Volume XLV
“I would recommend that someone who wants to get published read as many issues of an many journals as possible & submit, submit, submit their work. I set a goal of submitting my poetry to one hundred journals every year, breaking it down into sending out so many every month & every week to keep on track.”
“These are certain people even from early childhood who clearly, or murkily—eventually somehow expressed to you they had vision fairly independent of others. Often they have all the thoughts and fine-tune of the artist or the writer, but not the inclination, or time. You became sure of their imaginative and understanding powers; your awareness grew over time. It was even in their gaze.”
Read More“Keep, keep, keep editing and toying with your work, knowing you are comfortable and believe in what’s on the page. You’re not a poet because it pays six figures starting out—you’re a poet because you feel like you need to be.”
Read More"The book tries to understand revolution, but what drives the novel is a filtering of revolutionary actions through the context of myth and the role played by storytelling in the creation of those myths. I became fascinated by the myriad depictions of Villa in the historical record, how he was and remains a remarkably contested figure, and how the outlines of that figure have been determined by stories that seem to channel the desires of a culture and a society through a singular man. Pancho Villa is a mythic character, and I try in the book to convey the manner by which that boy became that myth. "
Read More“While much of my work has a serious tone, I employ humor in my daily life as a way to cope with many things, including stress and illness. If you cannot laugh about your situation, even in some small way, then things are very dark indeed.”
Read More"Poetry has the ability to enact the change that politics promise, sometimes even more powerfully because it disrupts your biases, charges up your emotions, and integrates into the chemistry of your thoughts."
Read More" I cannot always tell which lines are mine in the poems that appear in our books (after some time has passed). I think this shows we have built a collective voice that is different than either one of ours separately."
Read More"The content dictates the form; I do not have a preference. I am simply providing it with the best container; both are mutually mysterious and satisfying."
Read More“You have to work with the words in front of you to create a new narrative in your voice. That’s thrilling. An erasure is like a choose your own adventure with words, a cento or a remix is like putting together a puzzle. But you have to tell your own story, just like any traditionally written poem.”
Read More"Some days are shit. Some days are good. I make notes for stories but only once they’re fairly well formed in my head, and half the time I end up ignoring the notes. None of this matters. People find different ways to work. Inspiration happens but if you have to rely on it you’re probably screwed."
Read More"I wouldn’t say being an editor has had a huge effect on my writing, at least stylistically. It does make you a more empathetic reader because you understand how incredibly hard and ludicrous this whole racket is. Plus, for me, It’s always fun to keep a finger on the pulse of the community. To feel like you’re a part of things no matter what’s going on in your writer life. To see what’s out there, what’s happening on the frontlines. And there’s no better feeling than finding a well-crafted, complete story in your queue written by someone you’ve never heard of."
Read More"Like every writer, I’m nosy. And so I spend my time watching. Watching how people interact with their corner of the street, how they walk or stumble down it, how they dress for it. When I do that long enough or closely enough, a line or phrase will come to me, or a situation will emerge that I can latch onto and use."
Read More"I think usually I am writing in the immediacy trying to process the fragments of my life, trying to process what goes on around me. I am wary of saying that I go to the page for therapy because I don't find writing to be in any way therapeutic, but it does help me understand my place or position in the place I find myself in."
Read More"Then I arrive at the ultimate question when considering diaspora, do my actions honor or erase my ancestry? What is my identity?"
Read More"I have also found that the more emotional you are about a subject matter, the more time it takes to see it clearly, to get the right words in the right order down on paper."
Read MoreI really love that idea, that we can share a bond with those who came before us (and those who come after, too, I suppose), and that we can read their stories, and also tell our versions of the stories they may not have been able to tell for themselves.
Read MoreI like to write in spaces where I can either tuck my body into my surroundings or somehow make the place itself disappear. So: big leather chairs. Cups of tea. Balconies. The library. Pubs in the afternoon.
Read More“Most of my poems simply come out of me; they flow from a constant stream of ideas formulating in the unconscious mind and finding way to the conscious mind.”
Read More“Today I keep deciding to be a writer because I think the stories we tell ourselves, as a culture, are hugely important. It’s how we understand who we are, as a society and as a species. I want to be a part of that conversation.”
Read More“Sometimes I can make the ending more forceful by stressing internal rhyme, but it really depends on the content of the poem. There is no magic formula, and it can take hours of head-banging. Afterwards, if I’m pleased with the result, I go through a period of elation. But it doesn’t last—the letdown is not knowing where the next poem is coming from.”
Read More“I think that whatever works for you is the best way to write. There is no formula. You are you, and you are a good writer. I have to keep telling myself that."
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