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Poetic Profile

Christopher Arigo

General Questions

1)  Where did you grow up? Was poetry and writing part of that mix?

I grew up somewhat schizophrenically between Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and the Poconos in Pennsylvania. Though I probably spent less time in Brooklyn, I consider it my real home. It was odd as a child to spend time in the über-urban landscape, then to return to the rural, almost idyllic landscape of Pennsylvania. But even Brooklyn itself was divided: by race, by class, by ethnicity, by languages spoken.

Even in my neighborhood, people spoke various, mostly Sicilian, dialects. A few blocks away Yiddish prevailed, and Russian and Chinese…This early

awareness of collage and juxtaposition was probably its biggest influence on me and my writing. This is its own sort of poetry. But as far as books go, I read a great deal as a child, despite books being such an infinitesimally small presence in my house, but not poetry---not until junior high really,

when I fell in love with the words of Allen Ginsberg and the Beats. It was all downhill from there. The Beats gave me a way to respond to the Catholicism that had always felt wrong to me, despite its beautiful imagery and metaphors.

2) Who are your poetic influences, favorite poets, writers, artwork, other things that inform your work?

Blake, Whitman, Dickinson, Eliot, Celan, the poets of I novissimi, Echo and the Bunnymen, Rauschenberg, De Chirico, Calvino, Neutral Milk Hotel---a very small handful off the top of my head. I suspect it could take me decades to finish a list like this.

3) When did you 'become' a poet, when did poet become part of your everyday life? 

I first wrote poems in junior high. I thought it would be a great way to make girls like me. It didn’t really work then, but it helped me meet my wife---poet and nonfiction writer Jacqueline Lyons---about a decade later. It takes time to develop these skills.

4) Where were you educated? Was this important?

I got my BA at Northland College in Ashland, WI. Most people have never heard of the school, but it was the only one to which I applied. Also, I didn’t know that most colleges sent reps to high schools. I just though they really, really wanted me to come, despite my nearly nonexistent GPA. Originally, I thought I had wanted to major in Environmental Studies, which is what Northland is known for. Then I discovered that you could get a degree for reading and talking about books. Imagine! I really had no idea that there was such a major as English. Obviously, my high school was lacking in college counseling. In fact, the ersatz counselor suggested that I consider a vocational school.

I then received my MFA from Colorado State University, which was an amazing experience---great peers, great teachers and mentors.

Right now I’m a Schaeffer Fellow at UNLV, where I’m focusing mainly on Italian language study and translation. Again, I really admire my peers and teachers in Vegas. However, Pound says “It takes six or eight years to get educated in one’s art, and another ten to get rid of that education.” If I include my writing poetry in junior high, then I’m right on schedule.

5) What is your favorite food?

I worked in restaurant kitchens too many years to discern anymore.

6) Sports Team? or Activity?

I like to shoot guns. It helps me relax.

7) Vacation spot?

Anywhere near the ocean.

8) Curse word?

Whichever seems most useful or appropriate at the moment.

Craft Questions

1) How do you form a poem?

With lots of words. Then I cross out all of the words that I don’t like at the moment. For most of the drafts, I write in longhand. Then I type on a lovely, near-mint condition, 1940s-era Underwood manual typewriter. I only go to my computer when I feel the poem is finished, if a poem is ever finished.

2) Is poetry an organic or synthetic process for you?

To be honest, I’m not even sure whether language is an organic or synthetic medium.

3) Where do you write? Is Ambiance important? Do you have rituals or habits when you write? 

After teaching high school for four years, I learned not to be picky. I can pretty much write anywhere, though I prefer to be outside. I don’t have any rituals to speak of…

4) In the balance between found language and created language where does your work fall?

I guess I always imagined that all language is found---it’s just a matter of where one finds it.