Bill Neumire : part one

Bill Neumire’s second book of poems, #TheNewCrusades, will be published with Unsolicited Press in 2022 and was recently a finalist for the Barrow Street Prize and the 42 Miles Press Award. He reviews books of contemporary poetry for Vallum, and for Verdad where he also serves as poetry editor.

How did you first engage with poetry?

That’s a tough question, especially for someone with as sketchy a memory as me! But I can tell you that my grandparents used to watch me while my mom and dad worked, and they were wonderful people with a mysterious and wild backyard wherein I had pretty free range (terrifyingly so by today’s standards!) and I remember writing poems about things like wild strawberries and a secret well. I am also proud to say that I won my third grade Halloween poem contest. I think this came from having poetry around me in the form of books and music. My grandmother used to play piano and I remember loving the music and words to “Over the River” (all those prepositional phrases!).