Kaleb (worst) is in his second year at Emerson as a
Writing, Literature, and Publishing major. Last semester, his collection of
poems, Bad Poetry, was published by
Undergraduate Students for Publishing. His work has also been featured in the
literary journal, Gangsters in Concrete.
When
did you start taking your writing seriously?
I started taking writing seriously when I was a
junior in high school. I felt like I was a writer, but I also knew that without
discipline and a body of work to show for it, I was fooling myself. So I
started my blog A Vicious Square with the intention of posting a poem
every day. I created a serious environment for me to experiment and house my
work, and it still exists today. My poetry and I have changed a lot since then.
What
are you most inspired by?
The familiar cycle of the seasons. Every year
Spring comes, and every year it brings a refreshing set of dreams and ideas
with it. I’m a fool for nature. Her warm breath and wind fills me up with life
easily as a hard winter keeps me down. But everything’s manageable when you
know that this too shall pass.
What
was your favorite part of the publishing process? What was the most
challenging?
The best thing about the publishing process is
having to alter the way you think about what you’re writing. There were a lot
of poems that I had written without ever considering that they would be put in
a book for a lot of eyes to see. So I had to go back, and consider the
accessibility of a lot of these poems. I had to make sure I wasn’t coming off
in a way I hadn’t intended. And in a lot of ways, that’s definitely the most
challenging part of it, too. Though I had more help on my side than I’m used to.
My editors took off a lot of the pressure on me to find my more obvious
inconsistencies.
What
is your favorite thing about being a writer?
Knowing that wherever I go, and whoever I decide
to be, I will always be capable of creating something beautiful. I also see
this worry often that as a writer, I won’t be able to make ends meet. But I
think that’s looking at it the wrong way. The future is covered in fog. So many
students going into grad school—nurses, lawyers, engineers—are told that
they’re doing the right thing because we need them, right now. But then
they get out of grad school and find out they’ve been had, because as much as
we do need them, they have trouble finding a job. Or maybe they do
find a job, but ten years down the road the demand isn’t nearly as high. As a
writer, I take comfort in the fact that I’m never needed-- that what I do will
always have its place, never useless and never necessary, and my relevance depends
entirely on my dedication.
Favorite
authors? Books?
My list of favorite poets include Dylan Thomas,
Buddy Wakefield, Thomas Lux, Allen Ginsberg, Brad Liening, Sylvia Plath,
William Blake, and Walt Whitman. They never steer me wrong. I have one favorite
book worth mentioning, and it’s Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. As Bob Dylan
said, “It changed my life like it changed everyone else’s.”
What
advice do you have for other writers?
Always check up on yourself. If you haven’t
written for a while, ask yourself why. It’s not linear. Be aware of the space
you take up, and the place you’re at in your mind. Use pencils. Make yourself proud. Don’t let anyone tell you that you did it wrong.
What do they know? And remember, as much as it feels otherwise, you will always
know nothing.
How
does it feel to be published so young?
Remember shooting your first firework on the 4th
of July? Maybe you don’t. I’m not even sure if I do. But I imagine it feels the
same way. There’s adrenaline, a little touch of anxiety, and an odd, sort of
misplaced pride about the whole thing. Yet as soon the smoke clears, you’re
ready for the next bottle rocket. This time you’re gonna try to reach those
bales of hay, way out towards the barn, and hope that maybe, maybe you’ll set
them on fire.
Currently
reading?
Les Miserables. This still might be my answer in
a year or two. There’s a reason I write poetry: short attention span.
What
do you want people to take away from your book?
That poetry really can be simple, if you like it
that way. That it’s as feasible as it is enjoyable-- that it can touch anyone,
or be touched by anyone. Writing poetry for me is a life-long process of
building a home. I’ve tried to make it lovely. I’m constantly making room. I
want masses of good, quiet people at my door. And I hope that, when they’ve
left, they remember my spotless halls and my vaulted ceilings. And I hope that
they should come again.
What
would you be doing if you weren’t a writer?
Wondering why someone took my writing away from
me.
By Rhianna Reinmuth
