How did you first come to poetry? What is it about the form that resonates?
Like a lot of people, I first came to poetry in school. In particular, it was a creative writing class in high school that provided the initial spark. I’m not sure that poetry « resonates » with me more or less compared to short stories, creative nonfiction, etc., but it is my favorite aisle of creative writing to stroll down. I think everything you can find in poetry, including the news, can also be found elsewhere.
How did publishing your first book change your writing? What have the differences been since?
It has only changed my writing insomuch as I've made a conscious decision to write prose poems since (three years or so now). While Inside the Golden Days... does have some prose poems, I wanted to challenge myself to complete a manuscript composed of only prose poems, which I've done, and that manuscript is looking for a press.
How does a poem begin?
For me, a poem might begin any number of ways. Sometimes I'll have an image stuck in my head that won't leave until I type it out. Other times, I'll have a sentence I overheard in a conversation (or maybe one I thought I heard in conversation) and see what trails branch off. Do I even want to know how it begins?
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, but I've had a routine since graduate school. My writing day is Friday. I'll go to a local coffee shop, get a seasonal coffee drink, put on my headphones and music, and write. If it's a good day, I'll usually come up with a draft of a poem in around three hours. If it's a good day and I'm lucky, I can come up with two poems. Being a Virgo also helps.
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but a few that come to my mind are: Cul-de-Sac of Blood, Dream Pop Journal, Ethel, and the tiny.
Who are some of the writers you are reading lately that most excite you?
My day job keeps me reading and rereading, so my time
with books is frequent, but not necessarily for leisure. That said, I do manage
to sneak in the occasional not-teaching book here and there. I recently picked
up Woman Pissing by Elizabeth Cooperman (described as a "literary
collage"), which is unlike any previous book I've read before. I'm also
gathering my thoughts on rob mclennan's deceptively titled the book of
smaller.
A selection of his poems appear in the eighth issue.