Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.
The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Gillian Prew

Born Stirling, Scotland in 1966, Gillian Prew studied Philosophy at the University of Glasgow from 1984 to 1988.

Her chapbook, Disconnections, can be purchased from erbacce-press (2011) and another chapbook, In the Broken Things, published by Virgogray Press (2011). Her collection, Throats Full of Graves, has been published in 2013 by Lapwing Publications. A further collection, A Wound’s Sound, was released from Oneiros Books in April 2014. Her chapbook, Three Colours Grief, was published by erbacce-press in June 2016. Her latest project (a collaboration with the poet and artist, Karen Little) is a small booklet contributing to a series raising funds for an animal shelter.

She has been twice short-listed for the erbacce-prize and twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Website: https://gprew.wordpress.com/

The Interview

1. What inspired you  to write poetry?

I had been writing a novel for well over a decade and decided to write a poem as a literary exercise. It wasn’t very good. I was 41 at the time, so came to it pretty late. Somehow I just didn’t stop writing them, especially when I found each one more satisfying than the last.

2. Who introduced you to poetry?

Like most people I had to study poems at school but wasn’t inspired at the time to keep reading poetry when I went to university. My interest didn’t develop until my 40s and was pretty much self-driven.

3. How aware were you of the dominating presence of older poets?

When I started writing poetry I didn’t give it much thought. The first poet I read in depth was Charles Bukowski, only because I had been reading his novel ‘Post Office’, and seemed to segue into his poems.

4. What is your daily writing routine?

I don’t have one. I have a job which requires that I work shifts and so depending on these and my level of tiredness I fit writing around it. Having said that, I am always reading poetry and thinking about the poem that I am writing, which I consider an integral part of the writing process.

5. What motivates you to write?

I look upon it as a tiny antidote to suffering.

6. What is your work ethic?

I don’t even like that phrase. Poetry isn’t Capitalsim.

7. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

I have always read a lot and I’m sure some of those writers have influenced me subliminally but when I was young I read only novels.

8. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

I adore Les Murray. I love his use of language and his appreciation of the natural world.

9. Why do you write?

I write because I feel that I have something to say and I want to say it as beautifully as I can. I find writing poetry very liberating.

10. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

If it’s about money then don’t bother. The only two necessities are to read extensively and do some actual writing. The more you do of these the better your writing will become.

11. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

I have just finished a little booklet, your verb is all water and light, which is part of a series of poetry booklets Karen Little is publishing to raise money for a couple of animal shelters. As an advocate for animal rights I jumped at the chance to be involved in this. It’s my 6th publication.

On Fiction Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.
The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these fiction writers you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Nadia Dalbuono

studied at Queen’s College, Oxford where she read History and German. For the last sixteen years she has worked as a documentary director and consultant for Channel 4, Discovery and National Geographic. Her Leone Scamarcio crime series is set in Rome and follows the investigations of a Flying Squad detective struggling to escape his father’s mafia past. The second book in the series, The American, was longlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger. Nadia lives in Italy with her husband and two sons.

The Interview

1. What inspired you to write fiction?

I always loved to read and I loved to write stories growing up. In the end, a gap between jobs gave me the opportunity to sit down and write as an adult. I discovered that I really enjoyed it, much more than my job in television at the time.

2. Who introduced you to fiction?

My headteacher at primary school. We had to read 30 pages of a book three times a week and it instilled in me a love of fiction. Many of the other children who attended that state primary with me are also now avid readers.

3. How aware were you of the dominating presence of older writers?

I don’t think I was massively aware of it. When I stared writing, I’d read a lot of younger writers such as Bret Easton Ellis, Joshua Ferris and Dave Eggers. The fiction field didn’t feel massively dominated by older authors. That said, crime and thriller, my genre, did seem to have more of an imbalance with older writers such as Michael Connelly and Lee Child always out in front.
4. What is your daily writing routine?

I tend to write from 9am until 1230.  We live in Italy and schools finish at 1300 so my children are both home in the afternoons. I only have a narrow window of opportunity to squeeze some writing in – this means that I have to ignore the mountain of housework that needs to be done and deal with it later.  Not always easy as I write at the kitchen table and the mess is always in my line of sight!

5. What motivates you to write?

I feel that there are things that I want to talk about; stories I want to tell. After four books, my character Detective Scamarcio has taken on a life of his own and there are certain experiences I want him to have in order to grow and evolve. This means I must keep writing in order to keep up with all the twists and turns in his life.

6. What is your work ethic?

If I don’t feel like writing; if I’m not in the mood I just have to knuckle down to it anyway. If I only wrote when I felt like it, I’d complete a book every five years.

7. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

I used to read a lot of Malcolm Saville adventure books as a child. I even wrote him a fan letter and was very upset when his publishers wrote back to tell me he’d died some years back. I think his plotting, pace and sense of atmosphere instilled in me a lifelong fascination with thrillers.

8. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

Michael Connelly is excellent and Don Winslow is a fascinating chronicler of our times. The Cartel is a superb piece of work. I have also read a lot of the Scottish author William McIlvanney and consider him to be one of the most interesting writers of detective fiction of recent times – his psychological insights are intriguing and enable some rock-solid characterisation. James Lee Burke and his extraordinary evocation of New Orleans also puts him right up there with the best.

9. Why do you write?

I think I answered that in 5.

10. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

Just write for yourself. Don’t worry about whether anyone will ever read it or whether you will ever find an agent etc etc. Write because you must; because you have a story you need to tell. Don’t give up, don’t doubt yourself. (But keep your day job: unless you’re extremely lucky, you’ll need the money!)

11. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

I’m just trying to finish the first draft of Scamarcio 5 which needs to be delivered by Christmas. Once that is done, I’d like to try my hand at a standalone thriller, set in Trump’s America. The US both fascinates and disturbs me right now.

 

 

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.
The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Rishi Dastidar

Rishi Dastidar’s poetry has been published by Financial Times, New Scientist and the BBC amongst many others. His debut collection Ticker-tape is published by Nine Arches Press, and a poem from it was included in The Forward Book of Poetry 2018. A member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen, he is also chair of the London writer development organization Spread The Word.

http://­beingbeta.blogspot.co­m/

@betarish

https://medium.com/­me/stories/public

Rishi performs his poetry at iambapoet.com

https://www.iambapoet.com/rishi-dastidar

The Interview

1. When and why did you start writing poetry?

So (and forgive me if this has the air of a well-polished anecdote) but I cam to poetry late-ish, about 2007, when I was 29, 30. I hadn’t studied literature, and my own real exposure to verse until then had been Vikram Seth’s The Golden Gate (a book I still love, by the way). Anyway, I was on Oxford Street in London one lunchtime (I worked just round the corner) and popped into the big Borders bookshop that was there then. As I was going up the escalator, I spotted this book called ‘Ashes for Breakfast’. Intrigued, I grabbed it, opened it and…. BOOM! A proper moment of revelation, damascene conversion if you want to get pretentious. I hadn’t realised – didn’t know – you could do this with words – not go to the end of the page, be all cool in tone, make classical allusions easily, talk about urban life…. I was entranced, and pretty much knew there and then this was the stuff I wanted to write. I had no clue how to write it of course, so I signed up to an introduction to poetry course at CityLit with Clare Pollard, and that was really the start of it all for me.

2. Who introduced you to Vikram Seth?

Again, this was a chance discovery – this time the Waterstones in Oxford when it was a Dillons – it was a Faber reissue with a lovely, moodily atmospheric pink cover, and it looked like it’d be a good follow up to Microserfs by Douglas Coupland, which I’d just finished. Little did I know the treats that lay in store!

2.1 How would you describe the treats that lay in store?

Oh, well – the musicality for one, the sheer joie de vivre with which he animates the Pushkin stanzas, the turns of phrase, the fact that it is actually a novel, with three dimensional characters… Whenever I re-read it, which is quite often, I’m struck by the fact that if I could pull of such a thing, I would die happy.

2.2 How did you get your love of book shops?

I guess it sort of emerged later… To be honest, most of my teenage years were spent hanging around record shops, especially Sister Ray in Soho; lost count of how many CDs I bought in there between the ages of 13 and 18.

3. How aware were and are you of the dominating presence of older poets traditional and contemporary?

Interesting that you use ‘dominating’ there… are you suggesting that there are perhaps a few poets, both living and dead, who take up a disproportionate amount of critical and wider public attention?

I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with the premise but: let’s start from the vantage point that our aim should be to learn from ‘the best’ poets, old and young, wherever and whenever they were writing. Now, does that and should that definition of ‘the best’ be radically wider than traditionally it has been? Yes absolutely – the idea that ‘the best’ can only be white heterosexual male poets is clearly daft; at least to me it’s self evident that there is plenty of brilliance to be found, that just happens not to arrive looking like how we might have once characterised brilliance to be.

Candidly I’ve never felt ‘dominated’ – what I have been is hungry to try and learn from why these voices might have been lionised, and then try and work out what I could usefully steal for my own ends. Plus I really feel it’s good to read as widely as you can; I love the metaphysicals especially, and have ranged back to Hafez and others… it’s healthy to want to be both part of a tradition… and then also want to tweak its nose a bit, right?

Instead of ‘dominating’ let’s say that I was very definitely looking for role models to learn from, not just in terms of how to write but also how to be a poet. Seeing people like you, writing, being heard is important I feel – it gives you a sense that not only should I be in this space, I can be too.

4. What is your daily writing routine?

Multi layered answer to this I’m afraid, as my day job is also as a writer, a copywriter in advertising / branding / design agency. So, I’m pretty much doing some form of ‘writing’ 5, 6 days a week, and every day the blank page will be fllled with something, and sometimes this might even be poetic. If I’m full on at work, then chances are that poems and other non work writing happens in stolen moments at lunch, on the commute home; when it’s quieter at work, I’ll try and steal some time in office hours; there’s a lot of compiling, revising and editing at the weekend, generally in a coffee shop.

5.  What motivates your writing?

The obvious ones are vanity, and a horrible realisation that I can’t do much else that is actually practically useful and or able to earn me much y way of coin.

Beyond that – everything starts with a phrase doesn’t it? Something that lodges, that sticks, that you want to talk for a walk and see what happens next… does it capture an image, a mood, a metaphor…? That process of finding out, that sitting down with a notebook and a coffee and for 30 minutes, an hour, seeing what happens – that’s generally pure pleasure, and I guess why I keep coming back to it. When you’re flying – when you’re flowing – there’s only a few better feelings.

And as I do this more and more, well I guess there are subjects I want to start to attack, to try and find out what I think about them; but I’m not the sort of writer who has a view and needs to express it; I need to write to find out what that view is.

6. What is your work ethic?

Ha! Stolen from an old creative director: “Be brilliant, do loads.” I struggle on both counts.

7. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

Pass – and not out of a desire to be difficult, but a) I struggle to think of who I was reading when young apart from Aesop’s fables, Narnia… b) because I came to writing poems so late, I’m not sure I can track a straight line of influence through.

8. Why do you write?

For money, for fame (ha!), to trouble posterity (double ha!), because I can’t do anything else, because I don’t want to do anything else, because I’m a failed seducer and flailing intriguer, because I’m not handsome enough to be on telly, and I’m to lazy to do a proper job.

9. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

Read – Read more than you are right now, read more than you think you can, read what you like, read what you don’t like, read things that you do know, reads things that you don’t, read from first page to last, read only one page and then throw the book away… if you do not read you will never become a writer.

10. And finally Rishi, tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

Well, there’s this – tinyletter.com/­betarish – flash fiction pieces, 90 of ‘em; a draft of book 2 is inching its way into the world, a long narrative poem; and I have a crazy idea to write something about American Football; but no one wants to read poems about sports, do they?
Cutscenes by Betarish
tinyletter.com

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.
The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

John D Robinson

is a UK poet: hundreds of his poems have appeared in small press zines and online literary journals including : Rusty Truck: Outlaw Poetry: North Of Oxford: Tuck Magazine: Misfits Magazine: The Sunflower Collective: Winamop: Bear Creek Haiku: Chicago Record: The Legendary: Paper and Ink Zine: Algebra Of Owls: Full Of Crow: The Beatnik Cowboy: The Clockwise Cat:  The Scum Gentry: Message In A Bottle: Horror Sleaze ,Trash: Your One Phone Call: In Between Hangovers:  Rasputin: Revolution John: Vox Poetica: Hand Job Zine:  48th Street Press: Poems-For-All: Philosophical Idiot:
His published chapbooks are
‘Cowboy Hats & Railways’ (Scars Press 2016)
‘When You Hear The Bell, There’s Nowhere To Hide’ (Holy&intoxicated Publications 2016)
‘An Outlaw In The Making’  (Scars Publications 2017)
‘These Poems Stole Your Lunch Money’ with Bradley Mason Hamlin  (Holy&intoxicated Publications 2017)
‘Looking Down Both Barrels’ with Adrian Manning  (Holy&intoxicated Publications 2017)
‘Hitting Home’  (Iron Lung Press 2018)
‘In Pursuit Of  Shadows’  (Analog Submission Press 2018)
‘In Between The Curves’  with Charles Joseph  (Holy&intoxicated Publications 2018)
‘Echoes Of Diablo’  (Concrete Meat Press 2018)
Too Many Drinks Ago’  (Paper & Ink Zine Publication 2018)
‘Romance, Renegades & Riots’  with James Gwill Thomas  (Analog Submission Press 2018)

The Interview

1. What inspired you  to write poetry?

Aged 14 I began to learn to play the guitar: punk rock was about to crash its way into the world and it swooped me up: I was a lousy and lazy awful guitarist for sure and I was encouraged to give it up but I enjoyed writing lyrics: It was a wise decision that I put aside the guitar and take up the pen: my first poem was published when I was 17: it was a lonely and isolated place to be as I never shared the fact with anyone that I was writing poetry, I couldn’t do, it would have been dangerous to do so: I didn’t know anybody that wrote poetry or even read poetry or gave a shit about poetry:  it was all about booze, drugs and music and girls, it certainly wasn’t about poetry: I think the punk rock ethic of DIY has stayed with me to this day and although I don’t listen to this music anymore and haven’t done so for decades, the energy and the passion that initially set it on fire is still there for me and I hope this carries through into my work: so I guess punk rock initially inspired me to write poetry and later, to become a publisher: Holy&intoxicated Publications:

2. Who introduced you to poetry?

I found poetry myself: but it was the UK poet Josephine Austin (1934 – 2014)
Who introduced into the wider world of poetry and poets: Josephine had been published by the big UK publishers of the 1960’s and into the 1970’s: I’m not too sure what happened, but during the 1980’s she began publishing her own work and began a quarterly magazine ‘First Time’ which ran for 30 years or so: She was a beautiful person and became a good friend of mine: she was friend’s with Robert Graves and would visit him at his Spanish home: Josephine also organized an annual ‘Poetry Festival’ and small press poets would come from across the world to attend and through this I began publishing my work in magazines: Josephine was a huge influence and was always, endlessly encouraging me to write and to become a publisher:

At 17 years old and on the recommendation of a codeine swallowing , booze swilling lost lady of this world, I read ‘On The Road’ and this book has had a lasting and significant impact upon me, most of what I read will have a Kerouac connection of some kind: it opened up a searching and seeking sense within, a spiritual adventure that is unafraid to wander and experience: Kerouac broke down the intellectual restraints, broke free from the accepted formula of prose writing: he had self-belief and an enduring sense and commitment to his art:

3. How aware were you of the dominating presence of older poets?

I think I was probably ignorant of this fact: I saw these poets as so far removed from where I was coming from that they ultimately faded from view and I began discovering more localised poetry outlets and began engaging in regular readings and poetry workshops which I held in schools and colleges, which was a fun thing to do, particularly with the 7 – 9 year olds, imagination and sense of wonder and awe is still very much within them:

4. What is your daily writing routine?

A routine is exactly what I have: for 3 hours in the early evening I will work in my shed/studio on the computer: answering / sending emails: submitting poems: gathering poems for various projects from numerous poets : formatting chapbooks, broadsides, typing up some of my own work: afterwards, I retire in doors with wine and notebook and pen and I will write until the wine has gone: mostly I discard what I write, but every now and then it happens: I’ll make changes/revisions if needed: I like to submit work every three or four months to online journals and small press zines: as Bukowski said ‘Publish or perish’

5. What motivates you to write?

Everything motivates me: waking up in the morning is a good start: In my work I encounter a great deal of people who have lost their way in the world in one way or another: here there is sadness and loss: success and hope: despair and regret: love and beauty: the blood of poetry: I love life, I didn’t always love life and gave it a good beating for many years with alcohol and drugs: self destructive: these days are very different for me: I have made friends with my demons: drugs and alcohol: I keep them at a safe distance and do not use to  destroy but rather to celebrate and enhance my time and to tempt the muse:  Life is precious and fragile, sad and blissful, cruel and embracing  and every chance I have to write of it, I do.
‘If you Love life, then do not waste time, for time is what life is made of’
Lee Jun-fan  (Bruce Lee)

6. What is your work ethic?

To write everyday, no matter what: it is a big part of my everyday: I feel uncomfortable without a notebook and pen: If I haven’t written anything of worth for 3 or 4 days I begin to feel miserable and unsettled: but I keep on writing, of putting words down: the USA poet Frank Lima, (1939 – 2013 ) in the latter part of his life, would write a poem a day, always quality poems, despite his failing health and alcohol addiction he continued writing:  I couldn’t/can’t manage a quality poem a day but I give it my best shot.

7. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

As a young man of 15 or 16 I read everything that I could: The UK poet: Lee Harwood (1939 – 2015) : advised me to read, read, read: and I did: Shelley: Byron: Keats: Whitman: Dylan Thomas: W H Auden: John Berryman: Robert Lowell: Rimbaud: Verlaine: Pessoa: Andre Breton: Paul Eluard: Villon: : Basho: Tristan Tzara: Ezra Pound: Lorca: Georg Trakl: Owens: Sassoon: Frost: Elliot:  Li Po: Pushkin: the ancient Greeks and Romans,
I read everything I could do , except , for some reason, I missed out Willy Shakespeare!!!!
I would spend hours in the local library, with a notebook and pen, making notes of the poets, sketches of biographies and books available:

And then the Beat’s came into my life and kicked my ass good:
I think that most of what I have read has had some kind of influence, varying in degrees and from moments to years.

8. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

The legend that is Catfish McDaris: Adrian Manning: Ryan Quinn Flanagan: Scott Wozniak: Bradley Mason Hamlin: Martin Appleby: Dennis Gulling: Marc Bruseke: Casey Renee Kiser: Arthur J Willhelm: India LaPlace: Gwil James Thomas: Joseph Ridgwell: Janne Karlsson: A D Winans: Pete Donohue: George Anderson: Wolfgang Carstens: John Grochalski: Rob Plath: Alan Catlin: Ally Malinenko:  Hosho McCreesh:  John Dorsey:
Because they are quality poets, find out for yourself:

9. Why do you write?

I don’t know anything else: don’t want to do anything else: couldn’t do anything else: it may be an obsession, an addiction: it may be one of my demons: I love poetry: it is who and what I am:  I can add no more.

10. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

I would say that this is a dumb ass question to ask: writers write so write: sitting around thinking of becoming a writer is no more than the space between your fingers: Dan Fante said something like ‘keep writing, no matter what, even if you know its crap, keep writing, write your way out of it, write through the walls: but keep writing’: I think a distinction can be made between writers and poets:  I rarely write prose these days: I have written a couple of un-publishable poorly composed novels and a couple of dozen short stories that have appeared in online journals: But prose is a different kind of beast and I find it can be very intense and demanding in a very different way to the writing of poetry: so I would not call myself a writer but rather, poet.
My advice would be just be honest and have faith in yourself, believe in yourself, write without question or hesitation, write what you feel no matter how raw and harsh or beautiful, write it down, express yourself: don’t be afraid to write your life, your time: don’t try and emulate others: sure, naturally accept influences but don’t replicate: it can take time to find your home, to find a style, a voice that is your own: I took the long way around, but I don’t have any regrets:

11. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

Holy&intoxicated Publications have projects planned for the next 12 -18 months: including Chapbooks: Broadsides and the Poetry Card Series:

I have planned split Chapbooks with: Catfish McDaris: Janne Karlsson: Joseph Ridgwell: Ryan Quinn Flanagan: Arthur J Willhelm: Casey Renee Kiser/India LaPlace: Martin Appleby: Marc Bruseke:

Solo collections from
:Adrian Manning: Ally Malinenko: Pete Donohue: India LaPlace: Casey Renee Kiser: Janne Karlsson: James Gwil Thomas:

My chapbook: ‘Pushing Away The Hours’ will shortly appear courtesy of the wonderful and adventurous ass-kicking:  Alien Buddha Press.

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Catfish McDaris and Paul Brookes for the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful interview series.

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.
The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

 

Eliana Vanessa

is originally from Argentina and moved to New Orleans, Louisiana at a young age. She recently participated 100,000 Poets for Change (2018) and served as part of a panel of poets in The Jane Austen Festival (2017 & 2018). You can find her work online at The Horror Zine, The Rye Whiskey Review, and The Sirens Call Ezine. She is Eliana Vanessa on Facebook at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/eliana.vanessa.7758.

The Interview

1. When and why did you start writing poetry?

I started writing poetry as a challenge. As a child, I equated it to song writing. The nursery rhymes and songs that I was exposed to ( both in English and Spanish) sparked my interest in the lyrical aspects of what i came to later recognize as another form of poetry.
Later, at about age 13, my English teacher at the time decided she was going to skip teaching “The Rime of The Ancient Mariner” to the class. I was appalled! She was happy to see that someone cared and explained that most of the students had gotten bored with it in the past. She said she too loved Coleridge and said that if I wanted to, I could teach it. She gave me two full days, and I couldn’t have been happier. Looking back, I wonder if this wasn’t her way of prodding me towards my passion, as she already knew I loved poetry. She introduced me to all the classics, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Poe,Keats, Blake, and, of course, Shakespeare. When i started to share my poetry with her, she took it very seriously and gave me great advice/critique as well as encouragement.
So, I continued to write, simply because I enjoyed it!

Also, my dad was and is a poet, but I didn’t know it Lol He did not share his work with me until I was considerably older, but he provided a great environment for creativity.

2. How aware were and are you of the dominating presence of older poets traditional and contemporary?

Very aware them, then and now. I lean towards the classics, so many more to mention, Emerson, Thoreau, for example.
Certain things I will never forget being introduced to, for example, stream of consciousness in the style of Faulkner. Those were things that directly affected, and still affect my writing.
Also, because of my Spanish heritage, I grew up with lots of exposure to Borges, Neruda, and whomever else my father might’ve been reading at the time. I was interested in reading whatever he was reading! He also introduced me to Rainer Maria Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus, which I couldn’t put down.
It’s important, I think, to honor those who came before us, whomever we look up to, those poets who paved the way. Keeping them alive in conversation, and as guides, in my own work is comforting to me.
As far as contemporary writers, there are so many I enjoy, just having fairly recently joined Facebook, it is a joy to have so many talented acquaintances! Because of this, I am truly inspired even more, on a daily basis!

3. What is your daily writing routine?

I just write whenever I have a minute to stop! Sporadically, I guess, is the best way to answer that! No routine, I trust it will happen. My problem is not waiting for the muse, it’s turning the muse off lol. Sometimes it’s a phrase, a short poem, whatever comes to mind. That’s not to say that I don’t admire discipline, bc I do. I love sharing my work, having it critiqued by others, taking in suggestions for changes, seeing things from other people’s points of view, honing the craft so to speak.
I’ve always kept journals and I am a full pencil, pen, & paper freak!! I have always been intrigued with good penmanship as well. I love the feel of different textures of ink or graphite on various weight/ types of paper. I consider the actual act of writing an artistic act, if that makes sense. Also, the placement of the words of poetry on the page—-all of that has meaning. It is a process which unfolds aesthetically from the mind to its final presentation, and for me, I don’t stop until that vision looks, sounds, and “feels” right. I think this is probably the case for many writers.

4. What motivates your writing?

Everything and anything. whether it’s a commentary or observation about an everyday occurrence, or emotion, or a passionate stance, in favor or against something.
I love that poetry serves as a lens by which we learn about ourselves and others, the micro/macro attributes of it.
Poets bend and flex words, find their unique rhythm, in the hopes that the whole spectrum of human feeling and experience is expressed and shared, through countless sources of inspiration!

5. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

Those writers I mentioned earlier (i.e. Coleridge, Wordsworth, Poe, Thoreau),
and the idea of a “Romantic Era” fascinated me as teenager. I spent hours upon hours reading, not only the works, but the biographies of so many authors. The fact that some of them came from such troubled backgrounds, and, how their epic works reflected the inner struggles they faced, impacted me greatly, no matter the genre, or form of art. Their works inform my writing now in that I tap into that inner intuitiveness and sense of wonder to express my thoughts about inner and outer emotional struggle, a theme that will always be relevant, the theme of human suffering at the core of everything.
Also, introduced to me through those same writers, was a deep sense of awe towards life, the perseverance of it, despite an inevitable sense of destruction. This attitude strongly influences my work today.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that, as a student of both psychology and cultural anthropology, I was influenced, in addition, in my twenties and up, by countless ethnographies and theoretical constructs on human behavior, stories that focused on culture—and the various psychological, sociological, genetic and spiritual factors—that accompany all of us, in one way or another, through life.
When I write, some of my poems are not at all autobiographical, but rather, the recounting of a story that may have occurred in a different place or time.

6. Which of today’s writers do admire and why?

As far as writers that I admire, everyone of my writer friends I’ve made on Facebook is inspiring to me. There are too many to name, but they know who they are. We read and encourage each other on a regular basis, and I love them for that!
When it comes to flash fiction, or longer works, I’ve recently enjoyed reading Jefferey Deaver and Charles Gramlich. They both have the unique talent of combining suspense and poetry in a way I have never experienced before, and that’s just it, reading their stories is an experience, a fully captivating one!
Where poetry is concerned, I am currently reading Billy Collins and Ocean Vuong.
How they weave life experiences with just the right balance of gentleness, wit and grit amazes me, always. Also, I do admire other styles of poetry, equally as gripping, writers like Bruce Boston, Diego Quiros, and Dionne Cherie Baker who transport me, effortlessly, into imaginative settings or situations, sometimes into other dimensions, weaving human emotion with a sense of otherworldliness.

7. Why do you write?

I write because of my muse.(eye roll)

8. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

I really believe that someone is just inherently a writer because he/she loves doing it, especially if they endeavor to keep doing it with any measure of longevity. To those who catch the bug, I would say, keep at it! Do it whenever you get a chance, whenever your heart and soul desire it, or, you can try to set a specific time of day to write, if that works best for you. Whatever you want, just keep at it, listen to others, but also, listen to yourself, keep a good balance between the two as you move forward, and your voice will find its place among other fellow writers.

9. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

I am currently working on several projects: mainly my first collection of poems as well as participation in an upcoming anthology. I look forward to future participation with 100,000 Poets For Change and encourage all poets to be a part of this great movement. This past year, we focused on the Read A Poem To A Child initiative, headed by Michael Rothenberg, and every year there are new themes and issues, brought to the forefront through the art of poetry. Every voice does in fact matter, and it’s a great opportunity to band together and speak up towards social/ political/ environmental injustices. I do have poems coming out in The Sirens Call Ezine as well as in Fearless, a literary mag & ezine.

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.
The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

 

Brian S Gore

is a writer of short stories, poems, and songs. He currently resides in New London, CT and has published several collections of original works including “Barstool Ballads” and “Eleven Stories for Short … Attentions”, as well as coordinating a collaborative project entitled “A Collection of Poems by Various Poets Regarding the Line ‘10,000 Miles of Farewell’”. His newest book, “Tangled World”, is now available, along with his new album “Going, Never Stopping”, at briangoing.bandcamp.com.
https://briangoing.bandcamp.com/merch/tangled-world
https://briangoing.bandcamp.com/merch/barstool-ballads
https://briangoing.bandcamp.com/merch/10000-miles-of-farewell
https://briangoing.bandcamp.com/releases

The Interview

•    What inspired you  to write poetry?

Reading. As an art student, I enjoyed visuals and images, but as I began to read more I grew a desire to write an image rather than photograph or paint one.

•    Who introduced you to poetry?

It’s hard to recall. My class had a poetry lesson in Language Arts one week in 8th grade and this is when I really gripped the idea of self-expression as a considered release, as opposed to shouting and crying. I took a creative writing class in HS in my last semester. My teacher was fantastic and, where as she didn’t turn me on to any new poetry, she said one thing I will always remember. When I told her I liked one classmate’s poetry, she said, “He doesn’t write good poems. He uses big words.” So while I stumbled upon poetry on my own, she was the first guide along my path of writing. Later in college I took a poetry class, but did not like being taught how to write poetry, so I studied on my own. Assignments bore me. Like the Gene Autry song, “Don’t fence me in.”

•    How aware were you of the dominating presence of older poets?

Hardly. I knew who I was supposed to read and didn’t. Up until the following story, I was into Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”, Erasmus’ “In Praise of Folly”, and Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree”. Then, one night in 2007, driving home, I listened to the oldies station. A snare snapped, gripped my attention, and for the duration of my drive (short for a drive, long for a song) I listened, for the first time, to Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.” This, late as it was, would be my real launching point. From here, it goes without saying, I learned about the beats, but I also learned that songs can be stories, poems can be songs, Hank Williams and heartache, Woody Guthrie American balladeer; it led me deeper and broader into old and new forms, and for the first time, I was truly hungry.

•    What is your daily writing routine?

I try to keep it steady, but don’t. Sometimes my words flow like a BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Sometimes it’s more like the steady leaking pipelines through the Dakotas, ya know? It’s happening, but not at a devastating enough rate.

•    What motivates you to write?

A fleeting feeling of deep affection. A lingering lust. Politics. Travel. Alcoholics waiting outside the liquor store where I open at 8am, and some who tell me “I’m supposed to be in detox”. My own habit for drinking. A passing image in my head. Quiet cold nights alone on the porch with gin and a cigarette. Stuffy rich people. Arrogant drug addicts. Desolate faces or maniacal drunks who think a fight is as good a connection as they can afford anymore. A desire for hopefulness. The need to show the world to people who don’t see it.

•    What is your work ethic?

I don’t work. I retired after college. It was 2007, the US was falling to bits, all my friends were finding jobs they would do for free until they had enough experience despite the degree they just purchased. It all looked like bullshit, so I got in my car and drove. I wrote my experiences and that’s still what I do. I’m a self-published, 34-year-old, retiree poet/musician.

•    How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

Poetry can be fun. A poet can say profound things without superfluous words. The day my HS teacher told me the other poet was not as good as he may sound, I had read my poem, of which I only remember, “This poem is not good. / It sounds like Dr. Seuss. / This poem is as bad / as grapefruit is juice” and I still write poems like this because poetry is not meant to take itself so seriously, and I like to challenge that notion. Anyone can act morose, but to write something people find humorous is hard as nails. For this, hats off to good comedians. George Carlin, for example, was a brilliant poet, e.g. “Modern Man.” Poetry is a form of expression, and of course we all express our sorrows and fears, but we also have the ability to share our joys and jokes. That’s what I carry with me from Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss. Herman Melville is hilarious. Kurt Vonnegut and John Prine, likewise.

•    Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

I enjoy reading Seth Howard’s somewhat disjointed, free-associated poetry. His experiments with words and images fascinate me and rarely fail to stir some kind of feelings. Jake St. John’s poems are excellent because they are straight forward and avoid what I call hyper-poetics. It comes straight out of him. He references too many poets in my opinion, but I would tell him that, so I’m not afraid to mention it here – anyway, that’s my fault for not knowing them. John Greiner is another. His insights are spot on and hilarious with a casual flow, beat jazz nonchalance. His writing seems effortless and it’s my goal to write a better poem than he has.

•    Why do you write?

I write because I think it needs to be said. I turn it into a song because people don’t want to read it. What I can’t make songs out of, I make a book of poetry.

•    What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

Write. You might be terrible, but you’re just a bad writer. You may surprise yourself and love what you write. There it is. You’re a writer. Publishing? I have no idea. I’m a writer.
One word of advice: put your thoughts in a journal before posting to the internet. Something about a journal is innately sentimental and you may realize your passing thoughts are either fucking stupid, or too important to use so flippantly. But at least you’ll have them to reference later down the road. Don’t give every thought away so easy.

•    Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

Currently, I’m working on a follow-up book to my recent release “Tangled World”. The project, in full, is planned as a triptych. Tangled World was a mostly aggressive look at current events with lighter shorts and poems scattered in. The book finishes with a hopeful view moving forward, and this next project will continue in that vein. I am filled with maddening depression and frustration and, at the same time, a transcendent understanding of the world’s cosmic insignificance. I am a mind caught between politicians and Buddhists. Making sense of this is how I will approach my project moving forward.

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.
The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Fiona Sampson

is a leading British poet and writer, published in thirty-seven languages, who has received international awards in the US, India, Macedonia and Bosnia. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, a Fellow of the English Association and a Fellow of the Wordsworth Trust, she has received an MBE from the Queen for services to literature. She’s published twenty-nine books and has received the Newdigate Prize, a Cholmondeley Award, Hawthornden Fellowship and several national awards each from the Arts Council of England, Arts Council Wales, the Society of Authors, and the Poetry Book Society. She has held a number of international fellowships and served on many literary juries in the UK and abroad, is a prolific national newspaper critic, collaborates with visual artists and musicians, and is a frequent national radio presenter. Her recent books include the poetry collection The Catch (Penguin Random House 2016), studies of musical form in poetry (Lyric Cousins, Edinburgh University Press 2017) and of Limestone Country (2017), and the critically acclaimed biography In Search of Mary Shelley (2018).

The Interview

1. What inspired you to write poetry?

I like words, and music, and writing that thinks as it goes. All of these elements seem to me to point to poetry.

2. Who introduced you to poetry?

I don’t think anyone did. I just somehow knew it existed and went looking for it from quite an early age, around seven and eight. It seemed like a beautiful dream. And growing up in Wales I had wonderful teachers, in Wales: before we moved back to England, around the time I turned eleven. This was both in the village primary school and then in the local comprehensive. Those teachers admired poetry above all. Their enthusiasm for the genre made them generous in encouraging a pupil who loved it and wanted to try it out. They read us lots of examples, from Dylan Thomas to A.E. Housman. Most of these were glamorously hard to understand, yet strangely beautiful. And they themselves, writing poetry and reading it, were also our examples.

3. How aware were you of the dominating presence of older poets?

I’m very aware of the canon and always have been. For example, Percy Bysshe Shelley’s ‘Ode to the West Wind’ was one of the first poems I became obsessed by. When I was about nine, I used to chant it to myself (in my head). I’m glad I started to read widely before I understood much about gender: that very early reading didn’t seem to me to exclude me, even though so much of what I read was by men. The Metaphysical poets are a great influence on me. And in the world of contemporary poetry I have wanted from the outset to work on and learn from the verse being written today. Not by my pals, I mean: but by the key writers. I’ve spent lots of time reviewing, translating and editing/publishing poetry for this reason. I don’t really understand poets who don’t. Don’t they want to keep exploring the endlessly opening possibilities of our form?

4. What is your daily writing routine?

Well, It depends what I’m doing to earn my living on any particular day! But if I can be at home, then I work at my writing till about noon, then put in an 8-hour shift on job work.

5. What motivates you to write?

I enjoy it more than almost anything else, apart from my own home life. I’m very often desperate to write and unable to do so because I have other obligations. Life seems to conspire to ask you not to write. Do anything else – teach it, review it, talk about it – but don’t actually do it! Also, writing is the thing that I can do best.

6. What is your work ethic?

I see work as a kind of obligation to our community: without working how can you possibly be contributing the most that you could? I include in this working at caring and domestic roles, obviously. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well! I am afraid I’m not very tolerant of people who can’t be bothered, who freeload on those around them…

7. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

They completely furnish my mind. I read a lot of prose rather than poetry when I was young: because that’s what the public library had. Once I was 9 and allowed in the adult library, I consumed 6 books a week (the maximum allowed) every week for years. I found early on that I most enjoyed books by writers I’d heard of. I was bored by commercial fiction. And then Virago came along and I discovered there were lots more women writers as well as Virginia Woolf. I trusted the publishers’ brand, and let the dark green covers guide me to all sorts of writers I hadn’t heard of, but should have. Women like Elizabeth Taylor and Rosamund Lehmann. …They didn’t bore me, either!

8. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

It’s hard to name just a few because there are so many, and because my enthusiasms do change. At the moment, for example, I’m mad for life writing by women: Deborah Levy, Rachel Cusk, Maggie O’Farrell, Elif Batuman, Eva Hoffman, Drusila Modjeska – and I enjoyed Joyce Carol Oates’s memoir – and I always return to Woolf. Not just the novels, I mean, but the Writer’s Diary and the Letters are a kind of life writing, willy nilly. But that’s just this month. Ask me again next month and I’ll give you a completely different answer.

9. Why do you write?

See number 5!

10. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

I’d say it depends what you mean by ‘becoming a writer’. Is it having a book published? Having an enjoyable hobby and going to a writing group? Struggling to think or make art on the page? And what genre interests you? Because the answer is so different according to what your dream is. But there are two things that you have to do whatever you mean by ‘becoming a writer’. You have to read, and you have to write, and you have to do both unstoppably. It’s the 10,000 hours thing.

11. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

I’ve just finished the libretto for Daedalus, a full-length chamber opera by Philip Grange, and a new collection of poetry which includes two long poems about my fathers. I’ve spent much of this year continuing to think about Mary Shelley, and I’m now working on a related biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I’m fascinated by her, not least because her verse novel, Aurora Leigh, which was hugely influential when it appeared, especially on other writers (of both genders), is the first published account of how a woman becomes a poet. And however much it’s fiction, it is also reflexive. This year I’ve also been Co-Investigator on an AHRC-funded project researching poet to poet translation. There’s a three-way book to co-write as a result of that.

https://visualverse.org/submissions/yon-gob-agape/

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger.
The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Billy Reynard Bowness Writer-Poet (The Po Faced Poet)

Born in Lincolnshire but growing up and educated in Huddersfield, Billy considers himself a Yorkshireman at heart.
Billy is 47 years old, a Pisces, former Legal Executive, now mad scientist and sometime bit part actor. He lives in the wilds of deepest North Yorkshire with his partner, three dogs, ducks and countless chickens.
In any spare time, Billy enjoys walking in the Yorkshire Dales, travelling, gardening and boating.

“Humour and humility will see you through”
FB: https://www.facebook.com/PoFacedPoetry
BLOG: https://pofacedpoetry.wordpress.com/

The Interview

1. When and why did you start to write poetry?

I wrote some poetry when I was in high school after reading and memorizing a poem off the blackboard called “The Scarecrow” by Walter De La Mere! It really impacted on me and stuck with me. However, life and work took over and I didn’t write again seriously until this year. It was the 10th anniversary of my son drowning when he was just 19. Alex would have been 29 this year. I wrote a poem as catharsis and to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death. I have been writing prolifically all year.
Thinking about it I guess throughout life I have been writing poetry on and off (even before I returned to it seriously this year). Whenever there was a family event, a wedding, funeral etc, people would ask me to write a poem to read out or perform.

1.1 What was it about “The Scarecrow” that impacted on you?

My dad’s side of the family were farmers so the story of the poem appealed, but it was the imagery I particularly liked, of childlike innocence juxtaposed with adult duty – of the scarecrow keeping watch, suffering for “his master, man”. The narrative of the scarecrow as storyteller, fixed and unflinching, but vital in partnership with the human being. The description of the winter & the cold mornings – “flame with glittering rime” I found so rich.

2. How aware were and are you of the dominating presence of older poets traditional and contemporary?

I think that, growing up in Huddersfield and attending an “ordinary” Secondary school little emphasis was placed on poetry as a genre. Wilfred Owen was mentioned as poet laureate/a war poet but not delved into with any depth. In English literature we were taught about the works of Shakespeare but not as a poet, strictly as a playwright. As an adult my interests have led me to become more aware of how a writer or music artist can be a poet without being 100% described as such. For example, my love of the maudlin music of Leonard Cohen led me to appreciate his poetry. Returning to the part of the question about “dominating presence” I think that the blank verse and poetic meter used by the likes of Shakespeare and Marlowe are prevalent/relevant today in their influence and continuing performance value. When thinking of the contemporaries such as Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes I think their colourful lives and embellished personas define them as much as their poetry.

3. What is your daily writing routine?

It differs depending on how I have slept (how many times I am awake babbling words, ideas or lines into my dictaphone)! Most days after getting the coffee, feeding the animals (chickens, ducks, dogs) I go to my office and firstly type up anything from the dictaphone into my “ideas” folder. Depending on where I am with a particular piece, I may work on a poem or outline – editing – changing – playing with structure. If I have a firm idea for a new project I may spend the later part of the morning researching my theme, history, language. Mornings are more about focused work (as that is when I am most focused). After lunch, which is always accompanied by music, I will give the dogs a quick walk. Depending on how “in to” a particular piece of writing on a given day the afternoon may be spent working on a that poem. If not I will either read poetry, “fiddle with”/edit my growing portfolio…or both. I do have a “day job” as well, working as a biochemistry analyst, but I have described a typical days writing…Which I usually do 3 days a week. I try to read some poetry or prose every day as I feel it is as important to read as it is to write.

4. What motivates you to write?

Gosh – everything! Life. The ridiculousness of the human condition. Our peculiarities, insecurities, silliness, tendency towards superlatives. They are great fodder for somebody who likes to play with words! I think that, of the thousands of thoughts, feelings, emotions, interactions we have every day, at least some of them are worth using in the future. Recording them. Adapting them. Making a story out of them – so that they are eternal rather than fleeting. That is my main motivation, although sometimes simply a word or a couple of words will come into my head and I know that I have to create something around them – build a story wall around the foundation words. I think the drive to write is innate.

5. What is your work ethic?

Try to do even the smallest piece of work really well, and don’t rush. Quality over quantity. If that doesn’t work and you get stuck – maybe it is time to step back, take some time out and wait for the zest to come back.?

6. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

I remember reading (and re-reading) a book called “Down The Bright Stream” by “B.B” when I was very young, and being blown away by how magical the language was. How the words combined made me feel warm, excited and created such rich imagery in my head. It was about the four remaining gnomes in Britain; Dodder, Cloudberry, Baldmoney and Sneezewort, and their quest to stop an ancient countryside brook from drying up. The seam of imagery sewed in my mind from that book remains with me to this day. It is something I try to embroider into my work – that immersive sense of being a part of the poem, the story – the words creating almost a “false memory”, as if you’ve been there and experienced what is being written about.
It was the same with a lot of my early reading – such as Tarka the Otter and the Brer Rabbit books. I liked to read about nature, and animals…using their stories as morality learning. I incorporate nature and animalistic terms into my poetry today, particularly when trying to describe certain human traits.

7. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

Gillian Flynn. Because of her unflinching bravery in her use of language – to shock – to repulse – to excite! She writes as you would dare to be able to speak. Her characters are rarely like-able, but extremely “readable”, and I appreciate how she transcends and upturns the gender stereotypes. Basically, she tells a damn good tale!

8. Why do you write?

Because it is not enough to have the ideas, thoughts, words, emotions in my head! I need to act on them, develop them. Share them! It makes me feel good to do so.
…and I LOVE words, and playing with them, twisting them, juxtaposing them. Writing lets me indulge in my “word play”.

9. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

“Start writing”

10. And finally, Billy, tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

I am in the process of developing a poem I wrote into a “poetry play” – a mini epic! I want to tell the stories of the characters I introduced in the original poem from different perspectives over the course of a few years. My idea is to create a story, in verse, with a rich structure and the occasional plot twist, which could (and hopefully would) be developed into a piece of theatre or TV. I am also working on a manuscript of poetry observing the daily triumphs and tragedies in life, the micro-annoyances, laughs and irritants – humorous anecdotal poetry.