champagne1982
Dangerous Liaison
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2002
- Posts
- 7,671
We need to keep this thread moving toward page 3... we al know what comes on page 3. Right 'Tess?
What the Hale: An Interview with Denis Hale
- Thread starter Angeline
- Start date
denis hale
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- May 4, 2003
- Posts
- 416
hey carrie, ange
Carrie,
I worry not about maintaining a voice so much as keeping my voice changing. In other words, I worry about repeating myself -- getting mechanical, and thereby stale. That's a big concern.
You know you're on the right track -- when you surprise yourself in a poem.
And I think... probably cremation is best.
Ange,
smithpeter and Corso?
I'm talking mainly of the economy, the crazy vernacular, and humor.
Here's a smithpeter and a Gregory poem, back-to-back.
You'll see what I mean:
grand display
(c) smithpeter
seems like one of those poems
when the fireworks just finished
or have not started
we went for a drink or the toilet
never returned to soft lawn in July
to bend neck ooooing
we went down on our knees
got sloppy
gurgled in each others juice
near the water, onlookers
saw two shows
reflections extinguished
we went for more conversation
hair pulling
incineration, like chain-smokes
only more breathless
birthplace revisited
© gregory corso
I stand in the dark light in the dark
street
and look up at my window, I was
born there.
The lights are on; other people are
moving about.
I am with raincoat; cigarette in
mouth,
hat over eye, hand on gat.
I cross the street and enter the
building.
The garbage cans haven't stopped
smelling.
I walk up the first flight; Dirty Ears
aims a knife at me…
I pump him full of lost watches.
Re: music and poetry ...
I don't listen to music much while I write: It's too much sensory overload.
But I do listen to music to get ideas.
I was listening to R.E.M. the other day, and got inspired to write something.
And yes, I do try to incorporate musical motifs into my lines.
It's both a challenge, and a gas.
I'm not sure if being a musician helps with the writing.
If it does, it's at a level I'm not necessarily aware of.
Come to think of it ... it probably does help, a little. Sure.
Carrie,
I worry not about maintaining a voice so much as keeping my voice changing. In other words, I worry about repeating myself -- getting mechanical, and thereby stale. That's a big concern.
You know you're on the right track -- when you surprise yourself in a poem.
And I think... probably cremation is best.
Ange,
smithpeter and Corso?
I'm talking mainly of the economy, the crazy vernacular, and humor.
Here's a smithpeter and a Gregory poem, back-to-back.
You'll see what I mean:
grand display
(c) smithpeter
seems like one of those poems
when the fireworks just finished
or have not started
we went for a drink or the toilet
never returned to soft lawn in July
to bend neck ooooing
we went down on our knees
got sloppy
gurgled in each others juice
near the water, onlookers
saw two shows
reflections extinguished
we went for more conversation
hair pulling
incineration, like chain-smokes
only more breathless
birthplace revisited
© gregory corso
I stand in the dark light in the dark
street
and look up at my window, I was
born there.
The lights are on; other people are
moving about.
I am with raincoat; cigarette in
mouth,
hat over eye, hand on gat.
I cross the street and enter the
building.
The garbage cans haven't stopped
smelling.
I walk up the first flight; Dirty Ears
aims a knife at me…
I pump him full of lost watches.
Re: music and poetry ...
I don't listen to music much while I write: It's too much sensory overload.
But I do listen to music to get ideas.
I was listening to R.E.M. the other day, and got inspired to write something.
And yes, I do try to incorporate musical motifs into my lines.
It's both a challenge, and a gas.
I'm not sure if being a musician helps with the writing.
If it does, it's at a level I'm not necessarily aware of.
Come to think of it ... it probably does help, a little. Sure.
denis hale
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- May 4, 2003
- Posts
- 416
hi Annie
I'm not sure you need a certain mind set.
I go hunting for magazines whose content I really enjoy, first.
Whose content I feel a certain affinity for.
When I find one, I read their Guidelines page, then try to work something up.
Lately I've been writing prose poems -- and trying to get one into a magazine called Wigleaf. Without success, I'm afraid.
But it doesn't really matter, since I like the magazine, and will keep reading them regardless of my own ill-fated efforts.
There's so much out there -- it's great when you find a magazine you can keep coming back to. And the more you read it, your chances improve, with submissions, I think.
I'm not sure you need a certain mind set.
I go hunting for magazines whose content I really enjoy, first.
Whose content I feel a certain affinity for.
When I find one, I read their Guidelines page, then try to work something up.
Lately I've been writing prose poems -- and trying to get one into a magazine called Wigleaf. Without success, I'm afraid.
But it doesn't really matter, since I like the magazine, and will keep reading them regardless of my own ill-fated efforts.
There's so much out there -- it's great when you find a magazine you can keep coming back to. And the more you read it, your chances improve, with submissions, I think.
Hello again,
As writers we all go through shifts and changes in style and thought, is there a poem where you have identified that progression and it was a continued shift in the way you write? Do you feel life experiences play a role in the way you write, I.e you search for a feeling then try to find the best combination of words or metaphor to convey meaning? How important is it to you, for the reader to get most of the nuances you pack into a poem?
As writers we all go through shifts and changes in style and thought, is there a poem where you have identified that progression and it was a continued shift in the way you write? Do you feel life experiences play a role in the way you write, I.e you search for a feeling then try to find the best combination of words or metaphor to convey meaning? How important is it to you, for the reader to get most of the nuances you pack into a poem?
butters
High on a Hill
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2009
- Posts
- 84,358
This echoes todski's question a bit: would you say more of your poetry comes from inside, working its way up to the surface of consciousness and spills into your write, or is teh reversal more general for you i.e you burrow down (with words/tools/tricks of the trade) to tap the core integrity of the piece? Or is that all a load of rubbish and not indicative of how you write at all?
Have you pieces you like way better than others seem to and vice-versa? Have you identified why this is?
Have you pieces you like way better than others seem to and vice-versa? Have you identified why this is?
Angeline
Poet Chick
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
- Posts
- 27,173
Yesss I'm back again.
What are your feelings about form poetry? I've seen a few you've written (though always with the rules bent in the interests of the poem), and wondered how often you will write in form or at least start with the framework of a form. Do you ever write forms just to practice doing certain things (like repetitions or rhyme schemes)? I saw you say you sometimes count syllables, but do you consider stress patterns, too?
And do you have a favorite form and, if yes, what do you like about it? Yeah, just call me Roseanne Rosanadana...
(PS The Corso/sp poems were very illuminating. Thanks. )
What are your feelings about form poetry? I've seen a few you've written (though always with the rules bent in the interests of the poem), and wondered how often you will write in form or at least start with the framework of a form. Do you ever write forms just to practice doing certain things (like repetitions or rhyme schemes)? I saw you say you sometimes count syllables, but do you consider stress patterns, too?
And do you have a favorite form and, if yes, what do you like about it? Yeah, just call me Roseanne Rosanadana...
(PS The Corso/sp poems were very illuminating. Thanks.
)
denis hale
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- May 4, 2003
- Posts
- 416
stress patterns and such
Ange,
Yes, I really do enjoy taking a run at formal styles, now and again.
It's really fun, and the results can be surprising!
That poem you mentioned in the Thrush Poetry Journal (Gandy Dancer) is a triolet, as you know, and I had some good luck with it.
My favorite form is the ghazal, and I particularly like the "Jim Harrison-informed ghazals," which have very few rules attached, except the main strictures ( at least 5 couplets; each couplet must stand alone, etc).
With regard to stress patterns, I never was much for being hip to accents and such ( what's a trochee, again?) lol I find counting syllables stringent enough!
todski,
I find myself lately writing in a markedly different style than was the case, say, a couple years ago. These stylistic shifts are inevitable, I think; they bleed over from what I've been reading, and also represent a desire for my art not to get stale, and not to repeat what I've already done, etc.
Life experiences definitely inform my writing, -- but I don't set out to convey a certain meaning in any poem. If I start out, trying to "mean" something, the poem will fail, nine times out of ten.
Conversely, If I begin by simply developing an image, or flow of language,
than the poem has a much better chance of succeeding.
I try to leave "meaning" to the reader.
Nuance is important, yes; but images trump nuances; my concern is simply to engage the reader; in other words, not to put him/her asleep with my words.
butters,
The way I write usually starts with one line or image that I find interesting enough to explore. This is much like a composer stumbling upon a cool melody.
Then, I will try to lend that image or line a certain coherence, through structure, -- the same way a musician uses Verse -- Chorus -- Bridge etc. -- as a framework, or a place for the melody to live.
When I begin a poem, I usually have no idea what I'm doing, where I'm going or what's even going to happen. It's a very intuitive process. Almost like being a passenger in a car driven by Neal Cassady, or some joyrider of his ilk.
Only later on, do I "engage the brakes" which is what we know as revision.
The poems of mine I like best are narrative in structure, but experimental in tone. As if the reader is being told a story by a schizophrenic in a semi-lucid state. Here's one from my book, Grand Mal, by way of example:
Divertimento
A silver chain, what’s come
between us, pulled for egress
makes a tin ping on a Tri Met
bus, 82nd and Foster in front
of the jewelry store
that mocks the poor... Christ,
those chains that drape the clavicle
of a scantily clad mannequin, topaz,
sapphire and plaid, — from inside the store
she beckons like Daytona shill with checkered
flag as a still life, like a Flintstones wife
on land line phone as this empty bus
roars by... I’d have gotten off
miles back, but my druthers cut no
mustard here; it’s down to a bum chain
on a Sellwood-bound bus, histrionics
and innuendo, the stuff what’s always
come between us and a driver wears grape fez,
snakeskin cummerbund, iPod and hearing aid,
with pooka shells in his dread-locked braids
painted brightest silver. He’s bobbing
madly, nodding
his head to a back beat might be
Nine Inch Nails, War or Tommy
James and the Shondells. Once more
I make me a megaphone with cupped
palms like solipsistic mime playing
carnival barker an earthly driver can’t
hear, this here’s no garden
variety vanity
in rear view mirror, crisp 56
degrees on the tarmac but hot
as sin in this non stop bus, my mien
so like these windows, tinted pale green
and meaningless, impossible to get off...
A busted light bulb chain — what’s come
between us, static cling like mannequin’s
lacquer and black licorice on the tip
of my tongue... Shhhhhh... can’t tell a
soul, it’s no damned use, I’m an obtuse
troll in rapid translation, abject
object of the laughter
of the young.
Ange,
Yes, I really do enjoy taking a run at formal styles, now and again.
It's really fun, and the results can be surprising!
That poem you mentioned in the Thrush Poetry Journal (Gandy Dancer) is a triolet, as you know, and I had some good luck with it.
My favorite form is the ghazal, and I particularly like the "Jim Harrison-informed ghazals," which have very few rules attached, except the main strictures ( at least 5 couplets; each couplet must stand alone, etc).
With regard to stress patterns, I never was much for being hip to accents and such ( what's a trochee, again?) lol
I find counting syllables stringent enough!todski,
I find myself lately writing in a markedly different style than was the case, say, a couple years ago. These stylistic shifts are inevitable, I think; they bleed over from what I've been reading, and also represent a desire for my art not to get stale, and not to repeat what I've already done, etc.
Life experiences definitely inform my writing, -- but I don't set out to convey a certain meaning in any poem. If I start out, trying to "mean" something, the poem will fail, nine times out of ten.
Conversely, If I begin by simply developing an image, or flow of language,
than the poem has a much better chance of succeeding.
I try to leave "meaning" to the reader.
Nuance is important, yes; but images trump nuances; my concern is simply to engage the reader; in other words, not to put him/her asleep with my words.
butters,
The way I write usually starts with one line or image that I find interesting enough to explore. This is much like a composer stumbling upon a cool melody.
Then, I will try to lend that image or line a certain coherence, through structure, -- the same way a musician uses Verse -- Chorus -- Bridge etc. -- as a framework, or a place for the melody to live.
When I begin a poem, I usually have no idea what I'm doing, where I'm going or what's even going to happen. It's a very intuitive process. Almost like being a passenger in a car driven by Neal Cassady, or some joyrider of his ilk.
Only later on, do I "engage the brakes" which is what we know as revision.
The poems of mine I like best are narrative in structure, but experimental in tone. As if the reader is being told a story by a schizophrenic in a semi-lucid state. Here's one from my book, Grand Mal, by way of example:
Divertimento
A silver chain, what’s come
between us, pulled for egress
makes a tin ping on a Tri Met
bus, 82nd and Foster in front
of the jewelry store
that mocks the poor... Christ,
those chains that drape the clavicle
of a scantily clad mannequin, topaz,
sapphire and plaid, — from inside the store
she beckons like Daytona shill with checkered
flag as a still life, like a Flintstones wife
on land line phone as this empty bus
roars by... I’d have gotten off
miles back, but my druthers cut no
mustard here; it’s down to a bum chain
on a Sellwood-bound bus, histrionics
and innuendo, the stuff what’s always
come between us and a driver wears grape fez,
snakeskin cummerbund, iPod and hearing aid,
with pooka shells in his dread-locked braids
painted brightest silver. He’s bobbing
madly, nodding
his head to a back beat might be
Nine Inch Nails, War or Tommy
James and the Shondells. Once more
I make me a megaphone with cupped
palms like solipsistic mime playing
carnival barker an earthly driver can’t
hear, this here’s no garden
variety vanity
in rear view mirror, crisp 56
degrees on the tarmac but hot
as sin in this non stop bus, my mien
so like these windows, tinted pale green
and meaningless, impossible to get off...
A busted light bulb chain — what’s come
between us, static cling like mannequin’s
lacquer and black licorice on the tip
of my tongue... Shhhhhh... can’t tell a
soul, it’s no damned use, I’m an obtuse
troll in rapid translation, abject
object of the laughter
of the young.
GuiltyPleasure
AWTSS
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2003
- Posts
- 14,131
The sonics in your works make me salivate they're so smooth. It makes me think you must read your poems out loud. Yes?
denis hale
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- May 4, 2003
- Posts
- 416
Hi theognis
nice ta meetcha!
For the poem Divertimento, I used "what's" come between us
instead of "that's"-- as an effort to inject vernacular into the poem,
i.e., -- to give the speaker some personality. For instance, the speaker
says something about "cut no mustard" later on -- and I just felt
"what's" (though grammatically incorrect) fits his voice
better than "that's..." . That is, I felt the speaker of the poem
"maybe don't always talk so good ... "
I hope that makes sense.
Tess,
You bet, I read my poems out loud -- but only in "final draft sessions."
I don't find it necessary to read the stuff aloud in first draft, since
the first draft is always loud enough, in my head.
Ange,
"The Poet's Companion" by Addonizio and Laux, is an excellent method book.
Also, "The Triggering Town" by Richard Hugo is indispensable.
I also got a lot from the book, "Best Words, Best Order" by Stephen Dobyns.
The first book of poetry I ever purchased was an anthology called "A Geography of Poets." It was the textbook in that Portland State U. poetry class I previously mentioned. It is an excellent sourcebook for the apprentice poet. Another great anthology is: "The Morrow Anthology of Younger American Poets. Also, I highly recommend anything by Charles
Bukowski, Kim Addonizio, or August Kleinzahler.
nice ta meetcha!
For the poem Divertimento, I used "what's" come between us
instead of "that's"-- as an effort to inject vernacular into the poem,
i.e., -- to give the speaker some personality. For instance, the speaker
says something about "cut no mustard" later on -- and I just felt
"what's" (though grammatically incorrect) fits his voice
better than "that's..." . That is, I felt the speaker of the poem
"maybe don't always talk so good ... "
I hope that makes sense.
Tess,
You bet, I read my poems out loud -- but only in "final draft sessions."
I don't find it necessary to read the stuff aloud in first draft, since
the first draft is always loud enough, in my head.
Ange,
"The Poet's Companion" by Addonizio and Laux, is an excellent method book.
Also, "The Triggering Town" by Richard Hugo is indispensable.
I also got a lot from the book, "Best Words, Best Order" by Stephen Dobyns.
The first book of poetry I ever purchased was an anthology called "A Geography of Poets." It was the textbook in that Portland State U. poetry class I previously mentioned. It is an excellent sourcebook for the apprentice poet. Another great anthology is: "The Morrow Anthology of Younger American Poets. Also, I highly recommend anything by Charles
Bukowski, Kim Addonizio, or August Kleinzahler.
Likewise, denis. And yes, it makes sense, in that context. But the thing I like most about much of your poetry is the way it flows. Remarkable. Just remarkable.
GuiltyPleasure
AWTSS
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denis hale
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
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audioz
Tess,
Here's a couple of links to magazines for whom I made recordings recently:
http://www.decompmagazine.com/dollarbills18wheelsatori.htm
http://foggedclarity.com/2011/12/fence-fragment/
Tess,
Here's a couple of links to magazines for whom I made recordings recently:
http://www.decompmagazine.com/dollarbills18wheelsatori.htm
http://foggedclarity.com/2011/12/fence-fragment/
GuiltyPleasure
AWTSS
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Oh! Lovely! Thank you. 
Angeline
Poet Chick
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
- Posts
- 27,173
Tess,
Here's a couple of links to magazines for whom I made recordings recently:
http://www.decompmagazine.com/dollarbills18wheelsatori.htm
http://foggedclarity.com/2011/12/fence-fragment/
These are both great: and boy can I hear the West in you, buddy.
champagne1982
Dangerous Liaison
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2002
- Posts
- 7,671
I should introduce you to my beautiful cousin who lives in Seattle. Your voice is one to melt for Mister. whew!Oh! Lovely! Thank you.
Thanks for sharing that audio and the poems. I really enjoyed Dollar Bill's 18 Wheel Satori. Like lines like these: nudging shadows from a dome light and one breaker bellow of hello. Makes me wanna be a trucker.
denis hale
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- May 4, 2003
- Posts
- 416
Carrie, Ange, Tess
thanks, glad you liked the audio!
I have some more audio stuff on the Sound Cloud.
Paradisiacal Vermont is on there-- which is a poem from my book.
But it's me reading other people's poems and stories, mostly:
https://soundcloud.com/mahagin/my-heart-by-kim-addonizio-read
thanks, glad you liked the audio!
I have some more audio stuff on the Sound Cloud.
Paradisiacal Vermont is on there-- which is a poem from my book.
But it's me reading other people's poems and stories, mostly:
https://soundcloud.com/mahagin/my-heart-by-kim-addonizio-read
Angeline
Poet Chick
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
- Posts
- 27,173
thanks, glad you liked the audio!
I have some more audio stuff on the Sound Cloud.
Paradisiacal Vermont is on there-- which is a poem from my book.
But it's me reading other people's poems and stories, mostly:
https://soundcloud.com/mahagin/my-heart-by-kim-addonizio-read
Paradisiacal Vermont is a tour de force, so much happening on both the surface of meaning and the deeper levels and yet it's really existential. And the flowers at the end are just beautiful.
When did you write this? I don't think it was ever here, right? It's so strong it seems like a good candidate to end a section of the book...or maybe begin one?
What is next for you? Are you just writing or writing with the intention of putting another collection together? Maybe both.
denis hale
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
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- 416
hey Ange
"Paradisiacal Vermont" was written circa 2010.
It stemmed from a real-life run-in I had with a bus driver!
Thanks for the good words -- it's the third-to-last poem in Grand Mal.
Lately, I've been working on a second collection; I have a manuscript
pretty much developed to the point where I should start sending it out
for consideration, soon.
Plus, I'm working on some short fiction -- as we discussed previously.
I'd love to publish a decent short story, before the year is out.
That's a worthwhile goal, I think.
"Paradisiacal Vermont" was written circa 2010.
It stemmed from a real-life run-in I had with a bus driver!
Thanks for the good words -- it's the third-to-last poem in Grand Mal.
Lately, I've been working on a second collection; I have a manuscript
pretty much developed to the point where I should start sending it out
for consideration, soon.
Plus, I'm working on some short fiction -- as we discussed previously.
I'd love to publish a decent short story, before the year is out.
That's a worthwhile goal, I think.
Last edited:
GuiltyPleasure
AWTSS
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- Jul 12, 2003
- Posts
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denis, should a poet try to emulate another or be content with his or her style? I admire your "shoot-from-the-hip" style but just can't seem to write that way, my stuff seems shallow and bland by comparison.
BTW I've been wandering through the sites you have given us. Great stuff! Thank you.
BTW I've been wandering through the sites you have given us. Great stuff! Thank you.
denis hale
Really Really Experienced
- Joined
- May 4, 2003
- Posts
- 416
Tess, you're more than welcome!
As far as emulating other writers -- I have tried it!
To no avail, I'm afraid.
It's very hard to tailor a style, based on a blueprint of somebody else's stuff.
Now, that's not to say I haven't been influenced by writers I admire.
And it's important to read as much verse as one can -- to grow as a poet.
But it's better to read for pleasure, I think -- and write from one's own voice.
One's own voice is always the vehicle for work you'll be most proud of.
As far as emulating other writers -- I have tried it!
To no avail, I'm afraid.
It's very hard to tailor a style, based on a blueprint of somebody else's stuff.
Now, that's not to say I haven't been influenced by writers I admire.
And it's important to read as much verse as one can -- to grow as a poet.
But it's better to read for pleasure, I think -- and write from one's own voice.
One's own voice is always the vehicle for work you'll be most proud of.
Angeline
Poet Chick
- Joined
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- 27,173
Tomorrow the interview with denis will officially end, but it'll end with a bang. denis is, as promised, going to leave us with one of his titles. So this interview will end with a same title challenge. I hope many of you will join me in putting your own poetry in this thread. You all know it's how we roll here.
denis you are one of my favorite poets and you have been for years. You've been so generous with your time and ideas and I know that even the shy lurkers are appreciative of all you've shared. Thank you for all of it and mostly thank you for the wonderful poetry past and passing and to come.
Looking forward to seeing that title tomorrow whenever you are ready!
denis you are one of my favorite poets and you have been for years. You've been so generous with your time and ideas and I know that even the shy lurkers are appreciative of all you've shared. Thank you for all of it and mostly thank you for the wonderful poetry past and passing and to come.
Looking forward to seeing that title tomorrow whenever you are ready!
GuiltyPleasure
AWTSS
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Marcel is in the wings......
GuiltyPleasure
AWTSS
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Before you're out of our clutches........The Proust Questionnaire
• If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
• What is the best gift you’ve received?
• Which hobby would you pursue if you had more time?
• If you could have any super power what would it be?
• What is the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done?
• What was your most epic road trip?
• What food brings back childhood memories?
• Which book most influenced your life?
• What is the most valuable piece of advise you ever received?
• If you could go back and relive one day in your life. Which one
would it be and why?
• What advice would you give your ten year old self today?
• What do you most admire in a man?
• What do you most admire in a woman?
• What word or phrase do you most over-use?
• Who are your favourite writers?
• Which artists do you most admire?
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