Whenever I feel stuck, I turn to Albert Goldbarth. Reading his work makes me realize that anything is possible. He has the incredible ability to mix small, mundane elements of people’s lives, honest reflections of his personal struggles, and big ideas of philosophy, religion, or science into a single poem. He does it in an easy conversational style that never seems forced. His big-hearted poetry often comments on the shared challenges and experiences we face as humans without a drop of sentimentality. It has been said that Goldbarth can make a metaphor out of anything. His work is a door that opens to show me all that writing can achieve.
Showing posts with label Mike Puican. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Puican. Show all posts
Saturday, 10 October 2020
Mike Puican : part five
When you require renewal, is there a particular author that you return to?
Whenever I feel stuck, I turn to Albert Goldbarth. Reading his work makes me realize that anything is possible. He has the incredible ability to mix small, mundane elements of people’s lives, honest reflections of his personal struggles, and big ideas of philosophy, religion, or science into a single poem. He does it in an easy conversational style that never seems forced. His big-hearted poetry often comments on the shared challenges and experiences we face as humans without a drop of sentimentality. It has been said that Goldbarth can make a metaphor out of anything. His work is a door that opens to show me all that writing can achieve.
Whenever I feel stuck, I turn to Albert Goldbarth. Reading his work makes me realize that anything is possible. He has the incredible ability to mix small, mundane elements of people’s lives, honest reflections of his personal struggles, and big ideas of philosophy, religion, or science into a single poem. He does it in an easy conversational style that never seems forced. His big-hearted poetry often comments on the shared challenges and experiences we face as humans without a drop of sentimentality. It has been said that Goldbarth can make a metaphor out of anything. His work is a door that opens to show me all that writing can achieve.
Saturday, 3 October 2020
Mike Puican : part four
What are you working on?
For the past couple of years, I’ve been working on a memoir. It covers a misguided and self-destructive time in my twenties when I became deeply involved in a cult-like environment. While I was able to pull myself away and create a much different life for myself, I don’t want to hide it or pretend it never happened. The memoir is an attempt to own that time in my life and to explore what it reveals about who I am now. Stay tuned.
For the past couple of years, I’ve been working on a memoir. It covers a misguided and self-destructive time in my twenties when I became deeply involved in a cult-like environment. While I was able to pull myself away and create a much different life for myself, I don’t want to hide it or pretend it never happened. The memoir is an attempt to own that time in my life and to explore what it reveals about who I am now. Stay tuned.
Saturday, 26 September 2020
Mike Puican : part three
What poets have changed the way you think about writing?
Gwendolyn Brooks is a major influence. I was fascinated by how, sometimes with just few words, she could create characters who felt like real, complicated people you might meet anywhere, not just two-dimensional characters. I read as much of her work as I could find. I especially studied her great poem “In the Mecca,” and her novel, Maude Martha. My book, Central Air, is full of observations about people living in the city. I work hard to make them feel like real people. While our styles are very different, my work has been heavily influenced by what I learned from her.
Gwendolyn Brooks is a major influence. I was fascinated by how, sometimes with just few words, she could create characters who felt like real, complicated people you might meet anywhere, not just two-dimensional characters. I read as much of her work as I could find. I especially studied her great poem “In the Mecca,” and her novel, Maude Martha. My book, Central Air, is full of observations about people living in the city. I work hard to make them feel like real people. While our styles are very different, my work has been heavily influenced by what I learned from her.
Saturday, 19 September 2020
Mike Puican : part two
How did you first engage with poetry?
I didn’t start writing poetry until I was an adult. I had been married for six years and was in the middle of a rough divorce and custody battle. I felt lost and alone. One night, walking down a street in Chicago, I stopped into a bar featuring a poetry reading. I had no idea anything like this went on and I was captivated. I began going to every open mic and reading I could find. After a while, I started writing poems and reading them in open mics. I met other writers and they became an important community for me. This led to my involvement in poetry slams and competition at the National Poetry Slam. Over time, my interests have moved to poetry that is more for the page than the stage. Despite that, I’ll always have a strong connection to the performance poetry scene.
I didn’t start writing poetry until I was an adult. I had been married for six years and was in the middle of a rough divorce and custody battle. I felt lost and alone. One night, walking down a street in Chicago, I stopped into a bar featuring a poetry reading. I had no idea anything like this went on and I was captivated. I began going to every open mic and reading I could find. After a while, I started writing poems and reading them in open mics. I met other writers and they became an important community for me. This led to my involvement in poetry slams and competition at the National Poetry Slam. Over time, my interests have moved to poetry that is more for the page than the stage. Despite that, I’ll always have a strong connection to the performance poetry scene.
Saturday, 12 September 2020
Mike Puican : part one
How does your work first enter the world?
Strange as it sounds, I use an Excel spreadsheet. When I begin, I typically write down phrases or sentences that sound interesting or mysterious but have no relationship to each other. After I have about forty or fifty of these, I transfer them to an Excel spreadsheet. This makes it very easy to view a large number of disparate thoughts on one screen and move them around to look for the patterns and associations. Once I find a few thoughts that come together in interesting ways, I have the start of a poem.
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