Meet Mallory Nygard | Librarian & Poet

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mallory Nygard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mallory, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
To me, taking a risk is saying yes to something I cannot completely control. I don’t particularly enjoy taking risks or feeling out of control; my immediate reaction is that the pit in my stomach drops out and I second-guess my decisions. I don’t want to acknowledge the possibility of things not working out, of being embarrassed in front of people I know, love, and respect.

When I was deciding whether or not to publish my first book of poetry, I was afraid that my friends and family wouldn’t want to read a collection focused on one of the great problems in the Church today. I was afraid they would not join me in talking about uncomfortable, but necessary things.

Although this fear is my first response, it is not the strongest voice in my mind. I have a deep trench in my heart that is dedicated to facing the truth, no matter how difficult that might be. This furrow is ultimately hopeful: things might work out better than they are now, and I won’t know until I give this an honest shot! I am not sure why, exactly, but it is deeply rooted in my mind and heart that I would rather live with a failure than a failure to try.

The book of poetry ended up being an excellent tool for opening conversations that otherwise weren’t happening. I had been afraid that people would reject the opportunity to speak candidly about something that had long been covered up, but, in fact, the poems sparked exchanges in people across a variety of situations in life: mothers and fathers, religious and atheist, single and married people were all bringing to light what had been festering in the darkness for years. Taking the risk of being ignored, actually allowed the truth to come out.
So, even when I don’t feel like it or when I’m not convinced it’s going to work, the risk is worth it to me. Letting go of control opens me to outcomes and aftereffects that I couldn’t have even known to imagine. That is hope to me, and I would rather live in hope than in fear, so I choose to take the risk.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a poet, which means when I sit down, I try to find new words to describe a common feeling, object, place, or person.

One of the biggest challenges while writing poetry is finding the time to slow down enough for creativity to emerge.

I am a full-time librarian, not poet, so I am always thinking about books my patrons might like, who is waiting for which book to be returned, the budget (always the budget!), upcoming programs, emails I need to respond to, emails I wish someone else would respond to me about, and the piece of bologna that was left in a book that got returned. My mind is full of the work that, it should be said, I love doing.

But poetry is borne from a slower pace. Savoring, contemplating, and rewriting are at the heart of writing poetry. That’s one reason why it took me more than five months to edit the poems out of which I compiled my first collection, “Pelican”. I had started working on the mostly-finished poems in October 2020 and finally published the book in April 2021.

Carving out specific time every day – even if it was for just 20 minutes – was really important for maintaining my momentum and actually getting the work done. Sometimes I had to fight myself to keep that 20 minutes. I had to tell myself over and over that making space for my own creative output is important and worth the sacrifice. I am glad I listened to that inner voice that quietly and consistently told me to honor the creative work I felt I had in me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in Knoxville, TN and the food culture here has been exploding! Knox Food Park hosts my favorite food trucks; tacos, barbecue, ramen, hot dogs, anything you could be hungry for. My favorite food truck, in fact, just opened up a can’t-miss restaurant; Fai Thai joins a bunch of other great downtown places, including Chivo Taqueria. Like everyone else my age, I love brunch and Knoxville is a great place for brunch; Farmacy, Wild Love Bakehouse, and the bagels at Paysan Bread are essential. For the sweet-toothed (like me), Cruze Farm churns the best local ice cream and Status Dough fries the best (and biggest!) doughnuts.

The best cocktails (and vibe) in the whole city are at the Peter Kern Library, a speakeasy in the back alley of the Oliver Hotel.

While the Great Smokey Mountains are a classic in the area, my favorite place to be outside in Knoxville is the Dogwood trail. In the spring, when the trees are blooming, walking along the river is my favorite way to appreciate this city I live in.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I owe a lot of thanks to the women in my writing group with whom I meet virtually every three weeks to share new work, critiques, and encouragement with each other.

I am also indebted to my friend Marie who – in the midst of starting a prestigious and time-consuming graduate program – edited the poems in my collection with me line by line. She read closely and, with her help, I found my voice.

Website: mallorynygard.com

Instagram: mallorykate

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nygardm/

Twitter: mallakate