In January 2015 he started writing poetry, approximately three weeks after his 40th birthday. The plan was to replace smoking cigarettes with walking eight to ten kilometres a day. He is a songwriter by trade and often discovered melodies and rhythms in the shuffling of his feet. He spends most of his time thinking about words, music, and language. Nolan found myself writing short poems based on people and places in his neighbourhood, trying to capture a bit of what was happening around him.
An older cousin of his discovered a gift and passion for poetry while serving time in Folsom State Prison. He was an early influence on him, sending books and letters from prison and encouraging the younger Nolan to read and write as often as possible. This relationship was the subject of a documentary last year called Visiting Day, produced for the CBC by filmmaker Charles Konowal. He was invited to perform and host writing workshops in the very same prison library his cousin wrote to him from all those years ago.
The late Winnipeg poet Patrick O’Connell was also a dear friend and mentor. Patrick is one of his favourite contemporary Canadian poets. His was a lyrical style that had a strong impact on his early songwriting. One of the many benefits of working in the arts community in Winnipeg is the quality of work of his peers. It’s consistently encouraging and inspiring. After more than a decade of relentless touring, he decided to take a year or so away from the road to collaborate, produce records, and enjoy his life in Winnipeg. A play was produced through Manitoba Theatre Projects based on the nine albums he has released since 2003. The play, I Dream of Diesel, enjoyed a two week run of sold-out shows and critical praise from both the community and critics.
1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
This is my first book so while I don’t have anything to compare it to directly is has certainly changed my life. The poems started coming to me while walking, as I was dealing with tobacco withdrawal. The added gift of creativity while aiming for a healthier lifestyle was incredibly encouraging. The practice has taught me to stay available to ideas all the time.
2 - How did you come to songwriting first, as opposed to, say, poetry, fiction or non-fiction?
I suppose I just started writing, whether it was songs or adolescent angst masquerading as poetry I’m not entirely sure, however this when on for many years before it yielded any legitimate results. I followed Samuel Beckett model, “try again, fail better.”
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 write everyday, even just small edits, I just keep a steady practice. There is always something that requires attention. I have creative bursts where inspiration runs high, but I work just as consistently when it’s low. Here I follow Chuck Close’s example. “Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work.”
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?
Poetry is still a new practice for me so I have no frame of reference just yet. Most of the poems in my book were typed into my phone, like quick snapshots from around the neighbourhood. I did have a sense of the primary theme and almost all the poems made the collection.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
As a performing songwriter I’ve begun reciting short poems throughout my sets. I’ve written a new collection of songs that are connected to the poems and work well together. Reading without musical accompaniment is still new for me but I enjoy it. The voice can add a lot depending on the material.
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?
So far it feels like I’m taking some inventory or perhaps leaving a trail for myself. A lot of the poems are an appreciation of nature, and the life affirming peace that may be found there.
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?
I think authenticity is mandatory, speaking clearly and truthfully while saying something about the era we live in here. Does the work deserve to outlive us, does it offer something genuine, that’s a good goal I think.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I was lucky here, Catherine Hunter graciously offered me some notes and my brilliant wife Rachael Searle applied them for me. I struggled in school and didn’t graduate high school so my punctuation and grammar isn’t perfect. The editor was primarily focused on sequencing and breaking the poems into sections.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
If you can hum it, you can play it is the best piece of advice I’ve ever been given. It’s changed everything for me.
10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (songwriting to poetry)? What do you see as the appeal?
Patrick Nolan and Patrick O’Connell we’re both poets who had an influence on me as I began writing songs in earnest. I tend not to edit as much with poems but rather keep them intact as they arrive. Trying to capture a moment the way you might with a photo or painting. What do I see around me, how does it make me feel, how something smells or the light versus shadow. Trying to share imagery while still leaving space.
11 - 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 try to write in the early part of the day, motion helps so I’m usually walking within a few hours of rising.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
Nature is always inspiring, and four distinct seasons doesn’t hurt either. I simply just stay available to ideas all the time, there are no holidays from being present.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Lilac trees
14 - 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?
Art comes from life, no one has bettered Mother Nature’s work from what I’ve experienced.
15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
There is some incredible poetry to be found within the prison system, I try to stay in touch whenever possible. It’s a way forward for many, for my late cousin, at the end of violence was poetry.
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
I’ve resisted working overseas all these years, even passing up wonderful opportunities. I wanted some mileage on me before I crossed the ocean. I’ve wanted to be ready.
17 - 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?
My first job after my paper route was working with my late grandfather as an associate private investigator, when I was eleven . I would love to go back to my roots.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
I think I’ve just always been doing it, making up stories, I’m a professional exaggerator.
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
Catherine Hunter’s After Light.
20 - What are you currently working on?
I’m meeting my father later this week in Toronto’s “Cabbagetown.” I have a feeling I’ll be writing about the old neighbourhood and my family.
12 or 20 (second series) questions;
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