1. What or who gives you inspiration and perspiration?

My brain is more pogo stick than mind. I rarely set out to work on anything specific. I am like most poets, I hope, where sights, sounds, smells, etc, will trigger an idea. Then that idea spawns another and another. I am a believer that the best work is spontaneous.

2. Have you always wanted to write, or did you have a secret desire for something else, like spelunking?

I started writing as a freshman in high school. My cousin and I wrote an article about our trapping exploits in northwest Ohio (lots of blood, guts, death and animal pelts) because we were very successful at our trade. It was accepted by Fur-Fish-Game magazine and our pay was a free 24 month subscription, so we could read and rejoice in more animal mayhem and slaughter. I decided that getting a degree in journalism was less damaging to my psyche and safer for the animal kingdom. Plus there was lots of blood being tossed on folks wearing fur coats and that sure seemed like a clue that the business might dry up.

3. Do awards and accolades make you swoon? Have there been any that you're particularly swoon-y about that you've gotten?

I have been nominated or entered for lots of awards/prizes/accolades. I have had several Pushcart noms, TWC entered a piece for a Best of the Net, my book, Throwing Percy from the Cherry Tree, was an entrant in for a National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. It’s rewarding to have someone feel my work is worthy, but I do not think much about whether I win or not. The money is generally small, so the only real prize is a few moments in the spotlight. I get just as much thrill when I get something from a reader who shares the emotions he/she went through when reading my work. I had someone recently say to me, “Oh, you’re the writer!” and that is an award in itself.


4. When you're not leaving your poetic footprint, what else in the world makes you warm and fuzzy?

My family, everything else is just the ordinary stuff of life.


5. Give me names. Who are the best new poets, in your opinion?

There are so many poets today with talent, and this is true in all areas of creativity, but I have not really noticed any who are really stepping forward to claim stardom. I don’t think it is lack of effort, maybe just that as one gets close to breaking from the herd then more talent steps from the shadows and diverts everyone’s attention. I also think the vastness and diversity of the internet is an impact, and, to a degree, because those in control have not passed the baton yet.


6. Best of the Net or Pushcart? Which matters more and why?

Best of the Net has the potential to become very, very important. The web is where the masses write and read. BN just does not have the publicity or widespread appeal. People like Keillor and Kooser are helping develop awareness with their fine offerings, but BN will have to follow their lead, perhaps do something monthly as a release to the major newspapers, or a quarterly posting of the “best.” Pushcart selects so little poetry and, to be honest, I read better work on the web on any given day.


7. Then and now. What poem made you start writing and what poem do you absolutely love right this very moment?

Hated poetry when I was in high school. I think I was a junior at Bowling Green State University when I wrote my first poem, about a cat and a palm tree. It was published by Wind magazine in 1974. I reworked it recently and submitted it to a university journal and it was accepted in 3 or 4 days. The poem that has had the most impact on me has been Jane Kenyon’s Let Evening Come. It is a testament to her complete peace and acceptance of her mortality, and put in words that everyone could understand.


8. Are online poetry 'zines a crushing blow to traditional print 'zines, or are they the meat and potatoes of the poetry world now? Also, which do you prefer?

I think the ‘zines are well beyond the “let’s head them off at the gate” stance that the prints would like to have. Again, it is all about numbers. Billions of folks can click and read a ‘zine, maybe a few thousand will buy the best printed journals, only to read the same poets over and over, generally. I would not want to be a print journal editor at funding review nowadays! Also, many of the well-known prints are beginning to have snippets and previews on the web.

9. Where do you see yourself and your poems in five years?

I go one day at a time with poetry. I am, however, working on longer things that will consume more and more of my time. There are some pretty good ingredients floating in that stew.


10. What are the ingredients for a tasty poem?

For me, I believe content always trumps form. I don’t believe a reader always needs to ferret out and decipher what is behind the obscurity, hence, my narrative and prosy style. Sometimes all a reader wants to do is open a book and simply read. Daily life is complex and people are frazzled. Reading is generally a tool of relaxation. Much to the dismay of some, a good poem will tell and show in language that is understandable and with images easy to grasp.