{"id":18226,"date":"2026-07-21T18:29:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=18226"},"modified":"2026-07-21T18:29:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T22:29:15","slug":"episode-684-ali-trotta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-684-ali-trotta","title":{"rendered":"Episode 684 – Ali Trotta"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual Memories Show 684:
\nAli Trotta<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/virtualmemories\/Episode_684_-_Ali_Trotta.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

Podcast: Play in new window<\/a> | Download<\/a><\/p>

Subscribe: Spotify<\/a> | TuneIn<\/a> | RSS<\/a> | More<\/a><\/p>\n

“I think mythology and fairy tales provide a good baseline, because almost everyone has read a subset of those stories, and the symbolism is something most people can reach for and relate to.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>With her debut poetry collection, OFFERINGS FOR ORDINARY GODS<\/a> (Clash Books), Ali Trotta<\/a> brings myth, magick, tarot, and ritual to bear on the eternal & primal struggle of women. We talk about those roots and how tarot and ancient myth inspired her work, where tarot began for her \u2014 ’90s, The Craft<\/em> \u2014 and how past guest Katelan Foisy<\/a> resparked her interest and showed her new depths in the cards, and her focus on revising ancient myths to retell the stories of wronged women like Persephone, Medusa, and Dido. We get into how she feels at seeing her work collected and how to look at her development as a poet without cringing at her younger selves, how everything is fair game and poetry can serve as exorcism, and how confession can be deeply coded in a poem. We also discuss the teacher who gave her the tools to read poetry deeply, her Very Online-ness and how she’s built relationships and writer communities online (and how it’s good to be part of the Group-Chat), her online #tinypoem flurries and how rockstar she felt when someone got a tattoo of one on their arm, the project(s) she’d love to write, and more. PLUS: She reads a few of her poems and gives me my second tarot reading of the summer<\/em>! Give it a listen!<\/a> And go read OFFERINGS FOR ORDINARY GODS<\/a>!<\/p>\n

“I know I’ve done my job as a writer if I’ve made someone cry or made someone angry.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n