Courtney Marie Andrews is a singer, songwriter, and poet originally from Phoenix, Arizona. After acting as the keyboardist and backing vocalist for Jimmy Eat World’s 2010 album, “Invented,” Andrews made her debut in 2016 with her own album, “Honest Life.” Now a Grammy-nominated artist, Andrews is releasing her second collection of poetry in her book, “Love Is a Dog That Bites When It’s Scared.”

Andrews read a group of poems from her collection at Prairie Lights on Friday as part of the inaugural Iowa City Songwriters Festival. Andrews also performed at the Englert Theatre           on Saturday.   

The Daily Iowan: What inspired you to write this poetry collection?

Courtney Marie Andrews:

A whole lot of love, and the absence of it, and everything in between. I was going through a really intense time; my father was terminally ill, and I was sort of embracing love at the same time as I was losing it.

I think when those kinds of things happen, you have this zone, where your interest is zoomed into a very basic thing, and you don’t really think of anything else. One thing you think about is just how it all threads through everything and how, really, when you zoom out of all the noise, it’s the most important thing.

Which poem is your favorite from the collection, and why?

I think there are a few poems that just flopped down from the sky and felt very important to me in the moment. I feel like they were little gifts from the universe.

One of those poems is called “Our Street,” and it’s about the imperfections of love and embracing them. Another one is “Embroidered Stars,” which is in the third section, and that poem is about world love – a love to the world, and how important that is, and how to have compassion for yourself is to have compassion for the world.

I think that poem was written after a few of the wars were announced, and it felt important for me to reckon with.

Do you have a favorite line of poetry you have ever written?

In “Embroidered Stars,” there is a line that says, “How can you pull a part of yourself and stand proudly looking up at the sky?” That line is just about how we are all from the stars. How can you kill another human when we are all made from the same thing?

Is there an album or song you’ve written that you associate with your poetry?

I wrote “Love Is a Dog That Bites When It’s Scared” in tandem with a record, two records actually, which have yet to be announced. I sort of do a swirl in all art forms.

Is there a specific message you want to convey with your music and poetry?

It’s really distilled down to compassion: for ourselves, for life. In writing, I think it’s really important to realize all things are connected. Every feeling and every experience is connected.

I think that’s why I say compassion, because actually, if you zoom out enough, you realize we’re all made of similar stuff. But obviously, with this collection, love is the big theme that sort of ties it all together across            every poem.

How did you get involved with the Iowa City Songwriters Festival?

Well, I played Mission Creek Festival a couple of years ago, and Brian Johannesen, the founder of Iowa City Songwriters, has been a big supporter and asked me to be the inaugural artist in residence, which is really exciting. I think I share similar values on these things, so he asked me to be a part of it.