Amanda Earl : coda

I become disheartened when I read negative comments from editors or renowned poets about what they feel poetry is or should be. I don’t think personal aesthetics have any place in an editor or an influencer’s role. One long-term editor of a literary journal recently said they didn’t like poems that they felt were cold and clever. This, to me, reflects a lack of a sense of adventure when it comes to the type of writing that the journal would be open to publishing and doesn’t really serve readers very well. A well-respected writer and thinker dismissed word play as not important. What these kinds of flippant comments do, in my mind, is to place limits on experimentation and exploration.

In my opinion, an editor should be open to all types of poetry, including forms they have themselves never made as a poet or dreamt of. They should be willing to expose readers of poetry to all kinds of variety and risk. If not on a printed page, then where?

Word play can be a way of mining the subconscious to reveal what has long been buried in the psyche. Also, not every poem has to make an important statement about the state of the world. A humble, playful poem by one person might inspire another person to create something and so on. I treat the derision and narrow-minded attitudes I hear about poetry as a challenge. Defiance of the status quo is one of the reasons that I need poetry, both as a reader/viewer/listener and as an artist.

Amanda Earl : part five

How does a poem begin?

In myriad ways. Of late, a poem begins out of a frustration with the confines of convention. I often feel trapped by expected grammar and syntax.

Amanda Earl : part four

Why is poetry important?

To help fellow misfits find one another, so that they know they are not alone.

Amanda Earl : part three

How important is music to your poetry?

Music was the first poetry I engaged with. I used to sing the poems in A Child’s Garden of Verses when I first learned to read. Sound and rhythm are vital components of my poetry. I also make playlists for long poems and poem series either after I’ve written them or during. I’ve written book-length manuscripts in 48 hours while listening to Spinal Tap’s Ghost I-IV or The Downward Spiral. Music will often help support the tone and rhythm of the work.

Amanda Earl : part two

When you require renewal, is there a particular poem or book that you return to? A particular author?

I revisit Lorca’s Theory and Play of the Duende.

Amanda Earl : part one

Amanda Earl is a Canadian writer, editor, publisher and visual poet whose goals are whimsy, exploration and connection. She’s the managing editor of Ottawa-based Bywords.ca and the fallen angel of AngelHousePress. With a.m. kozak, she co-hosts the podcast, the Small Machine Talks. Most recent poetry chapbook is wintered by shreeking violet press. Last poem published was Jo Ego (1) on Queen Mob’s Teahouse as part of the Videogames and Loneliness series. For more info, visit AmandaEarl.com or connect with Amanda on Twitter @KikiFolle.

What do you feel poetry can accomplish that other forms can’t?

Because poetry is such a vast field for form, exploration, theme and content, there aren’t any limits to what a poem can be. Pedants will insist that a poem should be this way or that way, but it really can be anything the creator’s imagination and skill can make. I see poetry as a form of art and as art it has the potential to confuse, irritate and get under the skin, for me anyway, more than other forms. I read somewhere that art should disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. This is what I want out of poetry.