1 - How did your first book change your life? How does your most recent work compare to your previous? How does it feel different?
It was thrilling, I have to say, when my first book, Christening the Dancer, came out. I was overjoyed, did numerous readings, got reviews, etc. That was 20 years ago! My new work, I hope, has evolved. Themes are different, style is probably less personal, family-oriented. The process of writing is still a thrill, typically. Publishing is enjoyable but also brings up so much of what isn’t great about being human: doubt, competitiveness, worry, and occasional hits of mania, which then, of course, lead to crashes.
2 - How did you come to poetry first, as opposed to, say, fiction or non-fiction?
I was always drawn to the form, the expressive and cathartic possibilities. I didn’t start out with narrative impulses, that seems to have evolved over time. I was very drawn to the surreal. Also, as a teen who struggled with various issues, including addiction, the way that poetry transformed ugliness into beauty was magical. I think writing poems, or at least aspiring to, saved my life.
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?
Things sort of flow. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never suffered from an extended block. I do tend to revise quite a bit, but there’s the occasional piece that emerges pretty much intact!
4 - Where does a poem or work of prose 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?
Until my last book, Dark Souvenirs, I didn’t think or write in terms of an overarching theme, though Illusion of an Overwhelm did revolve around four series, so they were loosely theme-driven. I write poems, per se, individual pieces, but I do tend to think, How will these cohere in a book form? Will they?
5 - Are public readings part of or counter to your creative process? Are you the sort of writer who enjoys doing readings?
Readings have always been a pretty big part of my post-release process. I do enjoy doing readings, and for years, traveled all over the place sharing work. Since Covid, things have slowed down a bit, and we’ll see how things unfold going forward. But generally speaking, I enjoy people and an audience, so I do hope to keep getting out there in some way.
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?
With some of what I’m doing now, yes. I’m working very much with the notions of impermanence, inconsequence, and non-self (Buddhist ideas). I’m not writing non-fiction, so I’m not spelling these things out, but they’re informing the work, yes. I’m not sure what I’m trying to answer as much as I’m trying to get at how a life unfolds so quickly, and regardless of what successes, failures, loves, and disappointments you experience, somehow there’s an emptiness or insubstantiality that endures. Memory isn’t exactly real; neither is self.
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?
Good question! I’m not sure what the so-called larger role is, but I think art in general is important in the micro. In terms of literature, one writer, one reader. Art has small and important impacts. And of course, it’s primarily transportive for the artist or creator. A life in the arts can be rewarding, enriching, can even translate to being a better person. In the end, I think that everything, even if it seems to occur on a macro level, has an effect in a smaller way, one person at a time.
8 - Do you find the process of working with an outside editor difficult or essential (or both)?
I work with editors more in terms of my music reviewing. I do quite a bit of music writing, and different editors have different approaches, preferences, etc. I find it rewarding for the most part, or at least a good exercise. Most editors have good suggestions. I also work as an editor, so I kind of know what it’s like from that side too.
9 - What is the best piece of advice you've heard (not necessarily given to you directly)?
Hmm, not sure, probably something around making sure you don’t miss out on your life because you’re so busy trying to write about it.
10 - How easy has it been for you to move between genres (poetry to fiction to essays)? What do you see as the appeal?
I move between poetry and prose (music reviewing) on a regular basis. These days, even with poetry, I’m writing a good deal of prose poetry. Mining those overlaps between the linear and nonlinear, the poetic energy and prose grounding, is intriguing. I feel that the review process has certainly helped in terms of prose construction. But then, infusing that with the poetic flare is compelling. Now, in some ways, I’m not sure what I’m writing. Is it poetic prose, prose poetry? Maybe I should just refer to the pieces as texts.
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 don’t really have a routine, other than I try to write something or at least dive into focused editing every day. The morning is kind of busy with animals, etc., but I can usually get to a good stretch of writing by late morning or sometime in the afternoon.
12 - When your writing gets stalled, where do you turn or return for (for lack of a better word) inspiration?
Well, I usually wait for something to move me, or again, I dive into some revisions. There are various poetry and prose projects in the works, so I can usually get traction with something if I clear the space and commit to it. I’m also grateful that in terms of poetry I’ve always been able to land “where I am”, so to speak. I think sometimes people have blocks when they can’t authentically revisit earlier themes and yet don’t have a clear orientation about what’s happening in the present. Somehow I’ve been pretty consistent aligning my writing with my current state, even if I’m writing in the third person.
13 - What fragrance reminds you of home?
Grass, dogwoods, bay leaves. Smoke sometimes. Peonies. Sometimes certain cleaning products.
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?
Oh, most definitely. Music for sure. Film. Art, yes. I would say that these other forms influence or inspire as much if not more than lit.
15 - What other writers or writings are important for your work, or simply your life outside of your work?
There are numerous writers I’ve returned to over the years, and keep returning to. I’m also pretty engaged in Buddhist practices. I’m not sure if I’m a Buddhist, really, but the ideas and experience of impermanence and non-self are very important to me and have a greater and greater influence on my work.
16 - What would you like to do that you haven't yet done?
I’d like to write a novel … or perhaps a memoir. I’d like to write some more songs (I wrote quite a few songs in the past but haven’t written many lately. That said, I do review a lot of music, which is very gratifying and inspiring). I’d like to travel a bit more.
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?
I don’t know, maybe I could’ve taught lit somewhere. Or gone into mathematics. Or even pursued a more focused editing career. My dream job would be as a pro comedian, but I’m not fundamentally funny enough and I don’t know that I could generate humor consistently.
18 - What made you write, as opposed to doing something else?
I was always drawn to it, from the age of 12 on. It had a magic that nothing else had. I was hooked!
19 - What was the last great book you read? What was the last great film?
I recently reread Patrick Modiano’s Out of the Dark. The atmospherics in that book are extremely compelling, the way he creates a kind of European, post-WW2 dreamscape, how the past is so much a part of the present. And while I’m mentioning re-visits: Just re-watched Paris, Texas. The acting subtleties in this film are striking, how a simple dialog carries so much weight. A film brimming with implications, the spoken and the unspoken.
20 - What are you currently working on?
I’m working on a series of new prose poems or, again, perhaps this is poetic prose. Certainly narrative driven, though the language and music are as important to me as ever. I’m reimagining/reconfiguring the lives of various figures, pointing out alternate life trajectories and how people make peace with emptiness, impermanence, even inconsequence.
12 or 20 (second series) questions;
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