1 - How did your first book or chapbook
change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How
does it feel different?
i'd been
writing since high school but never published anything until my early 40s when
i recorded a poetry CD (spiritual demons) and printed the poems in a booklet
with some of my drawings. when that project was complete i wanted to appear and
disappear at the same time. i felt like i said what i wanted to say but wasn't
sure what to do with it. three years later the project felt like a 20-year-old
snapshot of another person. it made me think deeper about publishing. the
finality of finishing something and seeing it in print. a daunting thought. my
first book came out 10 years later when i was 51. everytime i first see
something of mine in print i pat myself on the back for a few minutes, and then
all i think about is writing a better book.
my most
recent books have become more personal, almost memoiresque. i'm writing about
my family, places i've experienced, and people who've influenced my life. i
feel i'm a stronger, more precise, more playful, more musical writer. my
hearing has become more accute. my camera has helped me see. improved intuition
has offered me another dimension. i feel as though i can go anywhere, meet
anyone, and discover something pleasurable to write about.
2 - How did you come to poetry first, as
opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
my older
brother ran away from home at 16 and left me his record collection which
included Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits. my grade 10 English teacher played Dylan
Thomas recordings. i had a wonderful grade 12 English Lit teacher who turned me
onto Donne, Pope, Byron, Shelly, Wordsworth, and Blake. many wet and wintry
lunch periods i used to sneak off to my high school library and read Leonard
Cohen. my mother let me out of the house to attend Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, The
Doors, Neil Young, The Mothers of Invention, Phil Ochs, and Joni Mitchell
concerts. At university, my favourite professor was a Whitman-Emerson-Dickinson-Poe
specialist. Of course, i read novels and plays as well, but nothing spoke to me
with the power, immediacy, and wisdom of poetry...except maybe, my father's
Duke Ellington records and Van Gogh's drawings.
3 - How long does it take to start any
particular writing project? Does your writing initially come quickly, or is it
a slow process? Do first drafts appear looking close to their final shape, or
does your work come out of copious notes?
if i have no
ideas for a new project i just start and see what appears. because i write
every day it doesn't take me long to notice a direction. first drafts are
written longhand on 1/4 page pieces (recycled manuscripts cut and made into
pads of paper) with no line breaks. one big run-on fragment. it looks like
chaos but i already have the rhythm in my head. then i bring that to the screen
and it takes shape. my work usually comes from draft after draft after draft
after... many kicks at the can. adding, subtracting, taking word inventory,
letting the ingredients marinate, turning it over and over, reading it aloud at
different times of day, and other poetic tools. i rarely use notes and don't
keep a journal. i use stream of early morning consciousness and copious
editing.
4 - Where does a poem usually begin for
you? Are you an author of short pieces that end up combining into a larger
project, or are you working on a "book" from the very beginning?
Buddha said,
"all life is suffering," but to me all life is a poem. part of the
art of life comes in finding the unseen poems. my first book was a collection
of smaller pieces from many years. my second book had a theme (desire). my third
book i found a structure after the orphan poems were collected. my fourth book
has a theme (hockey). i'm currently working on three collections which have
themes decided on from the beginning. poems start in the heart when logical
mind is quiet and i connect to the universal field. creativity is cosmic love.
i connect with my heart and expand outward into something greater than myself.
5 - Are public readings part of or
counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing
readings?
when i'm
editing a poem i usually read it outloud to see if it has music (rhythm and
tonal color). sometimes a melody appears. i enjoy that part of the process.
readings are a mixed bag for me. i love the idea of reading, then i hate all
the nervous energy preparing for a reading, especially how edgy i feel a few
hours before a reading. then i enjoy the reading itself (usually), i dig the
adrenaline rush after, and even the end of the evening driftdown is sweet. all
in all, i usually learn something more about my poems when i'm forced to
prepare for a reading. so, yes and yes.
6 - Do you have any theoretical concerns
behind your writing? What kinds of questions are you trying to answer with your
work? What do you even think the current questions are?
although
i've read critical books and/or essays by bp nichol, Steve McCaffery, Carl Peters, Lance Strate, Adeena Karasick, Malcolm Cowley, Darren Wershler-Henry,
Marshall McLuhan, and many Paris Review interviews, i'm not motivated by or deeply
concerned with intellectual theories about poetics. i prefer to read and write
poetry. when i write i don't think i'm answering questions. i don't think i
have the answers to questions. i believe i help balance myself, and hopefully
others, in an entertaining/illuminating fashion by examining (to name a few) the
paradox of existence, love, family, humanity, entertainment, commerce, impermanence,
environment, communication, pollution, privacy, paranormal, sport, money,
drugs, religion, sex, and death.
7 – What do you see the current role of
the writer being in larger culture? Does s/he even have one? What do you think
the role of the writer should be?
the writer's
role is to illuminate in an entertaining way. to examine all subjects, not to
tell people what to do, but to help them work through their own daily existence,
and maybe even move a reader to action. or not. perhaps there isn't a role.
perhaps it's all only ego-showbiz. in that case, i'm vastly underrated. (soft
shoe interlude) but seriously, i believe the heart of the role is to assist, at
best, to inspire & help stimulate others.
8 - Do you find the process of working
with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
i enjoy the
editing process and the more experience i have the more essential it becomes to
me. I've been working with poet, teacher, counselor Jeff Pew for over 10 years,
bouncing poems off him. sometimes one or three a day. he can call me on my
indulgences, lazy writing, and help me find the better capper. lately, my
NeoPoiesis editor Dale Winslow has become an indespensible sounding board. she
pushes me to kill my darlings and improve the keepers. I've also worked with
poet/novelist John Oughton and American poet Jim Bertolino, both valuable and steep
learning curve experiences. i've had sessions with a couple more editors (who
shall remain nameless) and although they didn't pan out, i always learned a
great deal. that's the main thing: be teachable and never stop learning.
9 - What is the best piece of advice
you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
my father
would not accept excuses. there was no such thing as not enough time. make time, he'd say. when life handed us
a blow he'd tell us, you gotta learn to
roll with the punches. he didn't suffer whining and was fond of saying, life doesn't get better for the complainers.
10 - What kind of writing routine
do you tend to keep, or do you even have one? How does a typical day (for you)
begin?
i begin my
day by writing as soon as i open my eyes. pad of paper and selection of free
hotel or bank pens bedside. i stay in bed until i've written something i like.
sometimes i write another draft or sometimes i write another poem. depends on
what i have to do that day, but if the ink is flowing i stay in bed for two or
three hours. then i get up and make tea or coffee and edit what i've written.
sometimes the edit session is longer than the intial writing session. i do like
to edit. did you know Stanley Kubrick's favourite part of movie-making was
editing?
11 - When your writing gets stalled,
where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
if my
writing is stalled, i give it a rest. i pick up my camera and go on a
walkabout. or noodle on my guitar. or read a book, watch a movie. when nothing
comes it's usually because i'm trying too hard. let trying go. eventually
something of interest pops into my head. no expectations. and the writing begins to flow.
12 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
rainforest, english
bay, and sandalwood
13 - David W. McFadden once said that
books come from books, but are there any other forms that influence your work,
whether nature, music, science or visual art?
everything i
notice informs my work. sometimes i find poems in my junk mail. but i admit,
music is my number one influence. not necessarily any particular piece or
specific composer, but the elements of music. i keep abreast of the news.
sometimes the composition of a painting or photograph can inform the
composition of a poem. lately, i've been looking at my family history. often
just hanging out and overhearing snippets of conversation inspires.
14 - What other writers or writings are
important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
meeting and
reading and listening to and reading with bill bissett changed my life.
everyone should be so lucky to have a living breathing working mentor. due to
his generosity and friendship, my heart and poetic awareness has experienced accelerated
growth. i return to Blake, Whitman, and Samuel Beckett. just as important is a
life outisde of writing. i stay active in the world with my sons, travel,
photography, co-designing book covers with Milo Duffin, and editing for
NeoPoiesis Press.
15 - What would you like to do that you
haven't yet done?
tour left
bank vineyards in Bordeaux, meditate at Bodh Gaya, read from my hockey book (the DNA of NHL, Ekstasis Editions) in
the Hockey Hall of Fame, kayak Haida Gwaii, write a rock n roll memoir, learn
to scuba dive, take my boys to New Orleans, build a recording studio, and eventually,
meet my maker.
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 a writer?
music
recording producer (ala George Martin, Todd Rundgren, Brian Eno, Glyn Johns,
Daniel Lanois, Rick Rubin, Nigel Godrich...) or a plumber. i've always admired
how plumbing holds civilization together.
17 - What made you write, as opposed to
doing something else?
as a kid i
was an introvert. and dyslexic. in early grade school i was put in the stupid
kid group. we weren't really stupid but because we couldn't read we were made to
feel that way. when my mother found out, she bought a collection of beginner
books and worked with me until i was competent. from then on i made sure i read
more books than anyone in my class. overcompensation complex. as an introvert i
spent a lot of time in my room reading and drawing and later writing. so i imagine
my interest in writing all stems from my early difficulty learning to read.
18 - What was the last great book you
read? What was the last great film?
i don't take
the word "great" lightly.
my previous
favourite translation was by Witter Bynner, but this Hamill version is poetic
and powerful in most wonderful ways.
great movie:
BUCK (director Cindy Meehl, 2011)
i'm a fair
movie buff and began to understand the art of film at university through my
best friend, Bruce Preston, a serious film student. we dove into everything
Fellini, Hitchcock, Bunuel, Goddard, Tarkovsky, Bergman, and Kubrick. seems odd
to me i picked a conceivably schmaltzy documentary about a wounded-child horse-breaker.
In my defense, i'm pretty sure watching this film could teach us something
about teaching, child-rearing and simply how to all get along. also, the scenes
when Buck goes into action are more riveting than anything i've seen Spiderman
do.
19 - What are you currently working on?
i'm busy
trying to garner some reviews for my two 2017 poetry collection releases.
ego to earthschool (NeoPoiesis Press) and the DNA of NHL (Ekstasis Editions).
anyone
interested in a review copy, please let me know.
I've also
got three collections marinating in the juices of word and time. every now and
then i take a peek and a taste to see if they're aging well. sometimes i even
add a new poem for recent perspective. the themes are New York City, what's
become of America, and death.
