How does a poem begin?
A poem begins with a deep breath and a thrilling leap. The first line, the first word, is the terrifying, exhilarating act of letting go.
Showing posts with label Adam W. Burgess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adam W. Burgess. Show all posts
Saturday, 23 May 2020
Saturday, 16 May 2020
Adam W. Burgess : part four
What poets changed the way you thought about writing?
Reading Ocean Vuong has reinvigorated me as a writer. I had been in a slump, or a panic of self-doubt, for a very long time. Then, Vuong came along with his Burnings and Night Sky with Exit Wounds, and changed my entire perspective. Even his recent novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, is, let’s face it, poetry. He thinks like a poet, which is to say, roundly, fully, and deeply, about issues great and small; and he expresses those thoughts with the sensory skill, the musicality, the cutting precision, that is a poet’s unique ability. I’ve returned to poetry and prose in large part thanks to the feeling that he invokes in me as a reader; it’s been a reminder that the daily work is worth it, even if no one ever reads it.
Reading Ocean Vuong has reinvigorated me as a writer. I had been in a slump, or a panic of self-doubt, for a very long time. Then, Vuong came along with his Burnings and Night Sky with Exit Wounds, and changed my entire perspective. Even his recent novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, is, let’s face it, poetry. He thinks like a poet, which is to say, roundly, fully, and deeply, about issues great and small; and he expresses those thoughts with the sensory skill, the musicality, the cutting precision, that is a poet’s unique ability. I’ve returned to poetry and prose in large part thanks to the feeling that he invokes in me as a reader; it’s been a reminder that the daily work is worth it, even if no one ever reads it.
Saturday, 9 May 2020
Adam W. Burgess : part three
What do you find most difficult about writing poetry?
The tension between using a traditionally accepted form or not. The trend or habit in contemporary poetry seems to be to ignore the rules and, rather, feel your way through the poem by expressing it the way it intends to be expressed. “To go with the flow.” That’s appealing for a lot of reasons, of course, but I’m also drawn to the classical types, to sestinas and pantoums, to villanelles and sonnets. But some of these come with baggage, today, a level of formality that tends to turn off publishers and readers alike. (Okay, maybe not villanelles; I can’t say Dylan Thomas has gone out of style!)
The tension between using a traditionally accepted form or not. The trend or habit in contemporary poetry seems to be to ignore the rules and, rather, feel your way through the poem by expressing it the way it intends to be expressed. “To go with the flow.” That’s appealing for a lot of reasons, of course, but I’m also drawn to the classical types, to sestinas and pantoums, to villanelles and sonnets. But some of these come with baggage, today, a level of formality that tends to turn off publishers and readers alike. (Okay, maybe not villanelles; I can’t say Dylan Thomas has gone out of style!)
Saturday, 2 May 2020
Adam W. Burgess : part two
What do you feel poetry can accomplish that other forms can’t?
Poetry has the ability to be more viscerally sensory than anything else I know. As someone who teaches all forms of writing, including fiction, non-fiction, and drama, I’ve found that poetry, while often scary because it is so “unusual,” ends up being a favorite unit for my students. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising, considering how much our college-aged students are going through, how they’re quite literally in the act of becoming, which is the very type of truth that poetry reveals, both in the reading and the writing of it. Poetry helps us process emotionally what we might not be able to process logically. It helps us sing when we can’t quite speak.
Poetry has the ability to be more viscerally sensory than anything else I know. As someone who teaches all forms of writing, including fiction, non-fiction, and drama, I’ve found that poetry, while often scary because it is so “unusual,” ends up being a favorite unit for my students. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising, considering how much our college-aged students are going through, how they’re quite literally in the act of becoming, which is the very type of truth that poetry reveals, both in the reading and the writing of it. Poetry helps us process emotionally what we might not be able to process logically. It helps us sing when we can’t quite speak.
Saturday, 25 April 2020
Adam W. Burgess : part one
What are you working on?
Right now, I’m working on a collection of confessional poems about masculinity in the queer (specifically the gay male) community; it started as a mini-chapbook but has progressed into a longer set of works, made up of much longer poems. I’ve also been thinking through ideas for a novel in verse. I have beautiful and terrible dreams about the resurgence of epic poetry as a favorite literary form. Can you imagine?
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