| Muses Review Muses Speak- Poetry Newsletter Short Interviews With Poets: Spring 2005 Apr 2005 - June 2005 |
| editor@musesreview.org |
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Short Interview No. 2: Lisa S. Majaj. Muses Speak - Poetry Newsletter - May 2005 andrew angus wrote: Do you want to be our featured poet for Muses Speak - Poetry Newsletter? If yes, please answer the following questions: 1. AA: Why do you like to compose poetry? LSM: Poetry is my lifeblood. It gives me a chance to express myself yet also to figure out what I'm feeling and thinking. It's a way to integrate my perceptions and my thoughts and my emotions, and to reach out and hopefully touch people at the same time. Poetry is one way to speak in the world. It's also one way to learn how to be a better listener. 2. AA: Can people make a living by being a poet? LSM: Hmmm. Pretty hard, as far as I can tell!! Unless you have a secure university job teaching poetry. 3 AA: What makes a poetrybook a bestseller? LSM: I hate to say it but I suspect that poetry which is somehow more obvious or appealing to mass sentiment might have a better chance. However I don't think writing poetry with money considerations in mind is a good idea. It is wonderful to reach large audiences, but not if you have to change your language or your message. A poet should stay true to his or her vision, language and experience. 4. AA: What are your favorite themes in writing poetry? LSM: I write about Palestine, about my experiences in the Middle East, about being Arab-American, about my children, about nature, about my perceptions of life. I write about the small moments which offer themselves to me as I go through my days - like nursing my baby or examining the wrinkles in my hands. I also write about the larger moments which impress themselves on me even when it would be easier to turn away. We are citizens of our own daily worlds, but we are also citizens of the world at large. I want to write as a citizen of both realms. 5. AA: Why should people read poetry? LSM: No one should read anything they don't want to read. However, I think that people can learn a great deal from poetry. Not only in terms of factual material. Certainly, when I write about Palestine I may possibly educate people about a part of the world they don't know much about. But I also think people can learn, through poetry, to look more closely at the spaces between things. They can learn to see beauty in unexpected places. They can notice that every part of our human existence is worth observing, is worth honoring. And they can learn to make connections, to think in ways they hadn't thought before. Poetry doesn't spell things out. The reader has to do that. In making those connections, we expand our human knowledge. 6. AA: What makes a poem an extraordinary poem? LSM: Voice. Imagery. Subject matter. All of these together. A poem blows me away when it brings a freshness of language and voice to a subject matter so compelling I can't turn away. Poetry isn't an intellectual game. I want it to challenge me, but not just on the level of the mind - also on the level of the heart. |
Short Interview No. 1: Bruce Dethlefsen. Muses Speak - Poetry Newsletter - April 2005. To: musesreview@yahoo.com Subject: RE: Interview for Muses Speak From: "proeta@excite.com" BD stands for Bruce Dethlefsen. MR stands for Muses Review. 1-) MR: Why do people like you write poetry? Bruce: Why do people like me write poetry? As a poet, maybe because I am a poet, I know there's a bigger world out there than there seems to be. By observing and reflecting and writing, I'm trying to make some sense of it all. 2-) MR: Can people make a living by being a poet? BD: I think it's almost impossible to make a living just by being a poet. Not that I'm holy, but holy men in India are supported by the charity of the people they serve. For poets these days it's just not possible to give up your day job. 3-) MR: What makes a poetry book a bestseller? BD: I don't know what makes a poetry book a bestseller. I hope someday I will. 4-) MR: What are your favorite themes in writing poetry? BD: My favorite themes in poetry are the relationships beteen men and women, between parents and children, and answering the question, "how come?" 5-) MR: Why should people read poetry? BD: People should read poetry to expand their minds and their hearts. And maybe to help them address the great questions. 6-) MR: What makes a poem an extraordinary poem? BD: An extraordinary poem sings directly to the reader's heart, often bypassing the brain. I believe the best response to a great poem is "yes." |
| Short Interview No. 3: Jilly Dybka. Muses Speak- Poetry Newsletter - June 2005 To: Jilly Dybka Please answer the following questions for your preliminary interview: a. MR: Why do you like to compose poetry? JILLY: I started writing in form in 2001, after recovering from an illness. I found that writing sonnets helped me to reorder my mind. And I also found that I couldn't stop fooling with formal poetry so that is why I decided to pursue an MFA. Might as well, right? I also became obsessed with the sound of words. The musicality of poetry. b. MR: How many full length poetry books and chapbooks you have made or published? JD: What titles and year published. One chapbook. No books. The chapbook is Fair Territory, published in the print edition in 2005. c. MR: Is baseball your favorite theme in writing poetry? JD: What other themes do you have in writing poetry aside from baseball? It's one of my favorite themes. I also write a lot of political poetry and I have a series of poems about Las Vegas and also a series of narrative sonnets about sideshow performers. d. MR: Can a poet make a living out of poetry as a musician makes a living out of music? JD: Not unless they teach at a university. e. MR: What makes a poetry book a bestseller? JD: There is no such thing as a poetry bestseller, unfortunately. Unless you are Maya Angelou. Poetry doesn't sell in the publishing world. f. MR: What makes a poet excel in the art of poetry? JD: I think to be successful, poets should always try to surprise themselves. Also, close attention to the musicality of language is important. |
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Short Interview with Jilly Dybka. |
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Short Interview with Lisa S. Majaj |
Short Interview with Bruce Dethlefsen. |
| About Bruce. Bruce is the author of the poem chapbook: Something Near The Dance Floor published by Marsh River Editions. |
| Bruce Dethlefsen is based in Wisconsin |
| Lisa S. Majaj is based in Cyprus |
| About Lisa. Lisa is the author of the poem chapbook: These Words. Lisa's poem "Seasons of Fire, Seasons of Light" is nominated Best Poem of Year 2004 for 1st Muses Prize - Poetry . |
| Photo to be posted soon. |
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| About Jilly. Jilly is the author of the poem chapbook: Fair Territory published by Bear Shirt Press at www.bearshirtpress.com |
| Jilly Dybka is based in Tennessee |
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