The Big Idea: Ali Trotta

There is art all around us, and poetry can be found in places you’d never expect. Author Ali Trotta speaks on the true power of poetry in the Big Idea for her newest poetry collection, Offerings for Ordinary Gods. ALI TROTTA: I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of who gets to their story. (Before the Hamilton of it all, I swear.) Specifically, though, I have always been annoyed at what/who we deem a villain—from the Salem Witch Trials to Medusa. Women have, historically, ended up as the scapegoat, the unearned anti-hero, and a background character when they really should be the main character. I’ll never forget when, after reading and loving Jane Eyre, I read Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea. If you’ve never read it, it focuses on Bertha Rochester before becoming Bertha Rochester. Rhys’ book not only gives her a different name, but an entirely full and rich history. In fact, Rhys was so furious about Bertha simply being the madwoman in the attic, she set out to write her a life. And I…