Anthony Aguero is a queer writer in Los Angeles, CA. His work has appeared, or will appear, in the Bangalore Review, 2River View, The Acentos Review, The Temz Review, Rhino Poetry, Cathexis Northwest Press, 14 Poems, and others.

Anthony’s poem “Papier-mâché” appears in the Fall 2020 issue of Carve. Download digital or order in print to read.

This piece has such a beautiful texture, with layers that to me matched the imagery of the title “Papier-mâché.” How did you come to this title, and which came first the title or the poem?

I had just gotten through an incredibly visceral bout of depression when I wrote this poem, and I was reflecting on what I was feeling during those two weeks. On a normal day, I deal with a light variation of self-deprecating thinking to where it’s easy to dismiss. However, during this time it was like a foot on the gas pedal I couldn’t take off and I felt like I was going to crash into a wall. So I thought of the words, “My skin.” I actually came up with the entire poem first assuming I’d title the poem as “My Skin.”

I then thought of papier-mâché and the process and outcome of that. The poem itself takes me through that process of becoming.

I loved how the repetition in this piece works to move the reader through it and creates an urgency behind the words. What do you hope for in the reader’s experience?

First and foremost, I hope the reader has fun with this poem. It is certainly one of my more hopeful poems compared to the ones which are more narrative driven.

As we continue through this "unprecedented" time, how has your own writing or writing process changed?

As a person genetically prone to anxiety and depression, I’ve been attempting to focus as much as I can on what allows me to move through this period of time with as much lightness as possible. That includes writing poetry. Typically, I just write the poem down quickly and without too much effort or thought. However, I’ve been actively concerned about what I’m trying to say in the following line and so forth. This has been allowing me to have a different relationship with my poems, especially when I’m exploring some more traumatic experiences from my past.