1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
My first book of poetry, The Living Law, was published on March 1, 2024. It's probably too early to say how it has changed my life. This book is a compilation of selected poems written over the last twenty years, so it is much more a continuity of my writing rather than a break from an earlier phase. It feels like the fulfillment of all my writing to date.
2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
While I've dabbled a bit in fiction and published non-fiction (academic articles) poetry has always been my preferred medium. I remember as a very young child aspiring to be Dr. Seuss. Something about the musical and rhythmic use of language, the intense compression of meaning, has always appealed to me at a deep level. It still feels to me like the most natural way to use language.
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?
I'm a very slow writer. Sometimes a first draft comes quickly, though more often it'll start as a seed--just a phrase or even a rhythm--rattling around my head for weeks. Once I have a draft I tend to revise it many times. I'll often have multiple times when I think a poem is complete, and even submit it for publication, but then later rethink it and revise it again. A number of the poems in the book are revisions of a poem previously published in a journal.
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?
This book is definitely more of a compilation, although there are themes running through the book that give it a sense of unity. Now that I have published my first book, I find that I'm more likely to think about how new poems might fit into an imagined future collection.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I enjoy connecting with people about poetry, but not being the centre of attention. I'm an introvert and I stutter, so poetry readings are a bit of a stretch for me. But I value them as a way to share my poetry with people who might not otherwise pick up the book.
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?
I prefer a poem to emerge from either a striking image or a memorable phrase. It can engage with theoretical concerns as it develops, but I feel like poems are richer if they don't start with a specific thesis.
7 – What do you see the current role of the writer being in larger culture? Do they even have one? What do you think the role of the writer should be?
I'm not sure I can speak for writers in general, but I see the role of the poet as reminding people to slow down in a frantic age. Most people don't listen, but I think there's value in presenting an alternative way of engaging deeply with language and reality.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
It's both. There's a difficult balance as a poet in getting outside your own head to speak engagingly with your audience while also staying true to the original gut instinct that is the source of the poem. A thoughtful dialogue with an external editor can help you work through this, but it can also be frustrating and water down the work.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
At one point in developing my book I had the impulse to cut a bunch of the older poems and replace them with brand new ones I was then writing. My friend and fellow poet Joshua Alan Sturgill told me I should keep the focus on poems that I've been satisfied with in a stable way for a long time, rather than what's exciting me at the moment. It was good advice -- many of the poems I was then thinking of including were too fresh and have continued to evolve over time. They still need time to stabilize.
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 don't have a writing routine. I have a full-time job and kids, and I write in little bits where I can.
11 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
I try not to get stressed about it. I try to just focus on living well, having good relationships, and reading good books. Those things are the source of good poetry, when it comes.
12 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
I grew up in the Yukon, so my first thought here is pine trees.
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?
Yeah, a lot of my inspiration is literary. But I also have many poems inspired by nature, memories, experiences, or relationships.
14 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
Some of my favourite poets are Gerard Manley Hopkins, W. H. Auden, Emily Dickinson, Dylan Thomas, William Blake, Alice Oswald. I also read the Bible a lot, and other ancient literature. I also have a soft spot for science fiction. I'm a pretty eclectic reader, and it all shapes my poetry.
15 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
I've been really interested in the recent trend of verse novels. I think I'd like to give that a try eventually.
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?
Writing really isn't my occupation, it's a hobby I do where I can on the side. I'd love to be a full-time writer, but that's not really an option right now.
17 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
I'm not sure I have an answer to that. I've always been drawn to poetry, as far back as I can remember.
18 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
I'm currently reading Stanislaw Lem's Solaris. I'm a big fan of the Tarkovsky movie, and finally am getting to the novel. I love science fiction that explores an encounter with a genuinely alien form of life. Speaking of which, the last great film was probably Annihilation, which I'd also group in that genre.
19 - What are you currently working on?
Since finishing The Living Law I've been writing a series of poems roughly themed around flood mythologies, geological history, and climate anxiety. This may be the beginning of my second book, but time will tell.
12 or 20 (second series) questions;
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