remotely polarizing put her on the blacklist of a few publishers. When she was initially searching for a publisher, she sent her work out to writing competitions. She found herself frustrated because these expensive and time-consuming contests only got her polite emails saying, “It’s not the right time.” In 2015, she attended the Catholic Imagination Conference at University of Southern California. By chance, she was able to read some of her work, which is how she got noticed by a publisher at Paraclete Press. “I got lucky,” she quotes. Miller advises to never give up, no matter how many times you are told no. 

Miller’s poetry book, “Communion of Saints,” divulges the history of saints in the Catholic Church and connects them to contemporary figures. To prepare for her writing, she completed thorough research by delving into religious history. For theology-based poems, she wanted to do them justice. Miller garnered abundant background information to add layers to her writing, even if that meant exploring minuscule details.

Miller does experience writer’s block, describing it as “the train is coming, but it hasn’t quite come.” She resonates with the words of her mentor for eleven years, poet Marie Ponsot: “There’s no such thing as writer’s block. Lower your standards.” Many writers feel that innate need to be perfect, but Miller reminds them “just get something on that page — the beauty of creative writing is in the revision.”