How did you first come to poetry? What is it about the form that resonates?
I first became interested in writing poetry after reading Willis Barnstone's landmark 1966 anthology Modern European Poetry. I was particularly blown away by the work of Federico Garcia Lorca and Georg Trakl. Their imagery was astounding. After I moved to New York City I discovered the writing of William Wegman and Joe Brainard. Both of those guys are funny geniuses.
How does a poem begin?
I agree with David Lynch that the idea is everything. Whether you get it from a book or from the ether, the idea tells you how—as you read a book, you picture it, you hear it, and it makes an impression. So you stay true to that impression as you translate it into a poem. I’m also a big believer in intuition—and intuition is thought and feeling working together.
How did publishing your first book change your writing? What have the differences been since?
My first book was Local Boy Makes Good in 1993, with a cover by William Wegman. It had some okay things in it, but I think my more recent work is much better (at least, to me). I don’t think I write real poems any more, all of my writing now is short prose. I also don’t write longer things any more—pretty much everything I write now fits on Twitter. Additionally, I don’t ever worry anymore about if someone likes or understands my writing.
Between poetry and flash fiction, do you see your writing as a single, extended project, or a series of disconnected threads? How do you keep the genres straight?
It’s all one thing to me.
Do you have a daily schedule by which you work, or are you working to fit this in between other activities?
I used to always write at 10 pm every evening. Then I stopped that and wrote sort of sporadically. Since I’ve been collaborating with Raymond Pettibon (we’ve co-written one book and three zines) I am much more prolific, in part because Ray is so prolific. He and I usually write something together every day. I’d say in the last three or four years Ray and I have written about 500 pages of writing together.
What are your favourite print or online literary journals?
I like X-R-A-Y Lit, HAD and Hobart.
Who are some of the writers you are reading lately that most excite you?
I
enjoy the writings of Julián Martinez and Mira Gonzalez. And I always like to
read anything new by Eileen Myles.
Mike Topp was born in Washington, D.C., and currently lives in New York City unless he has died or moved. Recent publications include American Air (X-R-A-Y, 2024, with drawings by William Wegman) and The Frontier Index (Hanuman Editions, 2024, co-written with Raymond Pettibon with art by Pettibon). In 2026 he and Pettibon published two zines, The Circle Club and Sports and Divertissements, which were distributed by Karma Books.
Topp has work in the thirteenth issue.