Interview with poet Andy Carrington!

As you probably know, I recently started the Losing the Plot podcast, where I interview writers readers and people in general about reading, writing and life at large—the plot is there to be lost!

 So I got in contact with Andy Carrington, author most recently of the highly polemic and vitriolic poetry collection The Daily Fail, which covers fuckery of all varieties: politics, people and life. Andy preferred we stick to the textual realm, and so he was kind and patient as I sent a few rounds of questions to make sure we got to know everything I could think to ask about him. Truth be told, I chickened out with a few questions, but with any luck he will chat to us again, perhaps on the occasion of his next release :)

 Hope you enjoy the interview!

  Me: Did books play a role in your life growing up? If so, which ones?

 Andy: Somewhere along the line I must’ve developed Bibliophobia from the all Shakespeare stuff they were forcing on us in school. I struggled with reading for years and barely went near books after that.

 The books I did get through, I remember (Vurt, 1984, Sugar & Slate, Long Walk to Freedom, Guerrilla Warfare). I’ve held onto Harrison and Bukowski’s poetry books for time, but it was the music mainly that I was into growing up.

 Who were the best writers for you and what did you learn from them?

 I took a lot from the late ‘80s / early ‘90s rappers: Chuck D / KRS1 / Ice-T / Nasty Nas. [Good] Hip-Hop puts a lot of things into perspective.

 Who are your favourite writers today and why?

 MJ Black is on point. As is Harry Whitewolf and Rupert Dreyfus. Laura Taylor (from Liverpool) is fucking fierce; and Keiron Higgins is one of the best local poets I’ve seen round here.

 Do you have any influences?

 Those mentioned already.

 And my Mum (I’ve never been the same after she died).

 Do you like to return to books, or do you like your favourite books just to stay in your memories instead?

 I re-bought Jurassic Park for 10p the other day. Am I gonna be disappointed?

 Only if the book doesn’t have Jeff Goldblum in it (never read it myself)!! When did you start writing poetry, and when did you start performing it? What does it feel like to perform and what kind of response have you gotten from your performances?

 2008 I put out the first book / first gig was 2012 on my doorstep (1 in 12 Club in Bradford). Probably started writing around 2003.

 It can be daunting going up there with no music to back you up. Especially at Punk gigs (which I tend to do). People tend to hang onto your every word or go the other way and completely switch off. The biggest challenge is trying to sustain interest for the 20 / 30 mins when the bands have stopped playing and everyone goes off to get the beers in.

 And bear in mind this is DIY. When it works, it works. When it doesn’t, well… you’ve only yourself to blame.

 What gave you the idea to write poetry?

 Not having the talent / patience / work ethic to do anything else.

  Why it is the form for you?

 It’s free / has no limits. I’m messy, and things always seem to come together in chunks at different times. So this is probably the one that works best for me getting shit off my chest.

  What has your experience been with indie publishing, indie authors?

It’s a free for all. Everyone wants to be heard. A lot of people are just sitting on it in hope they find some big publishing deal. Some are just doing it for laughs.

But there’s more of a platform than there’s ever been for writers just wanting to get their work out there. It’s a slow process, but if you commit to it and the response is good, there are places you can go with it.

Have you thought of having your poems set to music? Are they closer to hip-hop or punk lyrics in your mind? If you could perform them with music, with which band would you most want to perform?

I stopped kidding myself about any sort of music career circa 2003. I leave that to the professionals (I just do the words).

  What role does performance play when it comes to your poetry? Do you re-write following performances? Do you think your readers should read your poems out loud?

 “Performance” is a bit much. DIY is mostly about the message and the motivations behind it. I tend to make it up as I go along and don’t encourage others to do what I do.

When was “The Artist / Just an Average Guy Born into Poetry” written? The content is different from what you choose to write about now. Do you feel you’ve changed as a person since writing this book, and if so, how?

That was 2012. I was ill and angry then; I’m still ill and angry now. The only difference is who I’m angry with.

In “The Artist / Just an Average Guy Born into Poetry”, there’s both introspection and a wariness about introspection. You acknowledge the difficulty of finding the moments that are important to us in life, what it is inside you is worth analysis, or would be of interest to someone else. But in other times you highlight certain scenes as important, but there’s also a feeling that you don’t know why they are important—I think this is widely relatable, and how we often think of our own lives. In your latest work, “The Daily Fail”, there is a more intensely focused rage, directed outwards. Can you comment on this, and also, do you think that now you have settled on a favourite topic, that your themes are clear to you, or do you expect your interests to shift in future?

The subject shift thing was never really deliberate. Artist was just me coming to terms with being dumped / spending months on a drip; while TDF was written during months of doing nothing, smoking weed / out of a job.

Whatever comes out, comes out in response to whatever provokes it (and whatever mood I’m in). Most poems tend to conclude nothing. I don’t write self-help books or how-to guides. What’s important / not important is for the reader to judge.

In what ways do you think being working class influences the way you see the world? What does it mean to you to identify as working class and can you expand upon the tensions you allude to in your poems of what it’s like to have friends with different socioeconomic statuses? I’ve experienced friction with some working class people, and many more times with people who have anxiety or guilt about never having attended university. Have you had similar experiences? How do we get beyond this? Can we, and if so, is there a point in doing it?

It’s not just working-class but any class. It relates to the culture and the people; the nature of work; income; language; etc. It’s what we identify with and feel a part of.

In Pontefract (the North), there wasn’t much to do but work and drink. No one really used the term “working-class” or expressed any pride in it. Everyone put in their time and just got on with it; it was more about surviving and grabbing bits of life with both hands.

Am I middle-class cause I ended up at Uni? If it’s any consolation, I only got there through my dead Mum’s support grant. And in my defence, it was at Aberystwyth…

What is it you think poetry does best?

I try not to overvalue poetry. It’s mostly just a conversation I have with myself. The words aren’t trying to be any more than what they are.

I suppose that’s why I rely on free verse and abuse it.

Andy Carrington, thanks for the chat!