How did you first come to poetry? What is it about the form that resonates?
I am not sure if the first book of poetry I bought was an e. e. cummings book or a small collection of haiku. I bought them in different stores in Phoenix, Arizona: the cummings in a bookstore, the haiku book in a store stocking Asian items (with a tiny selection of books). I would guess I was 12 or 13 when I got them.
Initially, reading haiku I liked its brevity and vividness. And with cummings, I was fascinated with how he wrote in so many ways I’d never experienced before. Some cummings poems, especially his poem addressing “Mister Death” (“Buffalo Bill’s”), I read over and over when I was 13 and continued to think about.
What changed my life was when, at age 16, I went to a bookstore and found the Selected Poems of William Carlos Williams. The first poem I read was “The Widow’s Lament at Springtime.” It moved me in a way no poem ever had. Then I read “Poem,” in which a cat climbs on top of a jamcloset (I didn’t know what that was) and steps down into an empty flowerpot. I loved it. For the first time in my life I felt as if a writer was talking to me. I’d loved reading from early on, but the writers always seemed to live somewhere far away. But not Williams. After reading Williams, I wanted to be a poet too.
Do you see your writing as a single, extended project, or a series of threads that occasionally weave together to form something else?
Usually, I think of one poem, or prose poem, at a time, by itself. However, I am now working on a booklength project of poems and prose poems that I hope to complete by the end of 2024.
How did publishing your first book change your writing? What have the differences been since?
My first book, Among the Consonants, was published by James L. Weil’s The Elizabeth Press in 1980. Elizabeth Press published marvelous poets, including William Bronk, Cid Corman, Ted Enslin, John Taggart, and James L. Weil himself. The publication didn’t change my writing, but it felt great to join that group of poets.
In 2023, Shearsman Books published 54 poems: selected & new, and the earliest two poems in the book were written in 1972 while the most recent ones are from 2023.
As for the differences between pieces written in my 20s and ones I am writing in my 70s, I’ve learned to trust myself more and to experiment more. And, of course, I’ve read (and reread) so much more poetry over the years and my reading influences my writing.
How does a poem begin?
With a word, or a few words.
In my early and mid-20s I found three sentences that inspired me.
In a poetry magazine I found a letter from Williams Carlos Williams in which he told Denise Levertov: “Practice, practice, practice is the practice of the poet.” (He may have said “artist” rather than “poet.”)
The next two are translations and I may not be quoting the translations verbatim.
Henri Matisse: “Don’t wait for inspiration. It comes when you are working.”
Malebranche: “Attention is the natural prayer of the soul.”
And about three decades ago, my friend, the poet Boyer Rickel, told me Rudyard Kipling’s phrase: “Drift, wait, and obey.”
Have you a daily schedule by which you work, or are you working to fit this in between other activities?
For a couple of decades, I have usually done most my writing in the mornings, often quite early.
When I was in my 20s, I would stay up late to write, sometimes all night.
I’m retired now and have much more time for reading and writing. When I was working at a job, I often got up very early to read and write before I had to leave for work.
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
There are many print and online literary journals I read and value. And I am always finding more excellent ones.
Over the years, one of my favorite print literary journals (and then it transitioned to an online journal) has been NOON: journal of the short poem.
Another favorite online journal is Stride magazine.
And I always enjoy reading the print journal, Touch the Donkey.
A new literary journal (both online and available in print) is HALF DAY MOON JOURNAL, with an inaugural issue in August 2023 and a forthcoming second issue.
And, finally, another wonderful online literary journal is Otoliths, which published its final and 70th issue in 2023.
Who are some of the writers you are reading lately that most excite you?
I am lucky enough to be in contact with many poets whose work inspires and excites me; I read their poems all the time. But if I try to list them the list would be long and I might forget someone.
Among the 20th Century poets I return to the most are James Schuyler, Lorine Niedecker, Frank O’Hara, Robert Creeley, Tomas Tranströmer, and Yehuda Amichai.
I
also read a lot of novels and short stories that are fabulous, but will refrain
from listing them because it would be difficult to keep the list short.
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John Levy (he/him) lives on the outskirts of Tucson with his wife, the painter Leslie Buchanan, and their two rescue dogs. He has published eight books of poetry and prose. His most recent book is 54 poems: selected & new (Shearsman Books) and his most recent chapbooks are Guest Book for People in My Dreams (Proper Tales Press, 2024) and To Assemble an Absence (above/ground press, 2024).
A selection of his poems appear in the twelfth issue.