Interview with Özge Lena

Editor's Choice poet & published in Issue No. 3, Pulsus Litterae.

I'm Özge Lena, an Istanbul-based writer, EFL teacher, and poet with more than a hundred poems anthologised and published in more than ten countries. I was nominated both for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. My poetry was shortlisted for the Ralph Angel Poetry Prize and the Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition in 2021, then for the Plough Poetry Prize in 2023, and for the Black Cat Poetry Press Nature Prize in 2024.

Interview published in Issue No. 4, Musa et Verbum, January 1st, 2025.

What inspired you to write the piece that was published in Everscribe? Can you share the story behind it?

I love writing ecopoetry, especially its more-than-human perspective. I had always wanted to write an ecopoem about monarch butterflies, their fragile beauty, and how they cannot keep up with the harsh changes of the climate crisis. Then in an ecopoetry workshop with another poet, I got the chance to be the voice of those amazing creatures.

What themes or messages do you hope readers take away from your work?

I hope readers can see the world from the eyes of a monarch butterfly, and I hope they can feel how it is to be so tiny and delicate across the atrocity of a changing climate.

How has your writing evolved since you started? Are there any particular influences that have shaped your style?

English is my second language. Yet I’ve never seen that as a setback but a unique feature. I have written fiction in my mother tongue for many years; I even have a published novella in Turkish. Then in 2020, I decided to write poetry in English, and I have had to teach myself the language of poetry from scratch by reading, writing, taking courses, joining workshops, and studying day and night like crazy. Every poet I read shaped my style, and from every poem I have written, I have learnt something.

If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring authors, what would it be?

Read voraciously. Follow your instincts, follow your nose, and follow your true self. Be honest on the page; be honest with yourself. Write like life on earth depends on it.

Are there any upcoming projects or works in progress that you’re particularly excited about?

Recently, I have finished an ecopoetry collection, and I'm editing it. Also, I'm writing a collection of war, about how it affects the children, which truly hurts to write.

How can readers find you and see more of your work?

They can follow me on social platforms like Bluesky (@lenaozge.bsky.social), X/Twitter (@lenaozge), and Instagram (@lenaozge).