#poetryinterview

[andreablythe]

New #poetspotlight interview with the amazing Athena Dixon up on my blog, in which she shares about her new chapbook NO GOD IN THIS ROOM from Argus House Press. http://www.andreablythe.com/2017/12/poet-spotlight-athena-dixon/ . . . . #AthenaDixon #NoGodInThisRoom #ArgusHousePress #interview #poet #poetry #poetrycommunity #poetrychapbook #poetryinterview #chapbook #poets #poetsofinstagram #writinglife #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #writers #linkinbio

[andreablythe]

My latest #poetspotlight with @joannacvalente is up! Check it out: http://www.andreablythe.com/2018/05/03/poet-spotlight-joanna-c-valente-on-spirituality-and-the-drive-to-communicate/ #poets #poetry #poetsofinstagram #poetrycommunity #poetryinterview #interview

[inkblotheart]

Poetry Interview

Q: What was the hardest part about getting published?

A: Persistence and internal motivation. You need to understand that whether or not your poems get accepted for publication in journals and magazines, ultimately has very little to do with the objective quality of your work. The editors of journals and magazines are fickle and often judge the merit of a work by their own subjective criteria: what they like or don't like. If your poem finds the right audience at the right time, you're in business. If not, well, you get rejected. For as many poems as I've had published in journals and magazines, for as many awards as I have received, I've had at least 20 times the rejections. I could wallpaper my entire house with rejection slips, if I actually kept them, which I don't; you can't take it personally. Poetry in an interesting genre. When it comes to publishing book length manuscripts of poems--since poetry, unlike fiction and creative nonfiction, doesn't really make money for publishers--the publishing world is geared almost exclusively towards PhDs and MFA darlings who teach at, or are affiliated with, universities. If that's not you, you're pretty much out of luck; you will be excluded. The other route is to self publish your book. In order to be a successful self publisher, you need to be your own book designer, your own accountant, your own publicist, and your own promoter. You have to have your own draft editing team. You have to know a high quality printer who is willing to work with you to create a quality product that you can make a profit from selling. You have to promote your own book through every conceivable media outlet and get people to purchase your books by booking, organizing, publicizing, and rocking your own events/performances. You have to be a savvy business person, and you have to be willing to risk your own capital--your own money, upfront--to print your own books. It' s a lot of work, and quite frankly, most poets are not capable of doing it all well; hence the multitudes of tacky, amateur-night, low quality, self published books sitting in the basements of many poets' homes. I feel fortunate that I am one of the few who has all these skill sets...and that I am willing to take the risks. In the last 15 years, I have published 5 books and sold over 1,300 copies without ever leaving the Chippewa Valley.

Q: What is a skill that you gained overtime from poetry?

A: Like hunting, meditation, and fatherhood, poetry has taught me to be still inside, to be patient, to be persistent, and to be selfless.

Q: What are some challenges you've faced with poetry?

A: The biggest challenge is finding the time to write.

Q: How much do you think that your writing has developed over time?

A: It has developed and improved significantly. I was a terrible writer when I first fell in love with poetry at 16; that was 1991. I look back at much of the work in my first book, from 1999, and I cringe. I improve every year I write, though. That, I think, is one of the hallmarks of success: continual improvement. As a writer, you can't keep going back to the same familiar watering holes; you can't get too comfortable or too confident. You always have to be taking creative risks, failing, and succeeding: in other words...improving.

Q: How did you begin writing?

A: I started writing before I could write. I would speak the stories to my grandmother, and she would write them down. When she was done, I would illustrate the stories. I am in her debt.

Q: Who are your favorite poets?

A: Christian Knoeller, Derrick C. Brown, James Larson, Andrew Patrie, Robinson Jeffers, James Galvin, and Alan Jenkins

Q: And what makes them your favorite?

A: They can move me, emotionally, by making the ordinary...extraordinary. They can create an epiphany from the most simple and common of images. They do this with efficiency, elegance, and edge. They do this without ego; they do not belong to the cult of the self.

Q: What skills have you learned from other writers?

A: In an aesthetic sense, I have learned to see the world through different eyes. In a practical sense, I have learned that revision is king. Think you have a good poem? Good for you. Nine times out of ten, another writer--or simply the person you will be next week--can help it become a great poem.

Q: What skill do you believe has benefited your poetry the most?

A: That's a better question for my readers. Asking them will give you a more accurate answer, I think.

Q: What skill with poetry did you struggle with the most?

A: When I was younger, I struggled with efficiency. Now, even though I wouldn't consider it a struggle, I'm always asking the question, "How can I give the reader more by saying less?"

Q: What is your favorite style of writing?

A: To write? Poetry. To read? Nonfiction (usually science, natural history, adventure travel, philosophy, or anthropology) and Fiction (usually the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror genres)

Q: How does poetry personally benefit you when you write?

A: It helps me help others see, feel, or understand the world around them in a way that they could not before.

Q: How does poetry benefit others when they read it?

A: It helps others to see, feel, or understand the world around them in a way that they could not before.

Q: How do you think poetry benefits others when they write it?

A: The beauty of poetry, like all other art, is that it can do a million different things for a million different people. Poetry--like all other forms of art--is a tool to help humans externalize their interior experiences, internalize their external experiences, and make immortal that which is mortal. Poetry exposes our most primitive vulnerabilities, and makes us gods, all at the same time. Not a bad way to spend an evening, eh?

Q: How has poetry changed your life?

A: Writing poetry has saved my life, and I've been told by several people that the poetry I've written has saved their lives. I'd say that's about all you can ask for from a genre of writing. I've seen a tremendous amount of death, as well as the most exquisite joy that life has to offer; poetry has always been a way to help me more fully understand those expediences myself and provide fresh perspective for others at the same time.

Q: What made you want to be a published poet?

A: I've never really wanted that for myself. I don't have an emotional need to be recognized for my art. Having your work published, or publishing your own work, however, means that other people have a chance to experience your art, and THAT is what has always motivated me.