ChicagoPostmodernPoetry.Com
Poetic Profile
Maria Damon
General Questions
1) Where did you grow up? Was poetry and writing part of that mix?
i grew up in newton centre massachusetts in a big victorian house
full of books. poetry and writing became parts of my life early on.
i liked rhythm, and reading/writing was a way to keep myself company.
2) Who are your poetic influences, favorite poets, writers, artwork, other
things that inform your work?
let's see, that's an enormous q: jean genet and james baldwin were my early
teenage literature turn-ons. a year or so later, it was creeley and (i blush to
admit) bukowski. then much later --like now --bpNichol, mIEKAL aND, gertrude
stein, nathaniel mackey, the usual poetix list crowd.
3) When did you 'become' a poet? When did poetry become part of your everyday
life?
poetry became a part of my everyday life when i was very young, like 6 or 7, as
soon as learned to read and write and pick out tunes on the piano, but what i
"composed" was, of course, doggerel. nothing like the fresh kids' poetry we
have in a post Kenneth Koch era. then as a teenager i got v turned on to
experimental type stuff, found stuff, but that only lasted a little while, until
it recurred in the last 7 or 8 years.
4) Where were you educated? Was this important?
i had a very strict victorian education at a girls' day school, Winsor, in
Boston. it was so repressive that it took awhile for me
to really acknowledge that i got an excellent education there. i
really did. slated for harvard by my harvard-grad-and-prof father, i
rebelled and went to hampshire college, an "experimental" school only a few
years old at the time (1974). i only did poetry for a year or
so there, then focused on what we now call cultural studies and
neo-marxist and post-structuralist criticism. then i went to
stanford's modern thought and literature program where i did more of same,
though i also took some poetry workshops with denise levertov and simone di
piero. i was no great shakes and my stuff was very labored and conventional.
i was much better at writing critical work i guess, though i always had to be
doing something "creative" as well, regardless of the quality of my output.
5) How is the Minneapolis scene? Is it as good as everyone says?
who's "everyone"? there are great things about the mpls scene, namely mark nowak,
g.e.patterson, gabrielle civil and the raintaxi folks. i hade some
students--undergrads! --who organized a series of AACM jazz concerts a few
years ago; that was amazing! they also made cds of all the music discussed in
Nathaniel Mackey's Bedouin Hornbook, and they had compiled the makings of the
same thing for Djbot Baghostus's Run when they broke up (they were a couple) so
that was the end of that. A few people such as Mackey himself, myself, Aldon
Nielsen, Chris funkhouser, Steve Waksman (author of a book on the history of
the electic guitar), have copies of that set. gary sullivan used to be here
but he left.
5.1) You are a prolific writer and reader What gives you the energy to do all
you do?
i don't think of myself as a prolific writer; i wish i were more so!
i like writing essays. it's a v satisfying feeling. i am less
confident in the poety area, it feels more like a life necessity and
it's weird to think of it being judged out in the open, so i take my
lead from folks that offer to do it with me or help me. i'm not a
sender-outer. My collaboration with mIEKAL aND gave me a lot of
confidence, and the excitement of collaboration gives me energy.
conversation gives me energy. as for reading, i am a slow reader and
i rarely have time to adequately absorb the material i find most
compelling, like the work of certain theorists like agamben and
levinas (for whom i haven't yet cleared the space to even begin to
read --he's perpetually on my to-do list). i am really not very
well-read at all tho my intentions and instincts are good.
6) What is your favorite food?
whipped cream, as anyone who knows me can tell you. and dried fruit, esp figs
and dates. thanks for asking.
7) Sports Team?
the Hampshire College ultimate frisbee team, first in the nation and co-ed.
8) Vacation Spot?
cape cod though that's mostly due to my limited experience; it's the
only place i've ever vacationed.
9) Curse Word?
shit on a shingle! i know it means hash on toast but i like to use it
as a swear-phrase.
10) You are one of the few Experimental poets who actually takes Slam Seriously
tell me about this?
well when the Nuyorican poets cafe tour came to Mpls in 1993, and
they hosted a series of slams and performances, it was v exciting. i
love hearing unexpected talent from unexpected places, like some kid
who looks really shy getting up and turning out to be a militant, or
some straight laced looking guy who gets up and bleats out something really
loony. i like the performativity of it, the comedy of it. now the charm has
worn off as there's a real commodified element to the slam sound and spoken word
affect, and a lot of it can be embarrassing histrionics and formulaic politics
without a lot of
insight, but there are still unexpected pleasures to be found there.
also i like, in principle, the democracy of it; it can be very
empowering for people who often don't have that much material or
political power. it's also a space where people have to listen to
each other. like a speakers' corner with a bit of rhyme thrown in.
Craft Questions
talk of craft makes me nervous...
1) How do you form a poem?
"form?" i guess i start by responding to something or someone. a
scene, deeply familiar landscape or conversation.
2) Do you always use Images from pop culture, music and other outside stimuli
hardly ever. i am very oldfashionedly reliant on nature and daily
life --for me, stuff like writing, weaving and cross-stitching --both
for subject matter and for metaphors for creativity. i like writing
about writing, it's an inexhaustible topic.
3) Is poetry an organic or synthetic process for you?
i would say so, though i'd use the word "writing" maybe instead of
poetry. also i have learned certain styles, like i don't write the
same way i did when i was 7, when i rhymed and had a message, or even when i was
in grad school, when i wrote love poetry about roses, etc. i've learned a
different organicism. but i'd say there's still a strong pastoral and amorous
element in my poetry, it's my own utopian space. even though my criticism is
fairly "engagé" my poetry is not. i wish i cd be like juliana spahr or barrett
watten or others whose poetry is very political but there you have it.
4) Where do you write? Is Ambiance important? Do you have rituals or habits
when you write?
i like to write in spaces where i can see the sky, or where there's a
lot of light and windows. that's been a problem with my desk at home in mpls;
no visibility. i like to go to cafes where the windows are large and there's a
lot of light and the tables are big enough to
spread my stuff out on. the background ambient noise keeps things
from getting too intense in my head--i need that to work. I don't
have any special rituals, except that i like to have a cup of coffee
within reach.
5) In the balance between found language and created language where does your
work fall? Do you use many sources?
almost entirely created language, though i do refer often to other
writers or fold their phrases into mine. i wish i could use more
found language as skillfully as many others on the scene but my
antennae don't pick it up on its specialness with enough sensitivity.
i love the way others are able to manipulate found language,
defamiliarize and recontextualize it. i've occasionally done that
with cut-ups, but not as a regular feature of my work.
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