Maureen Carroll Interviews Mark Scheel about Poetry Collection

STAR CHASER
Poetry by Mark Scheel
Photo Illustrations by Joseph Maino
Star Chaser is available in hardcover with dust jacket, eBook, and paperback.

Anamcara Press proudly announces the release of
STAR CHASER
29 July 2020
https://anamcara-press.com/product/st...

MAUREEN CARROLL INTERVIEWS MARK SCHEEL

Today we’re talking to the poet Mark Scheel about his new poetry collection Star Chaser from Anamcara Press, to launch 29 July.

Maureen Carroll: Welcome, Mark. I’m delighted we could make arrangements to do this interview. I think there’s loads to talk about in this new collection.

Mark Scheel: Thank you, Maureen. I truly appreciate the opportunity to get the word out.

M C: You’ve published poetry widely in many journals and e-zines for years. And won some awards. Is Star Chaser your first poetry book publication?

M S: Not exactly. Actually, considering all genres, this will be my sixth book. Earlier I published A Backward View, which was poetry and short stories. And then a blog series titled The Pebble, which contained a smattering of poetry. But Star Chaser is all poetry with photo illustrations by my photographer friend Joseph Maino. And may I say I think he did a superb job capturing the spirit of the poems and extending their thematic implications beautifully.

M C: I love the illustrations! Did you collaborate on the shots, or give him free rein?

M S: Pretty much left it to his discretion. I showed him which poems I felt worked best to illustrate. And to leave out human models as much as possible. I wanted to go with the symbolism of objects arranged artistically. And he ran with it from there.

M C: You mention symbolism. The title seems to convey a good bit. Can you explain its significance?

M S: Well, it has several levels. Years ago The Kansas City Star had a feature in the Sunday book section called Poet’s Corner. I felt challenged to get a poem placed there and wrote a number with that aim. Hence, the expression “star chaser.” Also, there’s a legend related in the front matter of the book that tells of a goddess in the heavens chasing stars. I compare the aspiration of that goddess to that of poets in general—star chasers. (Laughter.)

M C: Yes, I was quite taken by that legend. It’s enchanting. Now, the book is divided into three sections. “Yesterday,” “Today” and “Tomorrow.” Why so?

M S: The poems, when I began organizing them as a group for a collection, sorted themselves out that way, so to speak. They were written over several years. Some dealt with current events. Others with childhood memories. Some looking ahead to the challenges of aging. So the sense of time perspective seemed a logical approach. The complete manuscript itself circulated several years before it was picked up, so some of the “today” poems actually relate to events in the past. Such as 9/11. However, the sentiment still holds current relevancy. Again, such as war in the Middle East.

M C: Indeed. A number of the poems dealt with warfare. Didn’t you serve in Vietnam? Were some of the poems based on your own experiences?

M S: Yes, I did serve in Vietnam, in 1969; however, I was with the American Red Cross. Not the military per se. But, yes, I was very close to it all and the war imagery does partly come out of that. Especially the poem “Soldier’s Christmas.” That was eventually published in The Kansas City Star’s Poet’s Corner. So was the poem “Coming Home from Iraq.” The photo illustration included the jungle fatigues and boots I wore in Vietnam.

M C: The mood of the poems, as well as their style, seems to vary greatly. I really enjoyed the humor in “Capital Gains,” as well as the outhouse illustration. (Laughs.)

M S: As far as humor, I think my favorite is “Dandelion Sutra.” It’s a send-up of Ginsberg’s “Sunflower Sutra,” of course, with the added fun of setting it in my old hometown of Emporia. Although there’s an underlying sense of the lighthearted in other poems, like the fellow contemplating the odd irony of sleeping as if in a coffin in a fishing cabin. Or the young student wandering into a cat house. But as to the style, I certainly did employ great variations according to what I felt expressed the particular subject of each poem the best. One is even a twist on the sonnet. And prose poetry is in there also. Even haiku.

M C: Some of the poems dealing with romantic themes were quite touching. The one about the gardener and his wife was very moving.

M S: Thank you. That’s special to me also. It was published in The Midwest Quarterly years ago. A couple years back I ran into the editor by chance at a writers’ convention and he brought up his memory of that poem to me and how much it imprinted on his emotions. I was surprised and most gratified.

M C: Now, a general question or two. Although your focus in recent years seems to be on essays and fiction, I know your interest in poetry goes back a ways. When did you first begin writing poetry?

M S: Well, my first serious efforts came after I got back from overseas and began taking writing classes at Emporia State. That was in 1976. The only creative writing class open that first semester was poetry, so I took it and got the bug then. I found much of the discipline and sense of rhythm applied well to the writing of fiction too. And the mainstay devices like metaphor, simile and so on. I began then writing my first novel. But I kept writing poetry on the side when the muse dictated it. The writer James Dickey, whom I was fortunate to meet at a reading, advised me writing poetry strengthened one’s fiction. He was right.

M C: Have you written any new poetry since Star Chaser went to press?

M S: As a matter of fact, I just composed a new one for a new anthology slated to come out next year. Some poems come easy and some require a great deal of editing and revision and polishing. This latest was a hard one.

M C: Finally, what would you hope the reader of this collection comes away with? What do you hope it conveys?

M S: I think the variety is sufficient for any reader to find something that speaks especially to him or her. Probably several pieces. I think the young reader will be informed how things once were. The older reader will identify with how it is now. I would hope all come away with a deeper connectedness to the possibilities of life. Perhaps that sounds a bit grandiose. But that would be my wish.

M C: That works for me. May that wish come true! Thank you, Mark.

M S: Your time is much appreciated, Maureen. Thank you.