Michael Sikkema : part one

Michael Sikkema is the author of 6 full length books, and over a dozen chapbooks, most recently Caw Caw Phony, forthcoming from Trembling Pillow Press, 2021, and Here On Huron, from Above / Ground Press. He edits Shirt Pocket, a chapbook press, and lives in Grand Rapids, MI.

How do you know when a poem is finished?

I chose to answer this one first because it touches on some core ideas of my poetics and practice. I value poetry over the poem. Not thinking about the singular poem, but thinking about poetry is a great way for me to generate a lot of writing and get better thinking done. I don’t sit down and try to write a poem, with clear beginning, middle, and end, etc. I sit down and try to write some poetry and then later I’ll figure out where edges or borders or connections are. I try to wait a while and turn into the reader of my own work, trying to figure out what the poem is teaching me. I can then see how things are supposed to go together and maybe what’s missing. As far as when a project is done, it’s usually when I stop obsessing over it, or coming up with new ideas for it while doing something else. I think ‘finished’ is wholly subjective. People get a piece published, hate how it looks in print, and then rework it. I can usually tell when I’m done with a piece because I’m not interested in it anymore. I want it to leave the house and go off on its own adventures.