#peter twal

[bostonpoetryslam]

My favorite poems are the ones that make me feel alive. I latch onto them like a dead battery does to a charged one, waiting for the jolt, you know?

Peter Twal, interviewed by Jess Rizkallah for Maps for Teeth

[lifeinpoetry]

darkness inhales our dim

silhouettes         but when you touch me—         the blowing out of light bulbs in my chest         The burning bouquet you rooted there

— Peter Twal, from “If I Could See All My Friends Tonight,” published in wildness

[bostonpoetryslam]

Too easily, my obsessions shift from what I’m writing about to what I’ve written. I’ll cling to a draft and need weeks away from it before I’m ready to revise.

Peter Twal, interviewed by Jess Rizkallah for Maps for Teeth

[bostonpoetryslam]

Daily, I jot down random lines, images, sounds, bits of conversations or even words that catch my attention until my 'bank' is full. Then, I sit down to write. Dr. Frankenstein and what not. Take a bunch of dead and make something hideous or lovely. Bring the poem to life.

Peter Twal, interviewed by Jess Rizkallah for Maps for Teeth

[bostonpoetryslam]

Now, when I sit down to write, it feels more like I am sitting down with an old friend than working towards some sort of goal–a friend you sometimes want to strangle but, like, one you will always adore.

Peter Twal, interviewed by Jess Rizkallah for Maps for Teeth

[bostonpoetryslam]

In truth, engineering and poetry are quite similar. It’s just invention & iteration. Creation & cultivation. Everything we build can be improved upon which is, like, THE most thrilling curse.

Peter Twal, interviewed by Jess Rizkallah for Maps for Teeth

[cloudswamp]

the moral kicks in, peter twal

[bostonpoetryslam]

I try to remember in all that I do–poetry included–that I am a product of the generosity of other hearts, and it’s important for me to reciprocate the love however I can.

Peter Twal, interviewed by Jess Rizkallah for Maps for Teeth