Letters for Creatives #61: Lilith Noah - Interview With an Artist vol. 4

Her coming-of-age poems are rich with imagery and emotions

Hello, I am Celeste. Welcome all of you who are new here, including Edie, Krishna, Peejeh and Jeff! Take a look at my writing prompts or the newsletter directory to find what you need now.

Receipts by Lilith Noah

Happy 2022! I am so excited to do another interview with a published poet, Lilith Noah. She is gathering people falling in love with words with the recent-populated collage poem format in the community. But her coming-of-age poems are rich with imagery and emotions.

Lilith is open to message on Instagram but her inbox is messy. So if you have any urgent requests, feel free to email her. You can preorder her book here or on her etsy for those who don't have PayPal.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your writing journey started?

My name is Lilith Noah, I am 22 and a poet from Austria. I have always loved writing and discovered my love for poetry at the age of 16. That is also when I first started publishing my writing on tumblr. After a few years, I started my Instagram account and I have been writing almost every day ever since.

What is your writing process like?

Honestly I don't know if you can call it a "process". For me, it is mostly just random images in my head and I write it down in my notes app. There are a bunch of half-written poems and half-thoughts in there and I try to connect them into a coherent poem.

How did you decide to make collage with receipts?

I think the first receipt poem I did was in 2017, I found this theatre ticket of "hamlet" and had a phrase from a love poem in my head. So I decided to write it on the ticket because it somehow fit. Later on Instagram, I tried different styles and techniques but I always feel myself gravitate back towards receipt poetry.

Where do you find the material to make the collage?

Ever since I started with receipt poems I collected all the receipts and packaging materials at home. There is an entire drawer of scraps. Every time I write something new, I pick a receipt that fits the aesthetic and the poem. Then I collect all the receipts I have written on so far in a big shoe box.

Where do you get inspiration for your writing?

Every poem I have ever written has some of my experiences in it. They are not always 100% accurate but I can only write about things or feelings I have experienced.

But inspiration comes in many forms, sometimes it is a phrase I have read, sometimes it is something a friend has said and sometimes it is just looking out of the window and seeing the trees and streets full of people.

Which writers or artists have the biggest influence on your work?