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?
My debut chap, DRAKKAR NOIR, came into existence because I won a contest. It was an eye-opening introduction to publishing, and the phenomenal people at Bateau Press took great care of me.
It's not up to me to say how the work is or feels different. I think the books demonstrate a natural evolution in my process. I'm trying to get at those same obsessions (not my favorite word) and concerns but from different angles.
2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or nonfiction?
I didn't have the patience for anything else.
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 don't think of them as projects, exactly. The writing comes in waves, and always hard and fast. I don't do "drafts" because I don't revisit poems after they are written.
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?
For the most part I don't like themed books because the themes are often silly and the books grandiose and self-aggrandizing. In my own practice I tend to write until I have a critical mass of poems that I can bundle together in a collection.
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
I avoid readings unless I'm supporting a friend or have something to promote.
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'll write about anything and everything and do it with a critical eye, a strong point-of-view that could only be mine.
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?
The role of the writer is entertainment. You should make people feel good, but it's okay to also make them uncomfortable and reflective in their positions.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
The editor-writer relationship must be governed by mutual admiration and respect. I have a very clear idea of how I want things to look, sound, etc., and editors know that coming in the door.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
Sometimes people act not out of malice but out of stupidity.
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?
No routines beyond days earmarked as Reading Days or Writing Days. I keep those separate.
11 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
I never stall but imagine watching a good movie would bring me back.
12 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Right now it's Serpentine by Comme des Garçons and Rose & Cuir by Frédéric Malle.
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?
I don't talk about influences or references. Folx can (and should) draw their own conclusions from reading my work!
14 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
I don't talk about other writers, either. I am highly focused on my own practice.
15 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
Run for office, maybe.
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?
Something in fashion, probably.
17 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
Because nobody else is doing what I'm doing.
18 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
Diane Seuss's new book, which she very kindly sent.
Probably the Taiwanese movie Your Name Engraved Herein -- heartbreaking but also lends itself to repeat viewing. Visually terrific.
19 - What are you currently working on?
A full-length collection, which is coming together very nicely.
Also getting my next book ready for publication in -- hopefully -- early 2025.
12 or 20 (second series) questions;
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