David Estringel : coda

Why is poetry important? 

It is the only voice a soul has.

David Estringel : part five

Do you have a social group or writers group that you work ideas and poems with? 

No. Writing poetry has always been a very private, intimate process for me. It taps into a lot of vulnerability on my part, so the poem needs to be done before I can muster up the courage to expose myself.

David Estringel : part four

How do you know when a poem is finished? 

The best way I can describe it is that it is a visceral experience. As I put the finishing touches on a piece, there is an incredible build-up of tension, internally, and when I am done, I immediately push my laptop away like a supper dish I have had my fill of and feel fulfilled for a few minutes (two or three…tops). Then I move on to the next one. I, basically, give birth to them and instinctually push them out of the nest right after. I love them, but they often don’t feel like their mine anymore.

David Estringel : part three

How does your work first enter the world? 

Mostly by pure divine inspiration. Part of me does feel like I have a muse, actually. Out of nowhere a line of verse will pop in my head, usually at the most inconvenient moments (driving, teaching class, etc.) and I ruminate over it for hours. It is usually a line that fits somewhere in the middle, but it carries with it the tone of the piece and from there a ripple-effect happens and the rest of the poem forms around it. There have been times when I have been able to sit down and intentionally create, but those are the exceptions more than the rule. My creative spurts tend to happen in fives or sixes, then radio-silence for a while. Beautiful and frustrating at the same time.

David Estringel : part two

How did you first engage with poetry? 

My first recollection of poetry was during the 2nd grade. It is a bit hazy, but I know it involved reading “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy)” by Simon and Garfunkel, as a poem, and a completely botched job at reciting “Daffodils” from memory. I hated it then. Fast forward 13 or so years and then you have me in my first poetry class, as an undergrad English major. I wrote a haiku and was immediately hooked. Still love them to this day. Ever since that time a part of me always wanted to be a poet and concentrate life into distillate moments.

David Estringel : part one

David Estringel is an avid reader, poet, and writer of fiction, creative non-fiction, & essays. His work has been accepted and/or published by Specter Magazine, Literary Juice, Foliate Oak Magazine, Indiana Review, Terror House Magazine, Expat Press, 50 Haikus, littledeathlit, Down in the Dirt Magazine, Route 7, Setu Bilingual Journal, Paper Trains, The Elixir Magazine, Soft Cartel, and The Good Men Project. He is currently a Contributing Editor (fiction) at Red Fez, editor/columnist at The Good Men Project, and an editor/writer at The Elixir Magazine. Connect with David on Twitter (@The_Booky_Man) and his blog "The Booky Man" at www.thebookyman.wordpress.com.

What are you working on? 

I just finished an “experimental” batch of poetry, recently, that I am testing the waters with. I am playing more with structure and form, word choices, sounds, and rhythm. A lot more “dirty realism” has made its way into the work, especially the shorter pieces, emphasizing very real moments in the human experience. I hadn’t “gone there” yet, so I am looking at this as a sort of creative “breakthrough” of sorts. Other than that, I am working on my first chapbook of poetry “Indelible Fingerprints,” writing short-fiction pieces, and doing some writing/editing for some literary magazines and The Good Men Project.