An Interview with Kate Gaskin

Artist Interview
Written By MilspoFAN

While poetry's briefness fits well between the chaotic moments of life -- allowing for its creation and honing -- the reading and sharing of poems grows connections through a vast community. Milspouse/poet Kate Gaskin celebrates that community and continues to expand it in this month's interview.

MilspoFAN: Tell us a little about yourself, your journey as a military spouse, and where you are today.

Kate: I met my spouse in college. We were both English majors at a small state university in Alabama. He had been prior enlisted in the Air Force and was completing his degree so that he could commission as an officer. We got married quickly after graduation and have now been married 20 years. We have two children—a 13yo and a 2yo, both boys. Over the years, we’ve lived in San Antonio, Texas; Omaha, NE; Boulder, CO; Colorado Springs, CO; Pensacola, FL; Montgomery, AL; and Prattville, AL. We now live in Prattville, which is close to my family and where I grew up. 

Kate and Dominic

MilspoFAN: How did you become a writer?

Kate:I’ve always been a writer. I was writing poems in elementary school. I got much more serious and strategic about publishing, however, after I had my oldest son. I started publishing in small literary journals, and then I won a book prize and published my first book of poems with the small independent press YesYes Books. I’ve written another manuscript of poems since then and am looking for a press home for it. I also write essays, but prose writing is a different animal for me. I’ve found that I need to sink a lot more energy and sustained attention into it, and as a mom of two young children—one who is neurodivergent—my time is limited. I’ve found that poetry is an artform that lends itself to fragmentation. I can write a draft of a poem in as little as 20 to 30 minutes (though often it takes longer) and then revise it whenever I have time. I love that poetry is always there for me to pick up and put down, both as a reader and writer of it. I love how poetry is something most people look to when they’re the happiest they’ve ever felt, as well as the most despondent. 

Kate giving a reading

MilspoFAN: Describe for us your creative process and how that influences what you write?

Kate: My creative process has always been a bit of a grab bag of whatever I can do with the time I can find. Sometimes I’m generating a lot of new poems. Sometimes I’m revising existing poems. Sometimes I’m building and finetuning a manuscript. Sometimes I’m focusing on submitting work to journals, prizes, and other opportunities. Sometimes I’m promoting other poets’ work. Sometimes I’m not writing at all. I’m just living my life and trusting that poems are germinating in my subconscious. For the past four and a half years I’ve been in an English PhD program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I’ve done quite a bit of creative writing for this program, but I’ve also obviously done a lot of academic writing, too. It’s been challenging, but I’ve enjoyed building these skills and stretching what I can do as a poet and writer. 

Kate Gaskin

MilspoFAN: How has your role as a military spouse impacted your work as a writer- creatively, logistically, or otherwise?

Kate: My role as a military spouse is integral to what I write about. My first book of poems—Forever War—is all about my experience waiting stateside while my spouse deployed during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. There are so many poems written by combat veterans of wars, which is obviously an important perspective, but I saw a gap for poetry about the way war affects families of loved ones who deploy. Veterans bring war home with them, and then war ripples out infinitely into their families and communities. There are other milspouses who write poetry from this perspective—Jehanne Dubrow, Abby E. Murray, and Lisa Stice, to name a few—and I’ve enjoyed discovering their work and feeling like I’m part of a community of spouses trying to make sense of the complexities of living in families directly impacted by service, both in wartime and peacetime. As far as how being a military spouse affects my writing logistically, luckily it’s something that I can take with me when we move, but it also hurts to build up an in-person writing community and then have to leave it. However, I’m also grateful to have met so many amazing writers across the country. I have a wide network of poet and writer friends, and that has been a privilege, joy, and comfort. 

Forever War book cover

Kate holding Forever War

MilspoFAN: What is the most practical piece of advice that you would give to other artists?

Kate: The most practical advice I can give to other writers and artists—other than figuring out what kind of practice is reasonably workable for your schedule and lifestyle (which is no small task)—is to give back to your artistic community by organizing or volunteering. Poets don’t make money selling books. We have to organize our own events, lift each other up, and be each other’s microphones. While I wish there was more money in poetry, I appreciate this communal aspect of art. I love giving back in the limited ways I can. I write book reviews, conduct and publish interviews, organize conference panels, and amplify other poets’ work as much as I can. I’ve also been a poetry editor at The Adroit Journal for the past five years, and I love the work of sifting through thousands of poems, honoring each of them even when I have to send rejections. Giving back to your artistic community is the best way to feel connected to your art form, especially if you’ve just PCSed and you’re feeling lonely and unmoored. 



Find Kate online at:

Links to a selection of individual poems:



MilspoFAN
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