How did you first come to writing poetry? What is it about the form that resonates?
I had dropped out of the workaday world to enter SFU as a mature student. I had been writing some short stories and taking a night course or two previously. While taking a creative class given by professor d.h. sullivan, he suggested I try my hand at poetry as a way of sharpening/condensing my prose, especially in terms of language, both use of and amount. I took the theme of 'shadows' and put together a book-size collection. I think I enjoyed the genre as a way of approaching a theme from different angles as opposed to following a single narrative to its tidy conclusion.
How does a poem begin?
The process has changed for me over the years. I used to grok onto a major theme — my first professionally published book was Sweet Betsy From Pike where I played with the idea of the two main characters of the song moving across Canada, ignorant of the environmental impact they were having on the land — do some research, gather material around it, expand on that material, add my own personal perspective, and get to work putting together a series of poems, always with a clear idea as to where the poem was going and what I wanted to say. More recently, I'm following (or trying to follow) the Robert Creeley dictum that suggests the poet allow one sentence to "naturally" lead to or direct the next, rather than have the poet force the direction of the poem. Scary, but fun and interesting, in that it offers me the opportunity to be surprised both by the process of writing and by the finished piece. Needless to say, the process necessarily means accepting the fact that a poem that begins in one direction often ends in quite an opposite direction.
You’ve published work in multiple genres. Do you see your writing as a single, extened project, or a series of disconnected threads? How do you keep the genres straight?
I think that to keep the genres straight I stick to some basic rules for myself: novels involve several sub-plots whereas short stories are more focused plot-wise, with fewer characters. When I'm working on a play I need to incorporate "actual" lighting and sound effects; I need to know what needs to be written and what can be accomplished by the actors and the director on (and off) stage. With the poems it's often a matter of avoiding clichés, similes, worn images and so on — the stock and trade of much poetry — and attempting to insinuate varied discourses into the pieces. I think one of the finest compliments I've had is that while every book I've published is different, it's still recognizable as my work. A former acting prof once said to me that the main task of a director (beyond being able to put up a well-received play) is the need to develop a recognizable signature, whether you're directing Shakespeare or Shepard or Simon. This is what I have strived to do in my artistic endeavours. A recent rejection letter from a poetry publisher read: "We did admire the virtuosity on display here — an art house wild-child bad-boy vibe with high literary sensibility." I believe that paints a fairly accurate picture, if not quite complete.
Have you a daily schedule by which you work, or are you working to fit this in between other activities?
I don't have a daily schedule. When I have an idea I start to set aside time, usually a morning or an afternoon. Stare at the page and so on. Scribble. Toss aside. Begin again. Once I get going though, I tend to extend the working hours over the day. Nights are meant for enjoying meals, wine and entertainment. Of course, there's always the two walks a day necessary for the dog, who is neither understanding nor much of a poetry enthusiast.
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
I've always been a fan of Conjunctions magazine and often wonder how it's managed to survive. I am a subscriber to rob mclennan's above/ground publishing empire, so receive a ton-o'-stuff via snail mail and on line, which is fun. TRAIN is cool. Nöd, filling Station, Border Crossings. And, of course, Talking About Strawberries. I guess it's fair to say I prefer the more avant-garde, experimental and playful journals.
Who are some of the writers you are reading lately that most excite you?
I tend to read collections more than individual books.
In this way, I get introduced to writers I never would know about otherwise. I
snagged a used copy of Postmodern American Poetry and enjoyed works by
Ben Lerner, Fanny Howe, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Vanessa Place (a very wild
child) as well as regular favourites Marjorie Welish, Bin Ramke, Rosmarie
Waldrop... In fact, I wrote a review of the volume that was published in
Periodicities, I was so taken by it. I'm currently working on a collection of
prose poems — what the hell is a prose poem???? — and have found the Roberto
Bolaño collection, The Unknown University, quite inspirational.
A selection of his poetry appears in the sixth and eighth issues.