Friday, April 18, 2014

5 Questions with Michael Waters


Michael will read his work on May 4, 2014 at 7:00pm as part of the NJ Literary Artists Fellowship Showcase.

The reading will take place at New Jersey Repertory Company
179 Broadway
Long Branch, NJ 07740
Click here for directions


There is a suggested donation of $10. All tickets will be available at the door on the evening of the readings. No advanced ticket sales.

1. What made you want to write poetry?
I loved the clanking rhymes of Robert Service's poetry as read to me by my father at bedtime, as well as the phrasings of the rock 'n' roll songs of 1958-63 (especially those written by Doc Pomus and Carole King) and, slightly later, the word-spewings of the Beats. By the time I was fifteen, in 1965, I was attempting my own poems. Also, I wanted to girls to like me
.

2. Is there someone or something that inspires your work?

The visual artist Chuck Close states: "Inspiration is for amateurs." Still, other writers' work is always helpful toward creating my own work, as is the work of visual artists, composers, and choreographers. "Poems from poems, songs / from songs, paintings from paintings, / always this friendly / impregnation," writes Adam Zagajewski.

3. You have edited several anthologies. What is involved in that process?
The process involves what Emerson called "creative reading," as well as a desire to share with other readers poems that have lodged themselves within me.

4. You teach at Monmouth University & Drew University in the MFA Program in Poetry and Poetry in Translation. What do you hope your students will take away from your class?I'd like them to possess a sense of their own possibilities toward keeping our language fresh, and a desire to deepen into themselves through the precise arrangement of words.

5. Who is your favorite poet and why?
My favorite poet may be the late John Logan (d. 1987) who understood that "a poem is not a poem unless it has an essential surface to it which is musical in character."  His poems are full of feeling, deeply moving, and line by line are sensual in their sounds. You can taste his words.

To learn more about Michael, visit our website.

You can also find additional information on our website about the Literary Artist Fellowship program.


 






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