12 or 20 (second series) questions with David Martin
David Martin
worksas a literacy instructor in Calgary and as an organizer for the Single OnionPoetry Series. His first collection,
Tar Swan
(NeWest Press, 2018), wasa finalist for the Raymond Souster Award and the City of Calgary W. O. MitchellBook Prize. David’s work has been awarded the CBC PoetryPrize, and has been shortlisted for prizes from FreeFall, Vallum, PRISMinternational,and the Alberta Magazine Awards. As well, he was named a “Writerto Watch” in 2023 by CBC Books. His latest collection, Kink Bands, waspublished by NeWest Press in September of 2023. 1- How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent workcompare to your previous? How does it feel different?
Idon’t think my first book, Tar Swan, changed my life drastically, but itwas rewarding to see in print a project that had taken about ten years tocomplete. It was also very gratifying when readers and reviewers would engagewith what I had written and spent so much time working on.
Inmy most recent work, Kink Bands, I moved away from the book-lengthnarrative style of my first collection, but I still kept things feeling unifiedwith the general theme of geology coursing through the poems. I believe that Iwas able to explore more experimental aspects of my poetry, while also movingtowards a personal, lyrical approach in some of the pieces.
2- How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
Iwas taking an undergraduate survey course in poetry, and was immersed instudying the famous names of the art, when I happened to meet with a group thatcalled themselves the Drunken Poets Society. They would get together everyMonday at the Ship & Anchor Pub and discuss poetry, as well as share theirown work. This was quite a revelation for me, to find writers for whom poetrywas a living art, and the combination of studying poetry at the university andrevelling in the new poetry that I was hearing really got me hooked on theform.
3- How long does it take to start any particular writing project? Does yourwriting initially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appearlooking close to their final shape, or does your work come out of copiousnotes?
Theprojects usually develop slowly, with a general sense of what I’m seeking, butthis can shift and be refined as I continue to work on them. Often my firstdrafts, of both individual poems and manuscripts, look very different than thefinal versions. I’m always aiming to fine tune a piece and see how it can beimproved or taken in a new direction.
Forsome projects, like Tar Swan, I will do a lot of research, bothtechnical and archival, while others have a more direct link to my personalexperiences.
4- Where does a poem usually begin for you? Are you an author of short piecesthat end up combining into a larger project, or are you working on a"book" from the very beginning?
Forsome manuscripts, I have a guiding theme from the outset, and for others it’smore a process of writing to find out what I’m really writing about. In a fewcases, an editor who is helping me with my work will discern a theme ornarrative that I was not aware of, and then this can be something I uncover andexplore more deliberately. It’s interesting to me when an outside perspectivecan recognize patterns and ideas in the work that I’m not noticing.
5- Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you thesort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
Ienjoy sharing my work at readings, but it’s usually when pieces are quite faralong in their development.
6- Do you have any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds ofquestions are you trying to answer with your work? What do you even think thecurrent questions are?
Ioften have a general question or general theme that I’m chasing in my work. Forinstance, with my first book I was interested in creating an understanding ofthe history and mythology of the Alberta oil sands that one wouldn’t find inother books about the subject. With the most recent collection, Kink Bands,I was wondering about how to use geology as a means of looking at the world,how to experiment with the theme in ways that perhaps other poets haven’texplored, and how to enact geological processes within the space of a poem.
7 –What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do theyeven have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
Ithink each writer makes their own decision about where their interests lie andwhere they will focus their attention. Often there is a binary between personaland public-facing poetry, but there are many examples of introspective workthat resonates with a group of readers and thus takes on a public aspect. Iwouldn’t want to prescribe a strict role for the poet in society (as witness,philosopher, avant-garde experimenter, etc), but instead think that each poetis pulled to the themes that move them the most.
8- Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult oressential (or both)?
Ifind it incredibly helpful to work with an editor, as long as it is someone whois engaged with the poems and whose advice I trust. Often I get caught up in myown ideas, and it’s necessary for me to find out what someone else will make ofwhat I’ve written. Are they able to come along with me on the poetic journey I’velaid out (no matter how strange it may be), or have I lost them somewhere alongthe way? I’ve had positive experiences with editors who are able to discern acohesive theme from a set of what I felt were miscellaneous poems, and I’ve hadgreat experiences with an editor finding the one word or line that needs to bechanged to make everything click into place.
9- What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to youdirectly)?
Thebest piece of advice was given to me by a co-worker, almost in passing, and itpertains to raising kids. She told me that when your kids are young they willneed help with almost everything, but you, as the parent, will be able to solvepretty much all of their problems. As your children grow up, however, they willneed less and less help, but the situations that they do require assistancefrom you will be harder for you to solve (social interactions, friendships,etc). I always liked that advice, and especially as it was delivered offhandwhile at work.
10- What kind of writing routine do you tend to keep, or do you even haveone? How does a typical day (for you) begin?
Idon’t have a strict writing routine, but I do try to carve out a few dedicatedslots of time during the week when I can focus on writing.
11- When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack ofa better word) inspiration?
UsuallyI find reading poetry will get me out of a rut of some kind. I try to readquite widely, in general, and I find that ideas can pop up from readingscientific articles, poems, essays, news articles, pretty much anything.
12- What fragrance reminds you of home?
Thescent of baking coming from the my mother’s kitchen is a strong reminder ofhome for me.
13- David W. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there anyother forms that influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visualart?
Mywork can be influenced by historical events, environmental phenomena,scientific research, listening to music, and many other things.
14- What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply yourlife outside of your work?
I’ma big fan of the poet Michael Donaghy. He isn’t all that well known in NorthAmerica, as most of his publishing was done in the U.K., but when I came acrosshis work it was a revelation to me about what could be done in the small spaceof a single poem. He makes intricately designed works seem like the mostnatural thing that you happen to be overhearing.
15- What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
I’mworking on a libretto for an opera, and during the pandemic I tried my hand atwriting a novel. So I’ve been trying to work outside of my normal comfort zone.Maybe one day I’ll try writing short fiction, something I’ve never really donebefore.
16- If you could pick any other occupation to attempt, what would it be? Or,alternately, what do you think you would have ended up doing had you not been awriter?
I’ma musician in several different bands, but a part of me wonders what it wouldhave been like to try to be a professional musician.
17- What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
Ido other things, such as work as a literacy instructor, play music, andvolunteer for a poetry reading series, but I’m always drawn back to writingbecause I’m obsessed with the possibilities of language, and I’m constantlyseeking new avenues to explore in my poetry.
18- What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
Idon’t watch many movies, unless it’s something my kids want to see.
Thelast great book I read was The Liars of Nature and the Nature of Liarsby Lixing Sun. I’m starting a new project about cheats, thieves, andcon-artists, in both the human and non-human worlds, and this book was veryinteresting and relevant for me.
19- What are you currently working on?
Rightnow I’m working on the final edits for a collection coming out next spring. It’sa work of experimental translations, framed by a speculative fiction narrative,and I’m a little apprehensive about what people will think about it.
