1. Tell us about yourself and your most current project/s?
In October I released Outliving Michael. It’s a book about queer friendship, specifically mine with Michael Church in the 90s in Florida. He was a best friend, 17 years older than me, and I looked up to him as someone I could be in the world. He died of AIDS in 2000. This book reflects on our time together and his lasting impact on my life
2. Where did the inspiration/idea come for this for this project?
This is my fourth full collection and I’ve come to terms with my writing is essentially a history of a subject or issue I’ve been grappling with, trying to make sense of, and meditating on. Though Outliving Michael is out 25 years after his death, it’s fitting because for me I struggled with what one does when we outlive a mentor. When the person who whelped write the roadmap is no longer there and you’re still on the road.
3. What does the writing process look like for you?
I don’t wait for inspiration but love when it does happen. I used to have a folder labeled “Poem inspirations” that I would shift through when I sat down to write. Whatever article or note stood out to me, I’d write on. These days, I use the notes app on my phone. I treat it almost lie a poetry To Do list where I list out the poems I intend to write and complete. I’m so much more focused in my writing than I used to be.
4. How do you handle writer’s block?
I’m not sure I experience it often. And if I do, I don’t lament or labor it. Sometimes the best thing to do is to step away and involve oneself with another activity.
5. How do you feed your creativity when feeling drained?
I’m terrible at resting. I’m a maximizer and continually involved in projects and other pursuits. I’m trying hard to make time to be leisurely. There’s so much I want to do in life and I think experiencing death of a good friend at such a young age impacted how I see life and it’s temporariness.
6. What advice would you give writers’ who feel stuck or uninspired?
I think it’s good to get curious about why the writing isn’t working. Sometimes a subject matter or the impetuous to write might not have enough energy behind it to bring it over the finish line. Or ask oneself what isn’t work in the writing. Sometimes we know but it’s hard to admit it because going back through the work is more labor and also means we’re further from finishing the project.
7. How do you keep your voice or ideas fresh over time?
By reading. I’m awed when I meet someone who wants to write or considers themselves a writer and they don’t read. I get so inspired and lit up by reading other good pieces of writing.
8. What do you wish more people understood about the creative process?
That the biggest rewards are in the writing. If you’re not finding that enjoyable, than maybe do something else. In literary writing, especially poetry, there is rarely acclaim or money. We do it for ourselves, that there is an internal reward about sharing an experience or emotional accurately on the page.
Where can my audience find you or your work?
LATEST BOOK:
Praise for Outliving Michael:
The work is at once an elegy, a historical document and a meditation on tests of survival that gay men face.—Forbes
A tender and touching elegy… —Kirkus Review
