How did you first come to poetry? What is it about the form that resonates?
I didn’t think much about writing poetry until my first year of undergrad university, when I read a smattering of poems from the canon (Hardy, Yeats, Eliot, etc.). About that time (ca. 1995) I was fiddling around on my sister’s Brother typewriter. I was curious to see what might happen if I wrote out some thoughts in the form of metrical lines. I liked how it looked on the page.
Originally I liked the form because it forced me to condense ideas and action. Since then, I’ve tried to apply the same principle of concision to prose projects—e.g., converting a narrative poem into a piece of flash fiction.
How does a poem begin?
Sometimes it’s a prompt I write for myself then come back to later. Many times a poem happens after reading other poetry—the effect is like another, established poet giving you permission (or daring you) to try something.
How did publishing your first chapbook change your writing? What have the differences been since?
I’ve only self-published chapbooks. But I’d say the experiment made me think more about small press and the freedom of creating a niche platform for your weird writing—rather than waiting for a publisher to give you an acceptance letter.
Do you see your writing as a single, extended project, or a series of threads that occasionally weave together to form something else?
For a few years I just wrote what I felt like writing—without any idea of a “project.” I think that was a good thing. Later, I looked back to see what I had, then started to see clusters of “threads” that might be gathered into individual sequences or sections for a larger book.
Have you a daily schedule by which you work, or are you working to fit this in between other activities?
I try—though often fail—to spend a good hour every morning reading/writing/editing first thing after breakfast. Sometimes I only get the reading in, sometimes a little bit of editing. Otherwise I fit the writing in between my freelance work.
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
SubTerrain, Feathertale Review, Taddle Creek, Conduit
Who are some of the writers you are reading lately that most excite you?
Stuart Ross, David McFadden, Elmore Leonard, Iain M.
Banks
Adam Lawrence works as a freelance copyeditor/proofreader in Florenceville-Bristol, NB. In his spare time, Lawrence dabbles in small press projects. His poetry has recently appeared in Vastarien: A Literary Magazine, Misfitmagazine, and SurVision Magazine.