Christine Klocek-Lim's Blog, page 17
April 9, 2012
Inquiring Minds and Other Clichés — O.P.W. Fredericks
— a poetry interview series by Christine Klocek-Lim
O.P.W. Fredericks(editor of Touch: The Journal of Healing, The Lives You Touch Publications)
1. What is your favorite poem that you've written? Read?
I must preface that my answers to both parts of this question are a bit biased. "Serenade" is my favorite poem that I've written because it is a love poem I wrote to my partner, Daniel Milbo, for Valentine's Day in 2009. A few weeks later I reprinted it on linen paper and then had it framed for him as a gift. For me, it is my best work, though I've never been satisfied with the poem's final verse. I've often recited it in my mind as I've tried to find something better, but Daniel will never allow me to change it. To my horror, I found a typo in the framed poem when I read it where it hangs on the wall this past winter.
My answer to the second part of this question also involves Daniel and is based on a very personal event. The favorite poem that I've read has never been, nor ever will be published. It is titled "Soldier, Come Home," and it was written for me by Daniel when I began my transition into retirement from nursing in the autumn of 2007. As I walked into our dining room upon my arrival home after the final day of working full-time as a nurse, I found what appeared to be a framed document at my place on the dining room table. Unsuspecting, I began to read it when I suddenly realized it was a poem. It made me cry with the intensity of a cry of release, an unburdening that came from the depths of my soul. The poem is about the ending of a phase of life and the transition into a new one. It begins with my life as a caregiver, and the professional and personal challenges, trials, and sacrifices I had experienced and made as a nurse after 30 years at the bedside. As the poem progresses, it beckons for me to accept the transition and then invites me to rest, recover, and look forward to an unencumbered future. After I recovered, I discovered (with Daniel's help) a second poem hidden within the frame, titled "Over The Threshold," and I cried again with even more emotion. This poem was about a new beginning. It recounted all my dreams for the future, all the things I had shared with Daniel; and it reiterated his ongoing desire for me to reach for those dreams and his unwavering support of me to achieve them. I then realized that the contents of that frame represented the greatest gift I had ever received.
To continue along the lines of what I believe to be the intention of this question, I have read many, many poems on my own and thousands more that have been submitted to our journal and press. I have a folder on my computer that contains between 90 and 100 poems that have moved, amused, or inspired me, but I'll list only the following poems because they immediately come to mind.
"Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas to which I wrote my first attempt at a glose or glosa, titled "Daddy's battles," in response to a challenge offered by Colin Ward on the Poets.org workshop forum. I think it was one of the 2009 offerings in my NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) Poets.org thread. Also included are:
"Blow, Healing Wind" by Esther Greenleaf Mürer
"Dirt" by Catherine Rogers
"Door Card" by James S. Wilk
"Dying" by Stephen Bunch
"Final Night" by Tina Hacker
"Grasshopper" a DATIA sonnet by Colin Ward
"I See God Standing in Stout Grove" by Larina Warnock
"Night Shift" by Ed Bennett
"No Possum, No Aesop, No 'Gators" by Stephen Bunch
"Pass on: to give a thing that has been given," a never published poem written for me by Larina Warnockno link
"The Quilters of Gee's Bend" by Alarie Tennille
"Studying Savonarola" by M.A. Griffiths
"
2. Do you think there is a disconnect between academic poets/poetry and online poets/poetry?
Not so much a disconnect or disparity as there is a difference in their approach to poetry. Also, because I am not an academic, I would have to say that my opinion is inherently biased. I have found that academic poets more often tend to focus first on craft while online poets more often tend to focus first on content. Unfortunately, sometimes that's where the focus ends. I also find it admirable to a degree that because of the medium in which they are most familiar, each group inherently tends to gravitate towards "home." There are large numbers of online poets who seek criticism of their work in open forums where their poetry is exposed to comments from anyone. I have no evidence to suggest that academic poets, on the whole, do the same, but I have learned that they do seek critique from their academic colleagues. I do understand that like tends to seek out and attract like, but for either, this can result in a stagnation of the critiquing pool. Regardless of their background, poets who can connect to an audience achieve the greatest success.
Simply put, I think that these two groups represent two different poetry factions and that there is a tendency for them to want to remain that way, but I do occasionally see crossovers and merging between the two. This is not to say that there aren't internet poets whose work has rivaled the level of craft achieved by the academics. A few of these that come to mind are the late Margaret A Griffiths, Christine Klocek-Lim, Colin Ward, and Larina Warnock. Nor does this mean that there aren't those academic poets whose poetry is infused with accessible content allowing their work to connect to a wide audience. When you encounter the work of a poet like Catherine Rogers, you experience the best of both worlds.
3. Has the rise of the poetry MFA been positive or detrimental to the art?
In general, the positive effects of the rise in MFA's are an expanding awareness of literature, an increased desire to excel in communicating thoughts and ideas, and an overall elevation in the desire to possess the ability to comprehend the intention of language through the written word.
I can't say that I believe the possession of a MFA has been detrimental to the art of poetry, but I was surprised to learn a few things about the writing skills of some and the degree to which those skills were lacking. My impression is based on my experience with the work we've received from MFA candidates and those who hold a MFA because my expectations are much higher for someone who would possess such a degree. I was surprised to learn that some MFA's / candidates believed that the possession or pursuit of the degree automatically elevated their work to the level of art, qualified their work for acceptance for publication regardless of whether it met a publication's requirements, submitted work that did not adhere to the basic rules of grammar, or understood the difference in meaning between homophones.
4. Do you write for yourself or for an audience/reader?
I write for both at different times though I rarely begin a piece with an audience in mind. More often, a piece begins as a personal endeavor, then at some point, usually quite later, I might consider whether it has the potential to be transformed into something that could be appreciated by an audience.
5. How much of what you write is inspiration vs. perspiration?
Considering question #4, I'd say 75% inspiration and 25% perspiration. I say this because starting a poem is my greatest challenge. I'll often have an idea floating around in my mind for days that begins with the need for an emotion to be expressed. Sometimes it will submerge itself into my sub-conscience to mature until it's ready to reveal itself. When this happens, putting it to paper becomes an all-consuming focus.
The annual NaPoWriMo challenge would be an exception to this. Participation in this endeavor often garners rough or very rough poem drafts that I will return to later in the year. It forces me to write, whether I think I have something to say or not.
6. If you were a Celtic bard, carrying poems from place to place as if they were the last flame, which ones would you sing?
As a Celtic bard, the poems I would carry would begin with my list in question #1 and end with those in the folder on my computer.
Anything else you'd like to say?
In closing, I have found that I have a greater affinity for poetry editing than poetry writing. Daniel's poem, "Over the Threshold," helped me to realize that the focus of my life has been to contribute to the efforts of others by helping them to achieve their goals and reach their potential. As a nurse, I enter people's lives at moments when their life's journeys are interrupted or their journey in this life is coming to an end. My skills and efforts help those who are detoured from their journey to return to the course they were traveling. For those whose journeys are ending, I help them to remember what they have achieved, take pride in their accomplishments, and realize how they have affected and made differences in the lives they have touched along the way. With regard to poetry, I realized there were many parallels between my vocation in nursing and what I might hope to contribute to poetry.
As an editor, I try to understand not only the message and meaning of a poem but also the intention of the poet who wrote it. I do this by assuming the role of a reader and communicator. When I read a poem, I try to decipher its message, determine how well it conveys its message, and document how it went about achieving that. Then the editor in me begins to creep in as I consider different or more effective ways that a poet may use to convey the message.
To be successful as a nurse, one must be able to communicate information succinctly, directly, and quickly and in a way that recipients can understand, incorporate it into their lives, and make their own. Successful poets do much the same.
When I returned to writing 10 years ago, I began by writing prose. Then, in April 2007, I discovered Poets.org which presented me with the opportunity to return to writing poetry, something I had not done in many years. Within a short period of time, I realized that I was able to identify the difficulties other poets were having with conveying the intention of their poems more than I was able to identify it in my own work. After a time, I realized that this revelation was not unique to myself, but it led to my desire to help other poets reach their potential and be recognized for their work.
Bio:
O.P.W. Fredericks is a Registered Nurse from Pennsylvania who is transitioning into retirement. His clinical practice encompassed medical-surgical, intensive care, and emergency nursing. He was a volunteer paramedic for twenty-two years. He returned to creative writing in 2002 after a hiatus of several decades. His poetry and short stories reflect human interaction and the human condition interpreted by his philosophy of life as well as recollections from his career, his childhood, and his observations of the natural world. He currently serves as a moderator and the assistant administrator for the Academy of American Poets Poetry Workshop Forum. He is the editor and publisher of Touch: The Journal of Healing and The Lives You Touch Publications. His poetry has appeared in The Externalist: A Journal of Perspectives, Autumn Sky Poetry, and Philadelphia Poets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour - click for a list of participating blogs and daily entriesUpper Rubber Boot Books is coordinating a book blog tour for April, to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month. Check back here for updates throughout the month of April (we'll also post updates to our blog, and so will many of the participating poets).Follow this event on Facebook or Goodreads.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O.P.W. Fredericks(editor of Touch: The Journal of Healing, The Lives You Touch Publications)
1. What is your favorite poem that you've written? Read?
I must preface that my answers to both parts of this question are a bit biased. "Serenade" is my favorite poem that I've written because it is a love poem I wrote to my partner, Daniel Milbo, for Valentine's Day in 2009. A few weeks later I reprinted it on linen paper and then had it framed for him as a gift. For me, it is my best work, though I've never been satisfied with the poem's final verse. I've often recited it in my mind as I've tried to find something better, but Daniel will never allow me to change it. To my horror, I found a typo in the framed poem when I read it where it hangs on the wall this past winter.
My answer to the second part of this question also involves Daniel and is based on a very personal event. The favorite poem that I've read has never been, nor ever will be published. It is titled "Soldier, Come Home," and it was written for me by Daniel when I began my transition into retirement from nursing in the autumn of 2007. As I walked into our dining room upon my arrival home after the final day of working full-time as a nurse, I found what appeared to be a framed document at my place on the dining room table. Unsuspecting, I began to read it when I suddenly realized it was a poem. It made me cry with the intensity of a cry of release, an unburdening that came from the depths of my soul. The poem is about the ending of a phase of life and the transition into a new one. It begins with my life as a caregiver, and the professional and personal challenges, trials, and sacrifices I had experienced and made as a nurse after 30 years at the bedside. As the poem progresses, it beckons for me to accept the transition and then invites me to rest, recover, and look forward to an unencumbered future. After I recovered, I discovered (with Daniel's help) a second poem hidden within the frame, titled "Over The Threshold," and I cried again with even more emotion. This poem was about a new beginning. It recounted all my dreams for the future, all the things I had shared with Daniel; and it reiterated his ongoing desire for me to reach for those dreams and his unwavering support of me to achieve them. I then realized that the contents of that frame represented the greatest gift I had ever received.
To continue along the lines of what I believe to be the intention of this question, I have read many, many poems on my own and thousands more that have been submitted to our journal and press. I have a folder on my computer that contains between 90 and 100 poems that have moved, amused, or inspired me, but I'll list only the following poems because they immediately come to mind.
"Do not go gentle into that good night" by Dylan Thomas to which I wrote my first attempt at a glose or glosa, titled "Daddy's battles," in response to a challenge offered by Colin Ward on the Poets.org workshop forum. I think it was one of the 2009 offerings in my NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month) Poets.org thread. Also included are:
"Blow, Healing Wind" by Esther Greenleaf Mürer
"Dirt" by Catherine Rogers
"Door Card" by James S. Wilk
"Dying" by Stephen Bunch
"Final Night" by Tina Hacker
"Grasshopper" a DATIA sonnet by Colin Ward
"I See God Standing in Stout Grove" by Larina Warnock
"Night Shift" by Ed Bennett
"No Possum, No Aesop, No 'Gators" by Stephen Bunch
"Pass on: to give a thing that has been given," a never published poem written for me by Larina Warnockno link
"The Quilters of Gee's Bend" by Alarie Tennille
"Studying Savonarola" by M.A. Griffiths
"
2. Do you think there is a disconnect between academic poets/poetry and online poets/poetry?
Not so much a disconnect or disparity as there is a difference in their approach to poetry. Also, because I am not an academic, I would have to say that my opinion is inherently biased. I have found that academic poets more often tend to focus first on craft while online poets more often tend to focus first on content. Unfortunately, sometimes that's where the focus ends. I also find it admirable to a degree that because of the medium in which they are most familiar, each group inherently tends to gravitate towards "home." There are large numbers of online poets who seek criticism of their work in open forums where their poetry is exposed to comments from anyone. I have no evidence to suggest that academic poets, on the whole, do the same, but I have learned that they do seek critique from their academic colleagues. I do understand that like tends to seek out and attract like, but for either, this can result in a stagnation of the critiquing pool. Regardless of their background, poets who can connect to an audience achieve the greatest success.
Simply put, I think that these two groups represent two different poetry factions and that there is a tendency for them to want to remain that way, but I do occasionally see crossovers and merging between the two. This is not to say that there aren't internet poets whose work has rivaled the level of craft achieved by the academics. A few of these that come to mind are the late Margaret A Griffiths, Christine Klocek-Lim, Colin Ward, and Larina Warnock. Nor does this mean that there aren't those academic poets whose poetry is infused with accessible content allowing their work to connect to a wide audience. When you encounter the work of a poet like Catherine Rogers, you experience the best of both worlds.
3. Has the rise of the poetry MFA been positive or detrimental to the art?
In general, the positive effects of the rise in MFA's are an expanding awareness of literature, an increased desire to excel in communicating thoughts and ideas, and an overall elevation in the desire to possess the ability to comprehend the intention of language through the written word.
I can't say that I believe the possession of a MFA has been detrimental to the art of poetry, but I was surprised to learn a few things about the writing skills of some and the degree to which those skills were lacking. My impression is based on my experience with the work we've received from MFA candidates and those who hold a MFA because my expectations are much higher for someone who would possess such a degree. I was surprised to learn that some MFA's / candidates believed that the possession or pursuit of the degree automatically elevated their work to the level of art, qualified their work for acceptance for publication regardless of whether it met a publication's requirements, submitted work that did not adhere to the basic rules of grammar, or understood the difference in meaning between homophones.
4. Do you write for yourself or for an audience/reader?
I write for both at different times though I rarely begin a piece with an audience in mind. More often, a piece begins as a personal endeavor, then at some point, usually quite later, I might consider whether it has the potential to be transformed into something that could be appreciated by an audience.
5. How much of what you write is inspiration vs. perspiration?
Considering question #4, I'd say 75% inspiration and 25% perspiration. I say this because starting a poem is my greatest challenge. I'll often have an idea floating around in my mind for days that begins with the need for an emotion to be expressed. Sometimes it will submerge itself into my sub-conscience to mature until it's ready to reveal itself. When this happens, putting it to paper becomes an all-consuming focus.
The annual NaPoWriMo challenge would be an exception to this. Participation in this endeavor often garners rough or very rough poem drafts that I will return to later in the year. It forces me to write, whether I think I have something to say or not.
6. If you were a Celtic bard, carrying poems from place to place as if they were the last flame, which ones would you sing?
As a Celtic bard, the poems I would carry would begin with my list in question #1 and end with those in the folder on my computer.
Anything else you'd like to say?
In closing, I have found that I have a greater affinity for poetry editing than poetry writing. Daniel's poem, "Over the Threshold," helped me to realize that the focus of my life has been to contribute to the efforts of others by helping them to achieve their goals and reach their potential. As a nurse, I enter people's lives at moments when their life's journeys are interrupted or their journey in this life is coming to an end. My skills and efforts help those who are detoured from their journey to return to the course they were traveling. For those whose journeys are ending, I help them to remember what they have achieved, take pride in their accomplishments, and realize how they have affected and made differences in the lives they have touched along the way. With regard to poetry, I realized there were many parallels between my vocation in nursing and what I might hope to contribute to poetry.
As an editor, I try to understand not only the message and meaning of a poem but also the intention of the poet who wrote it. I do this by assuming the role of a reader and communicator. When I read a poem, I try to decipher its message, determine how well it conveys its message, and document how it went about achieving that. Then the editor in me begins to creep in as I consider different or more effective ways that a poet may use to convey the message.
To be successful as a nurse, one must be able to communicate information succinctly, directly, and quickly and in a way that recipients can understand, incorporate it into their lives, and make their own. Successful poets do much the same.
When I returned to writing 10 years ago, I began by writing prose. Then, in April 2007, I discovered Poets.org which presented me with the opportunity to return to writing poetry, something I had not done in many years. Within a short period of time, I realized that I was able to identify the difficulties other poets were having with conveying the intention of their poems more than I was able to identify it in my own work. After a time, I realized that this revelation was not unique to myself, but it led to my desire to help other poets reach their potential and be recognized for their work.
Bio:
O.P.W. Fredericks is a Registered Nurse from Pennsylvania who is transitioning into retirement. His clinical practice encompassed medical-surgical, intensive care, and emergency nursing. He was a volunteer paramedic for twenty-two years. He returned to creative writing in 2002 after a hiatus of several decades. His poetry and short stories reflect human interaction and the human condition interpreted by his philosophy of life as well as recollections from his career, his childhood, and his observations of the natural world. He currently serves as a moderator and the assistant administrator for the Academy of American Poets Poetry Workshop Forum. He is the editor and publisher of Touch: The Journal of Healing and The Lives You Touch Publications. His poetry has appeared in The Externalist: A Journal of Perspectives, Autumn Sky Poetry, and Philadelphia Poets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour - click for a list of participating blogs and daily entriesUpper Rubber Boot Books is coordinating a book blog tour for April, to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month. Check back here for updates throughout the month of April (we'll also post updates to our blog, and so will many of the participating poets).Follow this event on Facebook or Goodreads.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 7, 2012
Inquiring Minds and Other Clichés — Ayesha Chatterjee
— a poetry interview series by Christine Klocek-Lim
Ayesha Chatterjee
1. What is your favorite poem that you've written? Read?
One of my all-time favourite poems is Tennyson's Ulysses. It was an anthem for me when I was growing up. At the moment, of my own poems, the one that seems least flawed to me is The Last Generation from The Clarity of Distance.
2. Do you write for yourself or for an audience/reader?
I write for myself as an audience, as though I were reading someone else's work.
3. How much of what you write is inspiration vs. perspiration?
It's very hard to say. Possibly equal amounts. And sometimes it's the inspiration that comes first, sometimes it's a lot of perspiration.
4. If you were a Celtic bard, carrying poems from place to place as if they were the last flame, which ones would you sing?
Emily Dickinson's I taste a liquor never brewed
Ranjit Hoskote's The surveyor's complaint
Thomas Hardy's The Voice
Jo Shapcott's Thetis
Kamala Das' The Dance of the Eunuchs
5. Why do you read or write poetry?
It's how I make sense of the world. It's like art and music and philosophy all rolled into one. I read it for the sounds and images and because it surprises me. Because I can and do memorize it and then I carry it around like photographs.
6. How has the way you write changed (or not changed) over time?
I've learned to trust myself more as I've developed my own voice. It's like swimming, you let go of the floats as you gain confidence.
Bio:
Born and raised in Kolkata, India, Ayesha Chatterjee has lived in England, the USA, Germany, and currently resides in Toronto. Her work gained notice when one of her poems was shortlisted in the Guardian Unlimited Poetry Workshop in October 2004.
Her poetry has appeared in nthposition, Autumn Sky Poetry, and BluSlate. In 2010, she read at the Poetry with Prakriti Festival in Chennai, India. This October, she will be reading at the International Festival of Authors in Toronto.
Her first poetry collection, The Clarity of Distance , is a meditation on the complexity of existence and the search for moments of truth within it.
Book Details:
The Clarity of Distance at Bayeux Arts
The Clarity of Distance at Barnes & Noble
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour - click for a list of participating blogs and daily entriesUpper Rubber Boot Books is coordinating a book blog tour for April, to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month. Check back here for updates throughout the month of April (we'll also post updates to our blog, and so will many of the participating poets).Follow this event on Facebook or Goodreads.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ayesha Chatterjee
1. What is your favorite poem that you've written? Read?
One of my all-time favourite poems is Tennyson's Ulysses. It was an anthem for me when I was growing up. At the moment, of my own poems, the one that seems least flawed to me is The Last Generation from The Clarity of Distance.
2. Do you write for yourself or for an audience/reader?
I write for myself as an audience, as though I were reading someone else's work.
3. How much of what you write is inspiration vs. perspiration?
It's very hard to say. Possibly equal amounts. And sometimes it's the inspiration that comes first, sometimes it's a lot of perspiration.
4. If you were a Celtic bard, carrying poems from place to place as if they were the last flame, which ones would you sing?
Emily Dickinson's I taste a liquor never brewed
Ranjit Hoskote's The surveyor's complaint
Thomas Hardy's The Voice
Jo Shapcott's Thetis
Kamala Das' The Dance of the Eunuchs
5. Why do you read or write poetry?
It's how I make sense of the world. It's like art and music and philosophy all rolled into one. I read it for the sounds and images and because it surprises me. Because I can and do memorize it and then I carry it around like photographs.
6. How has the way you write changed (or not changed) over time?
I've learned to trust myself more as I've developed my own voice. It's like swimming, you let go of the floats as you gain confidence.
Bio:
Born and raised in Kolkata, India, Ayesha Chatterjee has lived in England, the USA, Germany, and currently resides in Toronto. Her work gained notice when one of her poems was shortlisted in the Guardian Unlimited Poetry Workshop in October 2004.
Her poetry has appeared in nthposition, Autumn Sky Poetry, and BluSlate. In 2010, she read at the Poetry with Prakriti Festival in Chennai, India. This October, she will be reading at the International Festival of Authors in Toronto.
Her first poetry collection, The Clarity of Distance , is a meditation on the complexity of existence and the search for moments of truth within it.
Book Details:
The Clarity of Distance at Bayeux Arts
The Clarity of Distance at Barnes & Noble
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour - click for a list of participating blogs and daily entriesUpper Rubber Boot Books is coordinating a book blog tour for April, to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month. Check back here for updates throughout the month of April (we'll also post updates to our blog, and so will many of the participating poets).Follow this event on Facebook or Goodreads.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 5, 2012
Inquiring Minds and Other Clichés — S. Abbas Raza
— a poetry interview series by Christine Klocek-Lim
S. Abbas Raza
(Founding Editor of 3 Quarks Daily)
1. What is your favorite poem that you've written? Read?
"Learning By Heart" and much as I would like to pretend to be more erudite than I am by choosing something a little more obscure for my favorite of all poems I have read, I'm going to be honest and go with "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens.
2. Do you think there is a disconnect between academic poets/poetry and online poets/poetry?
I have no idea.
3. Has the rise of the poetry MFA been positive or detrimental to the art?
I have no idea.
4. Do you write for yourself or for an audience/reader?
For an audience, sometimes a specific reader.
5. How much of what you write is inspiration vs. perspiration?
Mostly inspiration for me, which is why I write so seldom. For example, the imagery of the last stanza in the poem I have given above as my favorite of any I have written came to me in a dream (a faceless man dressed in a dark suit was explained to be the evening itself by a friend in the dream, who then went on to suggest we put a bright tie on him). The rest of the poem was worked backwards from there.
6. Bonus question! Answer any one of the following:
a. Do you ever include the works of others in your readings? If not, why not? If so, who and why?
I've never done a reading.
b. If you were a Celtic bard, carrying poems from place to place as if they were the last flame, which ones would you sing?
Waiting for the Barbarians by Cavafy.
c. Why do you read or write poetry?
For fun and also sometimes to impress girls.
d. How has the way you write changed (or not changed) over time?
It hasn't.
e. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
A Coke Zero, which is my breakfast everyday.
f. Anything else you'd like to say?
Christine, I'll add this: I have written MANY, MANY poems over the years for friends and family to commemorate special occasions like weddings (at one point I was in some demand as a wedding poet!), birthdays, graduations, etc. These are, obviously, not literary efforts. They talk about the specific people present and tend to be funny and are usually quite crowd-pleasing! I wish more people would put poetry to such less-serious uses and stop trying to be so damn profound!
Bio:
Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, Abbas has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering & computer science from Johns Hopkins University, and a graduate degree in philosophy from Columbia University. He lives with his wife, Margit Oberrauch, and their feline friend, Frederica Krueger, in the small, very beautiful city of Brixen in the Italian Alps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour Upper Rubber Boot Books is coordinating a book blog tour for April, to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month. Check back here for updates throughout the month of April (we'll also post updates to our blog, and so will many of the participating poets).Follow this event on Facebook or Goodreads.
Entries4 April 2012: Couplets Blog Tour: Carol Berg Hosts Peg Duthie (at Ophelia Unraveling)4 April 2012: Christina Nguyen (at Angie Werren's feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose))4 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Guest Post #4, Christina Nguyen(at Margaret Dornaus' Haiku-doodle)4 April 2012: Featured "Couplets" Poet: Margaret Dornaus (at Christina Nguyen's A wish for the sky…)4 April 2012: Start with a number . . . (Sonja deVries, Yael Flusberg, Janine Harrison, Jaime Lee Jarvis, and Margaret Rozga at JoAnne Growney's Intersections — Poetry with Mathematics)3 April 2012: Couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour — Marty Smith(at Shiteki Na Usagi [T.A. Smith/Yousei Hime])3 April 2012: Translation in poetry: thorny problems — a guest post by Sue Burke (at Heather Kamins: fiction, poetry, and other necessities)3 April 2012: Yousei Hime (at Angie Werren's feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose)).3 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Guest Post #3, Cara Holman . . .(at Margaret Dornaus' Haiku-doodle)3 April 2012: how will we translate ourselves? (Deirdre Dwyer at Joanne Merriam).3 April 2012: Inquiring Minds and Other Clichés – Hannah Stephenson(at Christine Klocek-Lim's November Sky Poetry).2 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Guest Post #2, Jenny Ward Angyal . . . (at Margaret Dornaus' Haiku-doodle)2 April 2012: Margaret Dornaus (at Angie Werren's feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose)).1 April 2012: Kristine Ong Muslim on Arlene Ang's "Living Without Water" (guest post) (at Peg Duthie's zirconium).1 April 2012: Gillena Cox (at Angie Werren's feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose)).1 April 2012: Inquiring Minds and Other Clichés – Neil Aitken (at Christine Klocek-Lim's November Sky Poetry).1 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Guest Post #1, Stella Pierides . . .(at Margaret Dornaus' Haiku-doodle)1 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Margaret Dornaus (at Stella Pierides: Literature, Art, Culture, Society).1 April 2012: what we make waiting for death (Lyn Lifshin at Joanne Merriam).
BlogrollA wish for the sky… (Christina Nguyen)Caught In The Stream (Francis Scudellari)feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose) by angie werrenFinding Your Voice (Michele Fischer)Haiku-doodle: a haiku journal by margaret dornausHeather Kamins: fiction, poetry, and other necessitiesIntersections — Poetry with Mathematics (JoAnne Growney)Joanne MerriamKristine Ong MuslimMary Alexandra AgnerMiriam's Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond (Miriam Sagan)Mount Orégano (
S. Abbas Raza
(Founding Editor of 3 Quarks Daily)
1. What is your favorite poem that you've written? Read?
"Learning By Heart" and much as I would like to pretend to be more erudite than I am by choosing something a little more obscure for my favorite of all poems I have read, I'm going to be honest and go with "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens.
2. Do you think there is a disconnect between academic poets/poetry and online poets/poetry?
I have no idea.
3. Has the rise of the poetry MFA been positive or detrimental to the art?
I have no idea.
4. Do you write for yourself or for an audience/reader?
For an audience, sometimes a specific reader.
5. How much of what you write is inspiration vs. perspiration?
Mostly inspiration for me, which is why I write so seldom. For example, the imagery of the last stanza in the poem I have given above as my favorite of any I have written came to me in a dream (a faceless man dressed in a dark suit was explained to be the evening itself by a friend in the dream, who then went on to suggest we put a bright tie on him). The rest of the poem was worked backwards from there.
6. Bonus question! Answer any one of the following:
a. Do you ever include the works of others in your readings? If not, why not? If so, who and why?
I've never done a reading.
b. If you were a Celtic bard, carrying poems from place to place as if they were the last flame, which ones would you sing?
Waiting for the Barbarians by Cavafy.
c. Why do you read or write poetry?
For fun and also sometimes to impress girls.
d. How has the way you write changed (or not changed) over time?
It hasn't.
e. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
A Coke Zero, which is my breakfast everyday.
f. Anything else you'd like to say?
Christine, I'll add this: I have written MANY, MANY poems over the years for friends and family to commemorate special occasions like weddings (at one point I was in some demand as a wedding poet!), birthdays, graduations, etc. These are, obviously, not literary efforts. They talk about the specific people present and tend to be funny and are usually quite crowd-pleasing! I wish more people would put poetry to such less-serious uses and stop trying to be so damn profound!
Bio:
Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, Abbas has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering & computer science from Johns Hopkins University, and a graduate degree in philosophy from Columbia University. He lives with his wife, Margit Oberrauch, and their feline friend, Frederica Krueger, in the small, very beautiful city of Brixen in the Italian Alps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour Upper Rubber Boot Books is coordinating a book blog tour for April, to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month. Check back here for updates throughout the month of April (we'll also post updates to our blog, and so will many of the participating poets).Follow this event on Facebook or Goodreads.
Entries4 April 2012: Couplets Blog Tour: Carol Berg Hosts Peg Duthie (at Ophelia Unraveling)4 April 2012: Christina Nguyen (at Angie Werren's feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose))4 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Guest Post #4, Christina Nguyen(at Margaret Dornaus' Haiku-doodle)4 April 2012: Featured "Couplets" Poet: Margaret Dornaus (at Christina Nguyen's A wish for the sky…)4 April 2012: Start with a number . . . (Sonja deVries, Yael Flusberg, Janine Harrison, Jaime Lee Jarvis, and Margaret Rozga at JoAnne Growney's Intersections — Poetry with Mathematics)3 April 2012: Couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour — Marty Smith(at Shiteki Na Usagi [T.A. Smith/Yousei Hime])3 April 2012: Translation in poetry: thorny problems — a guest post by Sue Burke (at Heather Kamins: fiction, poetry, and other necessities)3 April 2012: Yousei Hime (at Angie Werren's feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose)).3 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Guest Post #3, Cara Holman . . .(at Margaret Dornaus' Haiku-doodle)3 April 2012: how will we translate ourselves? (Deirdre Dwyer at Joanne Merriam).3 April 2012: Inquiring Minds and Other Clichés – Hannah Stephenson(at Christine Klocek-Lim's November Sky Poetry).2 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Guest Post #2, Jenny Ward Angyal . . . (at Margaret Dornaus' Haiku-doodle)2 April 2012: Margaret Dornaus (at Angie Werren's feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose)).1 April 2012: Kristine Ong Muslim on Arlene Ang's "Living Without Water" (guest post) (at Peg Duthie's zirconium).1 April 2012: Gillena Cox (at Angie Werren's feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose)).1 April 2012: Inquiring Minds and Other Clichés – Neil Aitken (at Christine Klocek-Lim's November Sky Poetry).1 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Guest Post #1, Stella Pierides . . .(at Margaret Dornaus' Haiku-doodle)1 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Margaret Dornaus (at Stella Pierides: Literature, Art, Culture, Society).1 April 2012: what we make waiting for death (Lyn Lifshin at Joanne Merriam).
BlogrollA wish for the sky… (Christina Nguyen)Caught In The Stream (Francis Scudellari)feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose) by angie werrenFinding Your Voice (Michele Fischer)Haiku-doodle: a haiku journal by margaret dornausHeather Kamins: fiction, poetry, and other necessitiesIntersections — Poetry with Mathematics (JoAnne Growney)Joanne MerriamKristine Ong MuslimMary Alexandra AgnerMiriam's Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond (Miriam Sagan)Mount Orégano (
April 3, 2012
Inquiring Minds and Other Clichés - Hannah Stephenson
— a poetry interview series by Christine Klocek-Lim
Hannah Stephenson(www.thestorialist.com)
1. What is your favorite poem that you've written? Read?
Maybe other poets will agree with me about their own work—my favorite of my own changes often. Recently, I've been happy with "Fraction" (because it was inspired by a tweet from Jimmy Kimmel!). When I read my work aloud, I like to read some of the longer, weirder ones (for instance, there is one called "Suddenly, Pasta Salad"). My favorite poem of all-time is Robert Creeley's "The Language."
2. Do you write for yourself or for an audience/reader?
I am definitely writing TO someone (not sure if that is the same thing as FOR someone). I am always speaking to my reader. Blogging my poems has helped me locate my reader. I don't mean this literally, necessarily. But I do mean that I imagine sitting across a small table with someone, speaking to them pretty intensely and closely. That person is always shifting. Sometimes they are blurry, a collage of a few people (I think of how faces look blurred out on TV to protect identities), but sometimes they are clear. I am writing because I have something to say to my reader. And I really care about them/you.
3. How much of what you write is inspiration vs. perspiration?
I am a firm believer in making my own inspiration happen. And most of the time, inspiration is tough work! Moments of magical and sparkly inspiration occur very rarely (but they do happen). It's because of the work that we can be ready for them. A beautiful moment of clarity can happen to us, so we better keep our beautiful-moment-of-clarity-muscles limber.
4. Do you ever include the works of others in your readings? If not, why not? If so, who and why?
Oh, yes! I absolutely love reading work by other writers. Recently, I've shared works by Carol Ann Duffy, Zachary Schomburg, and Bob Hicok. It's so fun to be able to focus on sharing the words of others. I like opening readings with poems by others because it clearly defines the purpose of the reading—we're here to take delight in words!—and it can remove some of the anxiety and self-consciousness we sometimes feel while reading.
5. How has the way you write changed (or not changed) over time?
I found some poems I wrote when I was 16. They are embarrassing, but I still see pieces of myself in them. At that age, I would describe my voice as GIDDY-OVERJOYED-THE-WORLD-IS-WONDERFUL!!! When I wrote poems six or seven years ago, or even at the beginning of The Storialist (in 2008), my voice sounds tentative and unfocused (but excited because I'd realized poems didn't have to be about me). I remember asking myself, "Is this a poem? How do I know if it's a poem?" Now, my voice sounds much stronger in my head, and I give myself permission to write whatever I'd like, however I'd like. It's my poem, and I'll write how I want to (you know, like that Lesley Gore song!). Now, my poems are sprinkled up and down the giddiness spectrum (with ENTHUSIASTIC RAPTURE! on one end, and ONE DAY THE WORLD WILL END, AND THAT IS OK on the other.).
6. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Endless coffee. And a Luna bar (I teach an 8 AM class...no time to be fancy during the week). But on the weekend, an omelet with tomato, mushroom, spinach, and cheddar cheese. And many baked goods have distinctly breakfast-like qualities (if there's oatmeal in it, or cinnamon, or bananas, or berries, or if it can be dipped in coffee) that allow me to think of them as wholesome breakfast options.
Bio:
Hannah Stephenson is a poet, editor, instructor, and singer-songwriter living in Columbus, Ohio. Hannah earned her M.A. in English from The Ohio State University in 2006, and her poems have appeared recently in places like Contrary, MAYDAY, qarrtsiluni, Huffington Post, The Nervous Breakdown, and Fiddleblack. She is the founder of Paging Columbus!, a literary arts monthly event series. You can visit her daily poetry site, The Storialist, at www.thestorialist.com or connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Upper Rubber Boot Books is coordinating a book blog tour for April, to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month. Check back here for updates throughout the month of April (we'll also post updates to our blog, and so will many of the participating poets).Follow this event on Facebook or Goodreads.
Entries2 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Guest Post #2, Jenny Ward Angyal . . . (at Margaret Dornaus' Haiku-doodle)2 April 2012: Margaret Dornaus (at Angie Werren's feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose)).1 April 2012: Kristine Ong Muslim on Arlene Ang's "Living Without Water" (guest post) (at Peg Duthie's zirconium).1 April 2012: Gillena Cox (at Angie Werren's feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose)).1 April 2012: Inquiring Minds and Other Clichés – Neil Aitken (at Christine Klocek-Lim's November Sky Poetry).1 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Guest Post #1, Stella Pierides . . .(at Margaret Dornaus' Haiku-doodle)1 April 2012: National Poetry Month: Margaret Dornaus (at Stella Pierides: Literature, Art, Culture, Society).1 April 2012: what we make waiting for death (Lyn Lifshin at Joanne Merriam).
BlogrollA wish for the sky… (Christina Nguyen)Caught In The Stream (Francis Scudellari)feathers: micropoetry (and tinyprose) by angie werrenHaiku-doodle: a haiku journal by margaret dornausHeather Kamins: fiction, poetry, and other necessitiesIntersections — Poetry with Mathematics (JoAnne Growney)Joanne MerriamKristine Ong MuslimMary Alexandra AgnerMiriam's Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond (Miriam Sagan)Mount Orégano (
April 1, 2012
Inquiring Minds and Other Clichés - Neil Aitken
— a poetry interview series by Christine Klocek-Lim
Neil Aitken
1. What is your favorite poem that you've written? Read?
Usually I'm most attached to the poem I've most recently written, which at the moment would be "Babbage Descending into Mt. Vesuvius, 1828." Part of a series revolving around the life and experiences of Charles Babbage, 19th century mathematician, philosopher, and inventor of the Difference and Analytical Engines (designed, but never completed mechanical precursors to the modern computer), this particular poem focuses on the year following his wife's early death, when he traveled to continental Europe and became obsessed with volcanoes, even going so far as to have himself lowered into Mt. Vesuvius and conducting a survey of the inside of the main crater. Although I'd done the research for the poem several months ago, it wasn't until recently that the elements came together and the poem really took shape. I find the juxtaposition of Babbage's personal grief and his reckless obsession with volcanic activity strangely compelling, at once speaking to his personal dedication to learning how things worked, and simultaneously exposing some darker impulse to take these life-threatening risks in the aftermath of a year that saw the loss of his beloved wife, his estranged father, and two of his children.
My favorite poem by someone else is Philip Levine's "My Father With Cigarette, Twelve Years Before the Nazis Could Break His Heart." I love this poem — the way it assembles a reality out of an accumulation of seemingly meaningless details, how it twists and turns, opening itself up to the reader, constructing the scene in memory as if it were a stage play, and how in the end the most powerful elements of the poem are those that have been the most silent.
2. Do you think there is a disconnect between academic poets/poetry and online poets/poetry?
Not really. In many ways I feel like this question assumes a false dichotomy — while the field of contemporary poetry is fairly diverse and complex (and sometimes fractured), I find that the divisions aren't usually along the lines of "academic" vs "online" — at least, it hasn't been so in my experience. As the editor of an online literary journal, Boxcar Poetry Review, which has been around for over six years and regularly publishes poets from all sorts of backgrounds and at varying levels of publishing history, I find that my emphasis is always on the quality of the work, not on the previous publications of the poet or whether or not they've been "trained" in an MFA environment. I've also found that more and more "academic" poets feel comfortable submitting work to online journals if they feel the journal maintains a high standard for publication.
On the other hand, I think there is a disconnect between certain camps of "academic" poetry and a general reading public. It's true that certain poets are strongly informed and shaped by critical theory and have developed approaches to poetry that generate texts which are very difficult for an untrained reader to appreciate, or seem to require specialized knowledge of obscure history or little-known primary texts to appreciate their nuanced meanings. Sometimes the project of the poetic endeavor overtakes the poem's ability to connect to the reader in a visceral and compelling fashion, and does not really leave room for the poem to speak to something universal about the human experience. For me at least, these are the poems that represent that divide.
3. Has the rise of the poetry MFA been positive or detrimental to the art?
It's true that MFA programs have created safe havens for writers to work and practice, developing their skills and their craft in the company of other writers and mentors. It's also true that while they do much good in terms of creating useful spaces of creative exchange and opportunities to encounter new texts and writers, they can also inhibit a writer's growth if that writer isn't being proactive in their efforts to define themselves through thoughtful negotiation and analysis of what they encounter. Provided that students recognize that MFA programs are best used as a means toward an end, that end being the creation of a manuscript through the development of their writing craft, I believe they do much good and have a place. On the other hand, they should not be viewed as gateways to the teaching profession or as some sort of certification that they have become bona-fide writers. Much of the disappointment and frustration with the poetry MFA stems from belief in the latter two myths — and the subsequent realization that when you graduate, there are no guarantees of employment or manuscript publication).
I can only speak from my own experience — namely that the MFA was hugely beneficial in my growth as a writer. My undergraduate work was in computer science and mathematics, and although I did take some graduate workshop classes as an undergraduate, I spent most of my time after graduation working in a field unconnected with literature. During my years as a programmer, I was dependent on the local open mic poetry community and the small writing group I participated in for my continued training and growth. It was in those two spaces that I could listen and learn about poetry, while also generating new work and receiving feedback. Eventually I realized I needed more structure and could benefit from more experienced mentors if I was going to move forward-- at that point I started researching MFA programs and found one that provided a space and mentors I felt would be conducive to my growth.
4. Do you write for yourself or for an audience/reader?
I write primarily for myself — that is to say, I write about the things I find interesting and compelling, I choose my own subjects and my approaches. I'm always somewhat aware of an audience, but I'm not writing to please others or elicit some sort of response or adulation from them. I'm just interested in creating something I can be happy with — a poem that surprises me with its turns, that strikes a chord buried within. I feel that writing honestly for yourself enables a space where the poem can be open to others.
5. How much of what you write is inspiration vs. perspiration?
There's a lot of pre-writing work that happens for me, especially with my current project which has much more of a historical connection than my first book. Most of the perspiration is expended in research and contemplation. I read a lot about my subject or the elements I sense will end up in the poem. For example, in working on my poem "Babbage Descending into Mt. Vesuvius, 1828 ," I spent a lot of time reading through Anthony Hyman's biography of Charles Babbage as well as Babbage's own account of his exploration within the crater. I also read up on other 18th and 19th century literary figures who visited Mt. Vesuvius. I read about other active volcanoes and recent volcanic eruptions which would have been known to Babbage. I studied the impact that a massive 1815 eruption had on climate in Europe as well as the ways in which it was related to Lord Byron's famous literary gathering at Lake Geneva, Switzerland and the peculiar yellowish light in J.M.W. Turner's paintings. A lot of what I research never makes it into the poem, but doing the research allows me to imagine more completely and with greater confidence the world in which the poem exists and is taking shape. I find inspiration in the things I research — and sometimes the research for one poem becomes the starting point of another poem. When I finally sit down to write though, I usually finish that poem within an hour or two.
6. How has the way you write changed (or not changed) over time?
Some things have changed, others have stay about the same. For example, I'm quite attached to a narrative lyric approach, although at times my poems can be a bit more narrative than lyric, and other times more lyric than narrative. My earliest poems tended to feature short lines (some as short as a single word) and often felt more fragmented. Over time my lines have become longer and often more complex in their use of clauses. The Babbage poems, which are more historical, have much longer lines than my other poems, partly to consciously reflect the character of Babbage as a more contemplative one, and partly due to the demands of a more historical context (more details and positioning needed).
In terms of process, I find that I don't write as many poems in a year as I used to. When I was a programmer, I would spend time every day at the end of work writing for forty minutes to an hour while I waited for traffic to die down. While most of the poems weren't that good, the practice of writing daily did help me hone my skills and enabled me to get through a lot of bad writing to get to the good writing. These days I read and research more and write less, but in general the poems I write I'm very happy with. There's a happy balance to be reached between those two approaches — one I'm still looking for.
Information:
The Lost Country of Sight won the 2007 Philip Levine Prize winner (Anhinga Press)
Neil Aitken's website
Bio:
Neil Aitken is the author of The Lost Country of Sight which won the 2007 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry and was published by Anhinga Press in 2008. His poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times and has appeared in Crab Orchard Review, The Drunken Boat, Ninth Letter, Poetry Southeast, Sou'wester,and elsewhere. He recently received the DJS Translation Prize in recognition for his translations of contemporary Chinese poetry. A former computer games programmer, he is currently completing a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing at the University of Southern California.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This interview is brought to you by Couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour in coordination with Upper Rubber Boots Books.
Upper Rubber Boot Books is coordinating a book blog tour for April, to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month. Check back here for updates throughout the month of April (we'll also post updates to our blog, and so will many of the participating poets).Follow this event on Facebook or Goodreads.
EntriesComing in April 2012.BlogrollA wish for the sky… (Christina Nguyen)Heather Kamins: fiction, poetry, and other necessitiesIntersections — Poetry with Mathematics (JoAnne Growney)Joanne MerriamKristine Ong MuslimMary Alexandra AgnerMiriam's Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond (Miriam Sagan)Mount Orégano (
Neil Aitken
1. What is your favorite poem that you've written? Read?
Usually I'm most attached to the poem I've most recently written, which at the moment would be "Babbage Descending into Mt. Vesuvius, 1828." Part of a series revolving around the life and experiences of Charles Babbage, 19th century mathematician, philosopher, and inventor of the Difference and Analytical Engines (designed, but never completed mechanical precursors to the modern computer), this particular poem focuses on the year following his wife's early death, when he traveled to continental Europe and became obsessed with volcanoes, even going so far as to have himself lowered into Mt. Vesuvius and conducting a survey of the inside of the main crater. Although I'd done the research for the poem several months ago, it wasn't until recently that the elements came together and the poem really took shape. I find the juxtaposition of Babbage's personal grief and his reckless obsession with volcanic activity strangely compelling, at once speaking to his personal dedication to learning how things worked, and simultaneously exposing some darker impulse to take these life-threatening risks in the aftermath of a year that saw the loss of his beloved wife, his estranged father, and two of his children.
My favorite poem by someone else is Philip Levine's "My Father With Cigarette, Twelve Years Before the Nazis Could Break His Heart." I love this poem — the way it assembles a reality out of an accumulation of seemingly meaningless details, how it twists and turns, opening itself up to the reader, constructing the scene in memory as if it were a stage play, and how in the end the most powerful elements of the poem are those that have been the most silent.
2. Do you think there is a disconnect between academic poets/poetry and online poets/poetry?
Not really. In many ways I feel like this question assumes a false dichotomy — while the field of contemporary poetry is fairly diverse and complex (and sometimes fractured), I find that the divisions aren't usually along the lines of "academic" vs "online" — at least, it hasn't been so in my experience. As the editor of an online literary journal, Boxcar Poetry Review, which has been around for over six years and regularly publishes poets from all sorts of backgrounds and at varying levels of publishing history, I find that my emphasis is always on the quality of the work, not on the previous publications of the poet or whether or not they've been "trained" in an MFA environment. I've also found that more and more "academic" poets feel comfortable submitting work to online journals if they feel the journal maintains a high standard for publication.
On the other hand, I think there is a disconnect between certain camps of "academic" poetry and a general reading public. It's true that certain poets are strongly informed and shaped by critical theory and have developed approaches to poetry that generate texts which are very difficult for an untrained reader to appreciate, or seem to require specialized knowledge of obscure history or little-known primary texts to appreciate their nuanced meanings. Sometimes the project of the poetic endeavor overtakes the poem's ability to connect to the reader in a visceral and compelling fashion, and does not really leave room for the poem to speak to something universal about the human experience. For me at least, these are the poems that represent that divide.
3. Has the rise of the poetry MFA been positive or detrimental to the art?
It's true that MFA programs have created safe havens for writers to work and practice, developing their skills and their craft in the company of other writers and mentors. It's also true that while they do much good in terms of creating useful spaces of creative exchange and opportunities to encounter new texts and writers, they can also inhibit a writer's growth if that writer isn't being proactive in their efforts to define themselves through thoughtful negotiation and analysis of what they encounter. Provided that students recognize that MFA programs are best used as a means toward an end, that end being the creation of a manuscript through the development of their writing craft, I believe they do much good and have a place. On the other hand, they should not be viewed as gateways to the teaching profession or as some sort of certification that they have become bona-fide writers. Much of the disappointment and frustration with the poetry MFA stems from belief in the latter two myths — and the subsequent realization that when you graduate, there are no guarantees of employment or manuscript publication).
I can only speak from my own experience — namely that the MFA was hugely beneficial in my growth as a writer. My undergraduate work was in computer science and mathematics, and although I did take some graduate workshop classes as an undergraduate, I spent most of my time after graduation working in a field unconnected with literature. During my years as a programmer, I was dependent on the local open mic poetry community and the small writing group I participated in for my continued training and growth. It was in those two spaces that I could listen and learn about poetry, while also generating new work and receiving feedback. Eventually I realized I needed more structure and could benefit from more experienced mentors if I was going to move forward-- at that point I started researching MFA programs and found one that provided a space and mentors I felt would be conducive to my growth.
4. Do you write for yourself or for an audience/reader?
I write primarily for myself — that is to say, I write about the things I find interesting and compelling, I choose my own subjects and my approaches. I'm always somewhat aware of an audience, but I'm not writing to please others or elicit some sort of response or adulation from them. I'm just interested in creating something I can be happy with — a poem that surprises me with its turns, that strikes a chord buried within. I feel that writing honestly for yourself enables a space where the poem can be open to others.
5. How much of what you write is inspiration vs. perspiration?
There's a lot of pre-writing work that happens for me, especially with my current project which has much more of a historical connection than my first book. Most of the perspiration is expended in research and contemplation. I read a lot about my subject or the elements I sense will end up in the poem. For example, in working on my poem "Babbage Descending into Mt. Vesuvius, 1828 ," I spent a lot of time reading through Anthony Hyman's biography of Charles Babbage as well as Babbage's own account of his exploration within the crater. I also read up on other 18th and 19th century literary figures who visited Mt. Vesuvius. I read about other active volcanoes and recent volcanic eruptions which would have been known to Babbage. I studied the impact that a massive 1815 eruption had on climate in Europe as well as the ways in which it was related to Lord Byron's famous literary gathering at Lake Geneva, Switzerland and the peculiar yellowish light in J.M.W. Turner's paintings. A lot of what I research never makes it into the poem, but doing the research allows me to imagine more completely and with greater confidence the world in which the poem exists and is taking shape. I find inspiration in the things I research — and sometimes the research for one poem becomes the starting point of another poem. When I finally sit down to write though, I usually finish that poem within an hour or two.
6. How has the way you write changed (or not changed) over time?
Some things have changed, others have stay about the same. For example, I'm quite attached to a narrative lyric approach, although at times my poems can be a bit more narrative than lyric, and other times more lyric than narrative. My earliest poems tended to feature short lines (some as short as a single word) and often felt more fragmented. Over time my lines have become longer and often more complex in their use of clauses. The Babbage poems, which are more historical, have much longer lines than my other poems, partly to consciously reflect the character of Babbage as a more contemplative one, and partly due to the demands of a more historical context (more details and positioning needed).
In terms of process, I find that I don't write as many poems in a year as I used to. When I was a programmer, I would spend time every day at the end of work writing for forty minutes to an hour while I waited for traffic to die down. While most of the poems weren't that good, the practice of writing daily did help me hone my skills and enabled me to get through a lot of bad writing to get to the good writing. These days I read and research more and write less, but in general the poems I write I'm very happy with. There's a happy balance to be reached between those two approaches — one I'm still looking for.
Information:
The Lost Country of Sight won the 2007 Philip Levine Prize winner (Anhinga Press)
Neil Aitken's website
Bio:
Neil Aitken is the author of The Lost Country of Sight which won the 2007 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry and was published by Anhinga Press in 2008. His poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times and has appeared in Crab Orchard Review, The Drunken Boat, Ninth Letter, Poetry Southeast, Sou'wester,and elsewhere. He recently received the DJS Translation Prize in recognition for his translations of contemporary Chinese poetry. A former computer games programmer, he is currently completing a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing at the University of Southern California.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This interview is brought to you by Couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour in coordination with Upper Rubber Boots Books.
Upper Rubber Boot Books is coordinating a book blog tour for April, to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month. Check back here for updates throughout the month of April (we'll also post updates to our blog, and so will many of the participating poets).Follow this event on Facebook or Goodreads.
EntriesComing in April 2012.BlogrollA wish for the sky… (Christina Nguyen)Heather Kamins: fiction, poetry, and other necessitiesIntersections — Poetry with Mathematics (JoAnne Growney)Joanne MerriamKristine Ong MuslimMary Alexandra AgnerMiriam's Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond (Miriam Sagan)Mount Orégano (
March 23, 2012
"Who Saw the Deep" and ABNA (and a link to the excerpt)
A few years ago I wrote a novel. I revised it a few times and then I put it aside. This year I dug it up and submitted it to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award as a sci-fi novel under the general fiction category. To my surprise, it's made it to the quarterfinals. That's about halfway through the contest.
There are several more rounds to go: semifinals (April 24)-100 novels picked by Publisher's Weekly, finals (May 22)-6 novels picked by Penguin editors, voting round-these 6 novels are voted on by Amazon customers to pick 2 winners, one in general fiction and one in young adult.
I have no illusions. I've been writing for a long time now and I have enough rejection letters to paper my walls, build a castle, or possibly burn as a giant effigy, etc. etc. Even so, it's been great to get this far.
My novel is called "Who Saw the Deep" after a quote from the epic of Gilgamesh (depending on your translation). Here's the epigraph that appears at the beginning of the novel:
The one who saw the deep I will declare to the world,
The one who knew all I will tell about
. . .
He saw the great Mystery, discovered the Hidden,
he recovered the knowledge of all the times before the Flood.
He journeyed beyond the distant, he journeyed beyond exhaustion,
And then carved his story on stone.
—first six lines from the epic of Gilgamesh
"Who Saw the Deep" is a science fiction novel that explores choice: life over death, trust versus skepticism, determination despite betrayal. What will Noah do when confronted with the impossible? When everything he thought he knew about the world and humanity is wrong? Noah looks into the deepest secrets of the human race and realizes the survival of the species is more dependent on love and stubbornness than he could have imagined. That civilization endures because of anonymous acts executed by ordinary individuals. Individuals like him.
If you'd like to read an excerpt (the first 5000 words of my book) go to Amazon and download it. It's free! You can leave a review if you'd like. Here is the link to it on Amazon: Who Saw the Deep.
To download it: Click on the Buy Now button. Since it's free, you won't be charged. You can read it on your Kindle, your smartphone or iPad if it has the Kindle app, or you can read it on your computer with Amazon's Kindle reader software (also a free download).
FYI: Amazon had a lot of trouble with the formatting of the excerpts. The quotations marks and apostrophes are fixed now, but my tabs and carriage returns are still somewhat randomly missing. However, the text is readable. If you read the excerpt, please keep in mind that I actually know how to use paragraph markers and carriage returns. If you'd like a clean copy of the excerpt, let me know via comments here, email, or FB and I'll send you one.
March 11, 2012
Coming soon! couplets: a multi-author poetry blog tour
Upper Rubber Boot Books is coordinating a book blog tour for April, to help promote poetry and poets for National Poetry Month. Check back here for updates throughout the month of April (we'll also post updates to our blog, and so will many of the participating poets).Follow this event on Facebook or Goodreads. EntriesComing in April 2012.BlogrollA wish for the sky… (Christina Nguyen)Heather Kamins: fiction, poetry, and other necessitiesIntersections — Poetry with Mathematics (JoAnne Growney)Joanne MerriamKristine Ong MuslimMary Alexandra AgnerMiriam's Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond (Miriam Sagan)Mount Orégano (
March 8, 2012
Reviews for Ballroom - a love story
My latest chapbook, Ballroom - a love story, is now available from Flutter Press. You can buy it at this link: Lulu.com: Ballroom - a love story.
This chapbook was written during NaPoWriMo in April 2011. It's a series of poems that speak of learning how to dance, from the beginning steps of the waltz to what it's like when a dancer begins to feel the steps rather than just mechanically arrange the arms and legs. The poems also describe dancing with one's partner: it's a bit like falling in love, thus the title, "a love story." I wrote them in in the spring of 2011 after having spent three years (now four years) taking ballroom dance lessons.
These poems wouldn't have been possible without the help and support of two extraordinary individuals. First, my husband Terry, without whom I could not dance at all. These poems are basically one long love letter to him. He also makes a perfect cameo in the cover photo. The other is our dance teacher, Lynn Kettenburg, of Victory Dance Center in Emmaus, PA. I can honestly say without reservation that she is the best teacher I've ever had. That is a gift I will always keep close to my heart with deepest gratitude.
A selection of poems from this chapbook is forthcoming in the next issue of Diode. Stay tuned for links. Some sample poems at the bottom of this post, just scroll down.
Reviews (thank you ladies!):
We have learned how to dance or we remember our parents floating above their own dance floor in Christine Klocek-Lim's chapbook Ballroom—a love story. For the speaker and her man in each neatly-narrated poem, dance helps them "look at each other," and helps all lovers, even ones who learn to dance midway in life, know that with dance "eyes touch." And as dance skills improve, beckon for repetition and risk through the progression of Klocek-Lim's skillfully touching images that take us to vertigo, ocean, and back to the dance floor, her speaker plunges into the act of life and love through dance.
The rumba seen in "Rumba—spot turns," is so very sexy yet shares a rawness of "muscle through hard depths to bone," as the speaker shares the intricacy of love's moves, wondering just how deep body and emotion can go. The notion of the tango and its couple's mirror-like movements transcend in "Tango – torneo cinco" because not only do we become aware of "[t]he difficulty of toes and muscle aligning," but we also accept the labor of the difficulty, much like the labor of true love when the speaker admits that "[i]t's easier to walk alone / but not as beautiful…."
My favorite ballroom dance, the cha cha, takes on the wonderfully surreal (as do many of the poems in this collection) in "Cha Cha—paseo," as the dancers/lovers become relentless, practicing "until the river is littered with petals" / and the trees have given up on [them]" as they master the art of spinning. In fact, this penultimate poem anticipates the final and title poem that explains and concludes in metaphor the lasting love story that we've experienced all along in each poem: "he lifts me, twists me into knots. / I am a ribbon, caught on his bough. / The last red leaf."
~ Theresa Senato Edwards, author of Voices Through Skin (Sibling Rivalry Press 2011) and Painting Czeslawa Kwoka ~ Honoring Children of the Holocaust with Painter Lori Schreiner (unbound CONTENT 2012)
"I confess: At first I thought, "A Love Story? Really?" But it is, not only of the rediscovery of a long-married couple, but of self and world, and perhaps most importantly, of the self that's burdened with judgment and the self that simply dances. Klocek-Lim's ballroom dancing poems take you with them on a year-long journey from the first stiff steps to the joy of moving in tandem with animal grace—a lovely turn."
~ Wendy Babiak, author of Conspiracy of Leaves (Plain View Press)
With a sure hand on the small of your back, Christine Klocek-Lim guides the reader through this collection of beautiful, and beautifully choreographed poems. These lush, spell-binding poems explore love, intimacy, desire and how close flying is to falling. The poems in Ballroom - a love story pull you into their powerful rhythms and luminous language. These exquisite poems are "brilliant as sapphires," with a "music as sweet as honey."
~ Patty Paine, author of The Sounding Machine (Accents Publishing) and editor of Diode
Two bodies meet, the ballroom is all glitter, stars and sparkle, two bodies turn into wind, rising and falling to the ceiling then the floor, hands are touching arms and backs, heels are clicking, and we are spinning in dance after dance. "Because vertigo feels / like freedom," and Christine Klocek-Lim's Ballroom feels just like that. Dances turn into waves and shells, watching as the tide rolls in. "I have no idea how I got here," and neither do we. There is a dizzy and tender connection between man and woman, and yet a fear of awkwardness, an unknowing of how to move the feet or of where the dance will go. Between glitter and stars, there is an intimate tango of closeness and indifference. "and I'm in love again, or falling / in love. My heart doesn't know it should be careful," the fantasy world of the Cha Cha turns the poet, allowing her to forget place and age, she goes on to write: "yet I'm so dizzy I can't remember the beginning / of the party." This book made me want to go to the dance floor, to spin in her world, to be "A dropped penny, desperate for him / to scoop me back up." Christine stuns and shines in this whirlwind of pure poetic word-dance.
~ Christine Yurick, editor of Think Journal
Sample poems:
Viennese Waltz — natural turn
It's like flying
or falling.
Each step a revolution.
The planet tilted
too much.
Sunlight far off.
Clouds strangely graceful
even as the storm
arrives.
She says, lean back further.
Enough to contain
the rotation.
The ballroom is wide
as a plain. I'm a sapling
and he is the wind.
Sometimes I touch the floor,
toes starved for solid ground.
Sometimes I leap.
Every other step a lock
as though leaves
can be caged.
He is vertigo.
The darkened tornado
peeling my meadow.
The sky falters but I hang on,
fingers lodged in his bones.
I am a white birch.
I am a falling
branch.
I am a spinning
leaf, spiked
with rain.
Tango — torneo cinco
My mother finds me in the kitchen
with ice and bandages, foot propped
like a broken shoe.
My bruise looks like Argentina,
a forest of color.
We're learning the tango, I say,
thinking of the trees outside
the dance studio. Oaks along the river.
My mother is thinking, how terrible
the leaves die each winter.
Sometimes love necessitates disaster.
She didn't see his face when we came together.
How I dared him to fall as I stepped around him.
How he dared me to lead, fingers on my body
tight as a locked door. I took five steps,
unaware of the vertigo. The difficulty of toes
and muscle aligning. It's easier to walk alone
but not as beautiful, I thought, then lost
my way. The forest is a trickster.
Doesn't it hurt? she wonders, fingering my instep.
I bandage the pain and pull away.
No explanation.
I'm remembering the trees, how the leaves
turned scarlet at just the right moment.
His palm, perilously sweet
against my wound.
© 2012 Christine Klocek-Lim
March 5, 2012
First Crocus 2012
This is the first crocus that made it to the flowering stage in my yard this year. I type this with clenched teeth as I examine the neatly eaten stalks that signify a number of other crocuses may have bloomed already sometime when I wasn't watching. Something is eating my flowers and I would like to find those crocus-eating creatures (probably a bunny, otherwise known as a hideous, evil, toothy demon) and explain that eating my flowers is not cute. NOT CUTE AT ALL. It results in that throbbing sensation on the right side of my temple. It makes me curse in horribly uncreative ways (you stupid, damn, stupid rabbit!). I want the crocuses to bloom and then experience a natural, withered death without meeting any teeth anywhere in their life cycle. You got that stupid stupid stupid damn bunny? I don't care if you have a fluffy white tail that makes my last remaining cuteness neuron seize up with awe. Leave my crocuses alone!
First Crocus
This morning, flowers cracked open
the earth's brown shell. Spring
leaves spilled everywhere
though winter's stern hand
could come down again at any moment
to break the delicate yolk
of a new bloom.
The crocus don't see this as they chatter
beneath a cheerful petal of spring sky.
They ignore the air's brisk arm
as they peer at their fresh stems, step
on the leftover fragments
of old leaves.
When the night wind twists them to pieces,
they will die like this: laughing,
tossing their brilliant heads
in the bitter air.
© 2007 Christine Klocek-Lim
February 23, 2012
my review of "ten poems to say goodbye" by Roger Housden
ten poems to say goodbye
by Roger Housden
buy link
Several weeks ago a nice lady sent me an email asking if I'd like to review a new poetry book. "Free book? Awesome," the little voice in my head said. A week later I received Roger Housden's new book, ten poems to say goodbye. It's a lovely hardcover: warm yellow background with a serene flower in a simple blue bowl beneath the title. I put it on my desk and there it sat while my life suddenly zoomed from leisurely to INSANE. I looked at it often. It seemed like such a pretty little book. I wanted to read it so badly, but I had no time.
Today I finally managed to open it, mostly because I have bronchitis and I can't actually walk anywhere without getting out of breath. I couldn't even get the mail without reaching for my inhaler. Yesterday I landed in the emergency room, chest tight, head spinning. Honestly, I wasn't thinking about poetry. I was watching all the other people in the waiting room, most much sicker than I. When I opened Housden's book today, I wasn't expecting it to resonate so thoroughly. My hospital visit certainly contributed to my emotional suprise, but there was more to it than that—
This past weekend I helped clear out my mother-in-law's apartment (she has multiple sclerosis and has had to move to a full-time care facility). It was strange packing up the mementoes of her life. She is an artist and some of the things we had to fold into boxes were her drawings and paintings. Some of it was old poetry. Some was just forgotten scraps of paper hidden in corners. Once the detritus was cleared away only the most luminous memories of what makes her her survived. My mother-in-law is doing okay, working hard with a physical therapist to keep herself strong, but oddly, the very beginning of the book made me think of her so forcibly I had to stop and just breathe for a moment. Housden's introduction was like a cold draft of air that suddenly cleared away all the old leaves in my head and left me with his simple mantra: "great poetry reaches down into the depths of our humanity and captures the very essence of our experience."
I've been writing poetry for decades. Critiquing, reviewing, and editing it for nearly as long. Strangely, I had forgotten what it is to be simply a reader. Housden's book opens with one of the most straightforward explanations of why poetry matters and always will. Poetry captures humanity and "delivers it up in exactly the right words." The introduction explains why he put this book together, a sort of mini-poetry-anthology. The book gives us ten poems to ponder. Each is accompanied by an essay where he considers the poem, explains why it is important to him, and why it has meaning for others. The poems detail the act of saying goodbye. Through our lives we say goodbye to people, things, and the more amorphous stuff of life. This book reminded me of why poetry is the essential tool of the mind and heart for doing so.
Some of the poems in the book are ones I know and some I've read often. "The Lost Hotels of Paris" by Jack Gilbert (I adore Gilbert's poetry) and "How It Will Happen, When" by Dorianne Laux are two that I've seen before. Others were new to me: poems by Ellen Bass, Gerald Stern, Rilke, and more. For some of the poems Housden offers a short biography of the poet to explain to the reader how astonishing the poem truly is, especially as it relates to the poet's life (he mentions Gilbert's encroaching dementia to great effect). In others, he remarks on how well a particular poet writes the poetry of humanity. With every poem, however, Housden manages to illuminate the lines and words so that even the most novice reader will understand and appreciate what is happening. The act of reading the poem makes it real.
It's been years since I've read poems like this. Oh, not poems of goodbye or realization or any of the usual human foibles, but rather, it's been years since I've read poems with my writerly eyes stripped away. I try to consider the reader when I am writing, always and of course, but it's been ages since I truly understood what it's like to come to a piece of art, innocent and yearning. Housden somehow manages to capture that essence and give it back to you with his essays. He deciphers the poems without taking away from them. Instead he gifts them to the reader with a sort of step ladder that reaches to the top of those towers of words. The remarkable thing is that he does it without imposing himself onto the poem.
This brings me back to the beginning, when I consider what it's been like to have to stop moving (literally) directly after spending a weekend moving someone else's life into boxes. Housden said in the introduction, ". . . the fullness of life escapes us either way, whether we are holding on or pushing away. . ." I have had to both stop and say goodbye in the space of a week. My mother-in-law is even now struggling with the same idea. Housden insists that poetry can help us with this. "Well, yeah," I think, paging through the book. Inevitably, I stop on page 46 and read the closing lines of Jack Gilbert's poem:
". . . We see the memory
of when they were, once upon a time.
And that too is more than enough."
Housden's delightful collection of ten poems, one for every kind of goodbye I can imagine, is definitely a book I would recommend. Both writers and readers will enjoy the gorgeous poetry, some of which I have read and loved for years (selections from Gilbert, Laux, Rilke, and others). Housden's insightful thoughts about the poems illuminate the lines with a joy I didn't expect in a book that documents the act of leaving and letting go. His essays and these ten poems reminded me that ". . . our life of the senses and feelings and thoughts, it all matters after all." Especially when saying goodbye.
