Mina Loy to Princess Di

Here’s a fun fact about my writing: I often use lines from Mina Loy poems as prompts. My Paper Darts story “Radioactive Teeth” is an example of this; it was inspired by Loy’s poem “Gertrude Stein.” Another example is my story that trampset was kind enough to publish today: “The Princess Diana Experience.”

Earlier this year I drafted several flash pieces based on Loy’s “Songs to Joannes.” The particular line that sparked “The Princess Diana Experience” is this:

My pair of feet
Smack the flag-stones
That are something left over from your walking

How I got from there to Diana Spencer I’m not sure. I checked my notebook—I wrote this piece in late January, before Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah, and well before I listened to the You’re Wrong About podcast’s five-part series on Diana on my March road trip to Louisville. I’ve also never watched The Crown.

I’m glad I wrote the story before consuming all that other media—it probably would have been bogged down in too many real-life details. As it is, “The Princess Diana Experience” was one of those rare flashes that came out almost perfectly the first time. I only tweaked a few small things.

I hope you enjoy it!