Jacksonville poet-painter Anna Elkins just released a new book, Living Large on Little: How to See the Invitation in Limitation. The Jacksonville Review caught up with her to find out more.

What does it mean to live large on little?

It’s the paradox that restriction expands creativity. Whether working with a poem or a pocketbook, if we open our imagination, we can see the invitation in limitation.

You are primarily a poet; how did the process of writing nonfiction differ from the process of writing poetry?

I do love poetry, and I’d like to think my prose betrays that—one of the only love betrayals I would hope for!

What most surprised you as you were writing?

On the writing level, how much I can be a poet while writing prose. On the life level, how I’ve finally begun to see the proverbial hidden gift in problems while I’m still in the middle of them—not just after they’re “solved.”

How long did it take you to write the book?

I like to say that it took me a lifetime to live the material and a summer to write it!

What was the highlight of writing it?

I was given a writing residency at WordSpaceStudios in San Francisco. It was a splendid gift of time, and it’s the reason I was finally able to write Living Large on Little.

You included many quotes—do you have a favorite?

Perhaps the opening one by Matsuo Basho. It reads: “Without bitterest cold that penetrates to the very bone, how can plum blossoms send forth their fragrance all over the world?” That quote, along with the plum tree of my childhood I wrote about, inspired me to paint the plum illustration on the book’s cover.

And there illustrations inside the book as well?

Yes, I organized the book into nine sections inspired by the ancient fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I painted a fruit for each.

What is the message you hope readers will take away from the book?

Obstacles really are opportunities!

Where can readers find out more about your work?

At my website: annaelkins.com. There, you can also find my online art gallery, which includes the book’s illustrations.

Readers can find Anna’s book here in Jacksonville at Rebel Heart Books and The Miners’ Bazaar—it makes a great holiday gift.