How does a poem begin?
For me a poem begins as an enduring image or idea. These are more often than not very mundane. To anyone but me they would be hardly worth noting. They stay with me for one reason or another and so I must write about them. Simple as that.
When you require renewal, is there a particular poem or book that you return to? A particular author?
I find myself coming back to Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein again and again. I find it both mentally dislocating and remarkably powerful. It always works to inflame my mind.
What other poetry books have you been reading lately?
Currently I'm working my way through IMPROVISATIONS by Vernon Frazer and I recently finished Palace of Culture by Ania Walwicz. Both are excellent.
What poets changed the way you thought about writing?
Both Gertrude Stein and Will Alexander have had an enormous impact on me. Their use of language came to me at a time when I was looking for something beyond the more standard forms of writing. They introduced me to a world of experimentation where the possibilities were endless.
What are you working on?
I tend to work on one long project and many small poems simultaneously. Currently I am working on a long book of poetry entitled 'The Screaming Paper' it is a highly exploratory work which is proving challenging but enlightening.
