A dictionary and a paper shredder are crucial to Amanda Shires songwriting process.
It would be like, Oh my god, why is she keeping this paper?
It says the most cliched thing ever!
Credit: Elizaveta Porodina
Her careful pruning not to mention a 2017 M.F.A.
in Poetry from Sewanee: The University of the South, finishing her degree in April 2017.
When she applied to the program, Shires admits, I didnt even know what poetry was, really.
Douglas Mason/Getty
I thought I did.
So, whatisit exactly?
According to Shires, Its a meditative, reflective, and mind-blowing experience.
I read somewhere that a blockbuster in poetry is [selling] 3,000 copies.
Thats a damn shame.
Where would I be without all those?
Violin was my first form of expression and is still in a lot of ways, she says.
Enter the Mellotron pedal, which gave the stringed instrument a new sonic direction.
On using new toolsWhile Shires often writes music on ukulele, onSunset, she also tried an autoharp.
I did a lot of autoharp and tenor guitar writing.
We usually show each other our work when were done, or if we get stuck.
Its a guilt-ridden thing.
She went to college after I did, getting her nursing degree.
I was in a plane that lost an engine flying from Dallas to England, says Shires.
I thought I was gonna die.
On how poetry affected the new albumThe recent student admits that her M.F.A.
studies had a huge impact on this record.
That can really help my songs, about where to put the most valuable words and expressions.
But at the same time, Im so tired of hearing the same old crap.
Bring some freshness if you’re able to.
