What poets changed the way you thought about writing?
I’d say James Tate and Alberto Ríos. With Tate, I had never read surreal prose poetry. His unique, understated approach to prose poetry spoke to me right away. I was fascinated by his dry sense of humor, sense of alienation, and accessibility. Less was more with Tate. I immediately felt inspired to write some of my own. Mine were shorter pieces, about half a page long (his were about an entire page long), and mine also often had Mexican American imagery. Still, he lit a fire in me that continues to this day.
With Alberto Ríos there was less of an influence in terms of the initial writing process. I read Ríos later in life. However, when I saw that he was writing in couplets and in an understated way about his upbringing as a Mexican American, I felt it made me feel similarly validated in writing couplets with a similar backdrop. I was already writing a similar style as Ríos, however, the fact that his style was so celebrated gave me the stamp of approval that I was on the right track. When someone said I reminded them of Ríos early on, I thought it was just an easy comparison because we are both Mexican American. Later, as I read him more, I started to see what a high compliment it was because I’m trying to do a lot of similar things on the page. If I had to describe my writing style or aspirations to someone, I’d say a mixture of Tate and Ríos would be ideal.
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