12 or 20 (second series) questions with Patrick Grace
PatrickGraceis an author and teacher from Vancouver, BC. His poems have been publishedwidely in Canadian literary magazines, including Best Canadian Poetry, EVENT,The Fiddlehead, The Malahat Review, and Prairie Fire. Heis the author of two chapbooks: a blurred wind swirls back for you(Turret House Press, 2023), and Dastardly (Anstruther Press, 2021). Hisdebut poetry collection, Deviant (University of Alberta Press, 2024),explores intimacy and fear within gay relationships. He moonlights as themanaging editor of Plenitude Magazine. Follow him @thepoetpatrick.
1 - How didyour first book or chapbook change your life? How does your most recent workcompare to your previous? How does it feel different?
My debut poetrycollection Deviant takes pieces from my two previous chapbooks, ablurred wind swirls back for you and Dastardly. I like to think ofthem as singles released before the full album. The theme of male intimacy—inall its ups and downs—runs through all three.
2 - How didyou come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
I didn’t. Iwrote fiction first, long before poetry. Fan fiction as a kid, short stories asan adult. I wrote some cool stories in workshops with Lee Henderson and Lorna Jackson at UVic. I still want to do something with them, someday, rewrite themand send them out. Poetry sort of took over and wouldn’t let me look back.
3 - Howlong does it take to start any particular writing project? Does your writinginitially come quickly, or is it a slow process? Do first drafts appear lookingclose to their final shape, or does your work come out of copious notes?
I write poemnotes on my phone and when there’s a good number, I transfer them to mycomputer, tidy up the possibles and leave the weak ones. Then I hash out thepossibles and create longer pieces, sometimes break them up into two or threepoems. Some first drafts feel magical and so I leave them alone; poems like “TheCalling” and “soft stalker,” both in Deviant, came out near untouchablein the very first draft. I didn’t have to do much with them. Others have beensitting on my hard drive for years that I still don’t know what to do with.
4 - Wheredoes a poem usually begin for you? Are you an author of short pieces that endup combining into a larger project, or are you working on a "book"from the very beginning?
A poembegins with a memory or a feeling, translated into a single line. I pick outuncommon words that I like using in poems, or motifs that I find myselfreturning to (fire, light/dark, voices), and write a few more lines. It’s abalance of concrete images and clarity, wisdom. As a manuscript, I always knew Deviantwould focus on queer love and intimacy, the fear that often comes with it, butthere were a handful of short pieces that didn’t quite fit, so we removed them.I’m very happy with the final product in its cohesiveness.
5 - Arepublic readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sortof writer who enjoys doing readings?
It’simportant for authors to get out there and showcase their work. Writing is alonely process, even when you’re sharing ideas by email or chatting on socialmedia. It’s still just you and your phone, you and your computer. With Deviant’spublication, I’ve done a handful of readings, both online and in the realworld, and I’m learning to enjoy them more. I’m quite a shy person so having aroom full of people staring at you can be nerve wracking, but then I rememberthey’re all there for me, to hear my stories, my experiences.
6 - Do youhave any theoretical concerns behind your writing? What kinds of questions areyou trying to answer with your work? What do you even think the currentquestions are?
I want todocument parts of my life before I’m too old to remember.
8 - Do youfind the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (orboth)?
I enjoy it,but I don’t think it’s always necessary. Everyone has a different opinion,style, mood. You’ll never please everyone. It’s a careful game, sharing yourpoems with another. Editors for publishing houses are a different story—if youwant your collection published, that is.
9 - What isthe best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
Thestandard: don’t stop writing. Write every day, as much as you can. It’s simplebut easy to forget, and sometimes the weeks turn into months and you haven’twritten anything! Take it seriously and make time, even if it means passing onyour favourite Netflix series after dinner.
12 - Whatfragrance reminds you of home?
Surprisequestion! It would have to be red roses, or concord grapes, or blackberries.All of these grew around our house in Vancouver.
13 - DavidW. McFadden once said that books come from books, but are there any other formsthat influence your work, whether nature, music, science or visual art?
Nature doesit for me. I go jogging in a nearby park several times a week, and it’s herethat words, lines, ideas come to me as I’m covered in sweat and circling thepaths.
14 - Whatother writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your lifeoutside of your work?
My pillarsare W.S. Merwin and Anne Carson. I come back to them often. Carson inparticular does neat things with dialogue, asking questions in poetry. Itgrounds me in my own work.
15 - Whatwould you like to do that you haven't yet done?
Start achapbook publishing company. Or swim with dolphins.
16 - If youcould 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 a writer?
As a kid Idreamed of being a translator. It was a romanticized career that I didn’t knowmuch about. In my mind, I imagined Gandalf poring over old texts in spookylibraries. The real thing is much more boring, underpaid, and not wellrecognized.
My otherdream career was a marine biologist. Again, swimming with dolphins.
17 - Whatmade you write, as opposed to doing something else?
It wouldn’tleave me alone! Write write write, my mind chants at me. My full-time job is ateacher, and I also work part-time in the literary publishing world. It’s anice balance so I don’t go nuts feeling guilty for not writing all the time.
18 - Whatwas the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
As for Meand My Houseby Sinclair Ross will always be one of the greatest books. When it comes tomovies, I like them thoughtfully scary—M3GAN was a good one.
19 - Whatare you currently working on?
Poems aboutmy childhood home. The house itself was big, old, and sometimes scary. We gotbroken into one night while everyone slept. Most of my writing lately is aboutthat. Since the death of my mother a few months ago, I’ve also been writingabout her condition and the dismal state of care homes. And, here and there,queer love poems, always love poems.
