- Why poetry?
Poetry is my favorite type of writing because it is the format I’m most comfortable and proficient in that also allows me to tell the stories I want to. I tend to feel emotions strongly and I discovered a long time ago that writing was a good outlet for these emotions, be them positive or negative. In writing a poem, I can let my feelings drive the piece and jam as much of that into a single poem as possible or take the angle I want to. The freedom that comes with poetry is staggering, more so than any other form of writing I’ve tried out and that leads to some fun experimenting that other forms don’t always offer.
I’ve also found that I’m not very good at telling a long form story in prose or sticking to the writing process of one long enough to get it all out. I’ve dabbled in trying to write novels or short stories before, but I find that I often am missing a piece: either I have some really cool characters with no plot, a great beginning and end with no middle, a beginning and middle without an end, or some permutation thereof. In a poem, I can tell a concise story or showcase an emotion, without getting super bogged down in the details or “lore” of a story. I guess you could say I like the short-form better and I think they can be just as powerful stories, if done right.
2. Tell me about your most recent collection.
Desolation and Epiphany, my most recent poetry book, is a collection of 95 individual poems, split into two parts (technically three, but the last is just a conclusion mostly). The first part, Desolation, contains poems that are somber, depressing, angry, darker things like that. The second part, Epiphany, contains poems that are uplifting, joyful, enlightened, spiritual, and things of that nature. The collection overall is meant to show a progression; some themes and individual poems in the first part find their resolutions and counterparts in the second, although most pieces can be read as stand-alone poems.
Desolation and Epiphany holds a special place in my heart for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s been a long time in the works. The oldest poem in the book is about 13 years old and there are some from every stage of my life since then. In some ways, this book is my “greatest hits” of poems I’ve been writing over the years, and once I felt I had enough that fit well together, I compiled the collection and published it.
It’s also a sort of “rebranding” for me as a writer. My first collection, In the Library, was a much darker, more psychological book that was indicative of my headspace at the time. As I’ve grown as a person, my poetry evolved too and I felt the desire to leave that sort of dark worldview behind. That said, I figured it would be a shame to waste poems I worked hard on, so the idea to have the two halves and show both sides was born. As a meta theme, it speaks to my belief that we as people shouldn’t pretend that the bad times, the things that have happened to us and the mistakes we’ve made , didn’t happen, but rather we should put them in their proper place and learn from them, so as to grow stronger as we move into the future. Publishing this collection was kind of therapeutic in that way, like accepting the past and showing both myself and the world how much I’ve grown and how much stronger I’ve become and that’s a great feeling.
Finally, this collection features some incredible artwork from one of the greatest artists in the world on the cover and in its corresponding promotional items and that’s made it even stronger as a complete book. I think this may be the only time I’d want a book to be judged by its cover and I’m super proud to showcase that artwork along with the poetry inside.
3. Tell the backstory of one of your poems.
I think the poem in Desolation and Epiphany that has gone on the most interesting journey is “Just an Observation.” Found in the second part of the book, the message and theme behind it is pretty clear. I think most of us know someone that, despite the fact that we think they’re incredible, is really hard on themself. I have a friend like this, one of my most favorite people in the world, who used to make a lot of self-deprecating comments and jokes (she’s gotten a lot better about it now, to her credit) and so I was inspired to counter this and write about her strengths instead, in a heartfelt yet somewhat comedic manner.
The interesting thing about this poem (other than it being the first poem I wrote about this particular individual) is that at one point it was meant to be used as song lyrics. At a certain time in my creative journey, I dabbled in learning how to write music to complement my words. In hindsight, perhaps it was strange that I both played bass guitar and was learning music theory, but jokes aside, I wanted to take a poem I’d written and write a melody to go along with it. After looking through some of my recent writings, I chose the one I thought would fit best and took what was once “Just an Observation” and added music to go with it. Thus the song version of this piece was born.
In my amateurishness, I could not sing and play at the same time and in my foolishness could not figure out how to record the bass-played melody correctly and so I put this piece in my metaphorical back pocket until such a time I could present the world (and this girl) with the complete “banger” I had sought. Then, one night in a church in Colorado, I had an idea: I could ask my cousin, musical master and melodic virtuoso, for assistance in really honing in the tune and recording. With her guidance and the powerful fusion of bass and piano, we came up with a version that I was quite proud of. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we did not record a vocal version and so both parts, music and poem, were incomplete on their own and fell short of what I hoped for in the finished piece.
Later still, when I decided to focus solely on poetry and began compiling the poems that would make up Desolation and Epiphany, I knew I had to include this notable Observation of mine and so I took to editing the piece once again. Thus this poem turned song turned back into a poem and found its completion and home in my newest book and is honestly one of my personal favorites in it. If I ever get the desire to pick up music again, I’d like to revisit it, maybe with guitar, but in the meantime, I think this version is the best one of it.
4. What are three poets you recommend?
Not including the classics, Billy Collins is one of my favorite contemporary poets that I always recommend to people. My uncle got me one of his books a few years ago and I’ve read most of the others since then. I really like how he can capture a powerful emotion in a small amount of space and ranges from wistful to whimsical and everything in between.
I recently discovered the works of Flor Ana after meeting her at a Fair in Ft. Lauderdale. I found her poetry really interesting, both in themes and in the form her poems are written in. She’s doing some really great stuff down in South Florida too; you can really tell she has a passion for poetry and life.
Finally, something of a guilty pleasure of mine that I won’t apologize for is the poetry of Kristina Mahr. The sheer volume of poetry that she writes and with such a dedicated, focused approach is something I personally greatly admire and she’s definitely top of my “famous authors I’d love to meet and collaborate with” list. I can read her poetry in the same way that I devour a tube of Pringles in one sitting: I know it’s gonna bum me out afterwards, but I’m doing it anyways and enjoying every second.
5. I am currently reading…
While I mostly read poetry books these days, I’m actually reading something a little different right now. It’s a book about living a heroic and virtuous life called “Deep Adventure: The Way of Heroic Virtue” by Bear Woznick. Theological books are probably my second favorite genre and this one has some really great insights and ways of explaining things I’d known in a new light that I’m thoroughly enjoying.
Check out James W.A.’s collection Desolation and Epiphany today. Available wherever books are sold.
The Smart Cookie Philes 