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2003-04-28 - 1:10 p.m. -

so, here are my answers to tony�s zero point zero column�

QUESTIONS I ASK MYSELF REGULARLY ABOUT MY POETRY, POETRY IN GENERAL, AND THE REASONS FOR ART:

Why the hell do I do this?
don�t have a choice.

Why do I like hearing poetry?
sometimes you get something different from a poem when you hear it rather than reading it. then again, there are poets whom i love on the page who cant read their work for shit.

Why does poetry matter to me?
it is the language i speak in. without poetry, i would not be able to communicate with people beyond the basic level.

What do I expect from poems? From poets?
i expect both to engage me, to show me something differently, to show me something new, to make me feel something. most of all, i expect passion. without true passion, it is just words.

Who is my audience?
whoever is willing to listen.

What do I love/hate most in a poem? In a poet?
i love when a poem has passion & emotion. hate when a poem walks the same areas others have without adding anything new.

i love poets who know what they have is a gift & treat it that way. hate �poets� who write only for stage time, ego, or only for themselves.

What is my usual subject matter?
emotions, but not the base ones (anger, sadness, etc.) the complex ones that, for the most part, have no word to describe them.

for example, i once wrote a poem after seeing the russian word razbliuto,defined as the feeling a man has for someone he once loved but now does not. our lives are filled with emotions like these� emotions you can�t sum up in just one or two words.

What words work best for me as my raw material � big ones, little ones, complex ones, rhyming ones?
the words that work best at the time.

What does this poem tell me about myself?
a good poem should surprise the author & show them something about themselves that they didn�t know.

What would someone think of me after hearing or reading this poem?
that is up to them. as long as they think something i have done my job.

What would my favorite poet think of this poem?
i don�t think they would be impressed with most of what i�ve got, but so what? everyone has different tastes.

Where would I like to be with my poetry next year? In five years?
moving forward, finding out new things.

Will I always be a poet?
don�t have a choice. if you are a true artist (poet, painter, dancer, etc) you are an artist for life. it does not go away. even if you try to make it go away, it will still be there.

Which poem of mine is my favorite, and why?
like asking a parent which child they like best. i like different poems for different reasons.

Which poem would I like to burn and never have anybody see?
everything by jim morrison.

Which poem would I like to write that I haven�t yet? (Writing suggestion: write it now.)
always wanted to write a poem about the great molasses flood in boston, but just keep falling short of where i would like the piece to go. i�ll keep at it until i get it.

Which poem of mine changed me the most?
won�t know until it is all over.

so much to talk about from this weekend. i�ll try to post tonight.

hope you all had a good weekend.

more later
be well.