Steve Halle
Have you written any poems that you would never consider submitting? Why? I have my stack of crappy poems I wrote just starting out that I would never submit for publication. I also think that writers need to be aware of what works are practice or working through something and what is actually publishable or performable. I write a lot, which means I also write a lot of shit. I am a proponent of improvisation, in the sense that every time I sit with the blank page, I'm calling forth all the other work that I've done before in order to benefit this moment's writing. I do believe writers can get to a point where the dividing line between practice and performance is negligible or even nonexistent. The practice it takes to get there, however, is years and years worth of work done under internal pressure to get better. I think established writers lose the pressure they put on themselves when they get established or have a relationship with a publisher who will publish any old thing they write because of the name on the front of the book.
If you had to give advice to a poet just starting out what would it be? Anyone can write poetry and call himself or herself a poet, and I admire all kinds of poets writing for all kinds of different reasons. I think it is important to define your relationship with poetry from the jump. Are you in it as a hobby? Is it therapeutic? Are you writing to meet people? Is writing it a phase? Is it part of a style you've embraced? Do you want to get a poem published? Are you writing to validate your self-image? All those reasons are fine by me. If you're going to be serious about poetry, though, you need to know that it takes serious time and intense effort to get good at it. In fact, unwavering persistence and intense desire are the two main aspects of your participation in poetry that you can control. A lot of the rest of it is chance.
If you opened your refrigerator right now what would we see? Farm-fresh vegetables and fruits, leftovers from home-cooked meals, extra-sharp cheddar cheese, a Brita pitcher of water, and staple items, like half & half for coffee and the obligatory condiments.
When did you realize you wanted to write seriously? I began to get more serious about writing when people who I respect took my writing seriously. I had many moments throughout my youth where people validated my writing, and my poetry specifically was validated in my sophomore year of high school. My English teacher, Mr. Jerrol Leitner, liked a poem I submitted for an assignment. After that, I just wrote a lot, paid attention to what I was writing, and had several watershed moments where I knew I'd written a poem that was unequivocally better or did something different than I had previously been able to do. I continue to have these moments, and they really keep me interested in and committed to the work of writing.
What's the worst job you've ever had? I waited tables at The Melting Pot, which is a fondue restaurant. I learned a lot being there, but it was the most difficult job I ever had, sometimes needlessly so.
www.poetsandartists.com
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