I can't live in a world without ghosts.
Kathryn Mockler: What is the best or worst dream you ever had?Dina Del Bucchia: I don't know if it's best or worst, but it's my weirdest childhood dream and lives in my head for all time. It was a recurring dream and it was set in an old timey western saloon, and all the characters (are they characters in a dream?) were anthropomorphic POCKETS! Like western-style pockets. And the pockets had on cowboy boots and hats and bandanas. It was truly so surreal and I would honestly love to re-experience this dream as an adult. The visuals are so vivid in my memory, but I don't remember the plot (do dreams have plots?). But it was an aesthetic delight, and also creepy as hell.
KM: Do you have a preferred emotion to experience? What is it and why? Or is there an emotion that you detest having and why?DDB: I'm basic as hell and my favourite emotion is joy. I love to feel joyful. Usually, joy comes from being around others, joking, chatting, laughing, sharing our shit with each other. Being around other people is also when I feel at my best. I find all emotions are important, useful, crucial to recognize and experience. But, I am at my best when I am riding high. I can move forward when I have a stocked up on some joy.
I hate feeling jealousy, but it happens all the time. I want so much of what other people have and it can really make me a bit of a monster. I see stuff other people have and I think GIMME THAT! And I have absolutely no idea how hard (or not) someone worked for what they have. I think jealousy is pretty common in a society and world where there is so much disparity.
KM: Can you recount a time (that you're willing to share) when you were embarrassed?DDB: I feel embarrassed all the time. I'm a gassy 45-year old woman with no significant savings who owns no property and has multiple precarious non-full time jobs and I'm a poet! Like, if I wasn't a bit embarrassed by that, I think people in my life would need to be more concerned about me. I love being a poet, don't get me wrong, but it's kind of embarrassing. Which is good! I think a good writer and creative person needs to have a humbleness around their art. Don't want to get too cocky!
KM: What do you cherish most about this world?DDB: People. Socializing. It truly is the thing that makes life worth living for me. If I don't socialize with people it's so hard to do anything else, like basic domestic chores even. Being around other people that I love is amazing, but I'm also folksy as hell and will chat with people in public like the small town girl that I am.
KM: What would you like to change about this world?DDB: So many things! How to choose? The world needs to fundamentally stop admiring and valuing the opinions of people just because they're hoarders of billions of dollars. Not really good lessons to be learned from these people! Look at how weird my relationship to money is, based solely on this interview!
KM: What advice would you give to your younger self? Your younger self could be you at any age.DDB: My younger self really needed to consider that while money is fake (and living under capitalism is designed to punish most people), it's actually important, so not understanding how it works (in a variety of ways) isn't cute. This is me as a much younger person, one day ago, and one hour ago. I am learning this lesson slowly, constantly and poorly. While remaining a person who does not retain money.
KM: Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?DDB: Yes! I believe in ghosts. I've seen a ghost. And we need to have ghosts. I can't live in a world without ghosts.
KM: If you could send your love to anyone, who would it be and why?DDB: John Lennon was wrong (about a bunch of stuff), but all we need isn't just love. I know that sending love can't stop bombs from dropping, or hate crimes, or abuses of power, or authoritarianism, or any other number of atrocities, but I think anyone who is experiencing that shit needs love.
Dina Del Bucchia is the author of five collections of poetry, Coping with Emotions and Otters (Talonbooks, 2013), Blind Items (Insomniac Press, 2014), Rom Com (Talonbooks, 2015), written with Daniel Zomparelli, It’s a Big Deal! (Talonbooks, 2019), and You’re Gonna Love This (Talonbooks, 2019). For ten years she co-hosted Can’t Lit, a podcast on Canadian literature and culture. Her first collection of short stories, Don’t Tell Me What to Do, was published in fall 2017 with Arsenal Pulp Press. She was the Artistic Director of the Real Vancouver Writers' Series and is on the editorial board of the independent press fine press. You can find out more about her at dinadelbucchia.comDina Del Bucchia’s latest book!
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You're Gonna Love This
by Dina Del BucchiaTalon BooksYou’re Gonna Love This tracks the narrator’s entwined relationships with her spouse, her television, and herself. Displaying Del Bucchia’s trademark nuanced media literacy, this distinctly working-class long poem unravels how media culture’s around-the-clock presence impacts our connection to the world. Recapping episodes in her experience of caregiving, she also addresses her own mental-health journey with dark humour, wry cultural references, and a flair for making the deeply personal especially relatable. You’re gonna love this!
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