Today we have the privilege and honor of sitting down for virtual coffee with best-selling poet Antonio Eramo.

His book is in the Top 100 in all 3 Kindle Categories, and even in the Top 20 in 2 categories with more than 168 reviews.

My review of his book is available on Instagram here.

1. What was your purpose behind writing Cicadas Serenade

Cicadas Serenade was written to be my own version of “song of myself” (Thoreau). My song, like the song of the Cicada, is loud and can be perceived as annoying…but it is nonetheless natural and beautiful in its own right. As far as purpose goes…well, it serves the same purpose as any song within nature, it means everything and nothing at the same time.

2. What’s your favorite thing about nature?

My favorite thing about nature is that it almost mocks man in its perfection. Every lesson I have ever learned I can see expressed in nature…and there is a great irony that we can only see the wisdom of nature after our own failures.

3. What do you hope people gain from Cicadas Serenade?

I hope to gain several things from this book. The number 1 thing would be understanding. Although the manner I express myself isn’t straightforward, I hope that those close to me can read between the lines and understand the overarching meanings. The number 2 thing I hope to gain is a bit of traction within the poetry community. The poetry community is oversaturated and it is very difficult to stand out or be heard. I am hoping that this book can help usher in a return to form for poetry. Most modern poetry is full of bromides and bad line breaks, and I think the reader deserves a bit more than surface level thoughts masquerading as a poem (insta-poetry).

4. As a poet and a writer, where do you see your career going next?

As a poet, I see myself slowly climbing the ranks on amazon and establishing my work as an indie publisher. I am adamantly against big name publishers, so I do not see myself submitting to any of them anytime soon. I do not foresee myself ever being able to live off my work as a poet, which is definitely a blessing in disguise…I feel that if you treat art like a job/career then the work suffers 

5. Any new books currently in the works?

I have a new book out called “The Day Prior” which features AI artwork. Most people have been using AI to create art…but I was more curious as to how ai interprets art. I plugged each poem in as the input and had an ai generator interpret the poetry and create a corresponding image. The point of the collection is to analyze the process of interpreting art. In general we have a major issue with something I like to call the “coerced consensus”…in school we interpret things as we are told to interpret them…likewise, ai can only interpret things based on its algorithm (how it is told to interpret). I am curious to see if the images impact the readers ability to interpret the poetry and if it influences their perceptions before they even read.

6. Who are some of your favorite poets?

T.S. Eliot and Robert Frost

7. Who inspired you to become a poet or was there a pivotal moment that made you become a poet?

I don’t really remember what kicked off my fascination with words, but I do recall that it was a sudden snap. One day I just started writing poems.

8. Anything else you want to share with my readers about poetry or your writing career?

A bit of advice for anyone new to poetry…learn the forms and learn poetic devices before embarking on the journey. After you learn the rules you can break them…but for the love of god, learn them first.