Vargus Pike is the author of April Songs, a collection inspired by National Poetry Month. Many writers write a poem a day in April to celebrate their craft. As usual, links to his work is throughout. Thanks for seeking us out.
Name: Vargus Pike
Pen Name: Vargus Pike
Most recent title published: April Song
Where do you write? A:Often like Marat I prefer the tub, at other times I write while driving or walking using a recorder, sometimes too I sit in front of the television and completely ignore it while I work.
What kind of poetic tradition do you see yourself coming from? (lyric, surrealism, realism, etc) A:Difficult to say. My poetry much like my life has gone through phases. There was a time when I preferred realism to lyricism. There was a surreal phase. Now I just write what I feel and do not worry so much about form. The subject matter and the mood tell me what to write
The contemporary American "form" is elegy. How do you see your work fitting into that "tradition"? A: I believe that meter and rhythm are essential to poetry. It is not an accident that poetry fits so well with music. It is not an accident that a chorus that sings together have heartbeats that align. Life is all about rhythm and poetry is an expression of that life. How can our poetry not have meter and rhythms within rhythms in the line and between lines. Even in modern forms of free verse there is always some form of meter there if you look for it hard enough.
What are your rituals with regards to writing (ex: Must have tea, a cat on the lap, etc). A: I do not really have any other than when I am blocked a hot bath opens my mind along with my pores and I inevitably sweat something out.
What themes did you explore in this new collection? What was challenging about culling poems together? A: My book April Song was the challenge. I wrote thirty poems in the thirty days of April. The rules I set myself were 1) The theme of each poem was not even contemplated until the day it was written and 2) Before I went to bed the poem had to be in a complete presentable form. My themes ranged in scope from nature to the exploration of the nature of time, from love to death, humor and tragedy. Nothing was off limits.
What's your personal favorite? Why? A: You know I hate it when someone asks me to choose which child is my favorite. Much of the time it depends on who is acting up that day and who is behaving. It all depends on mood and perspective. Some poems I love as soon as they are born but then grow tired of them. Others I think are ugly or stupid and then later they seem to grow and blossom into something I never knew they were.
Describe your writing process: A: Much of the time I start with a phrase that pops into my head. The poem in the book titled "April Third" was started that way with the opening line "Sunrise silhouettes Cascadia." The poem then unfolds from there. Another example of that was the poem that starts "We hid in the root cellar when the big winds came" I have no idea where that came from but before the day was done there was a complete story behind it. At other times I start with a theme and then build a poem around it testing lines until I have said what I feel compelled to say.
What do you when you begin to revise? What's the first thing you do during that process? A: Revision is a demon from the eighth circle of hell. If you allow it to get a hold of your poem it will never let go so I try very hard to do as much as possible to finish a poem to my satisfaction the first time. When I write I am very conscious about structure, rhythm and sound. I may start out the first draft on paper if I am not near my word processor but then when I can, I go to the computer and start moving things around looking for that balance between the three. I knead the words like bread dough until they begin to rise on the page. I also read them out loud first to myself and then to my wife, my kids or even the cat. Not for their benefit but for mine. I think you read and see things differently when you are performing a poem instead of reading one. I find a lot of my mistakes that way.
When revising, how many drafts do you go through before you feel comfortable with the final
product? A: As few as possible. Once I declare a poem finished I like to set it down for a few days so I can have "fresh eyes" on it then I do a read through. Rarely I change more than a word here or there. Mostly I tinker with punctuation and spacing on the page. Then I walk away as quickly as I can.
What poets are you "borrowing" from, or riffing from these days? Do you hear these "voices" as you revise or write? A: I hear voices a great deal of the time but they are not anyone I recognize. Just audible thoughts and whispers in the dark recesses of my mind. As for poets William S Burroughs inspires me as does Shakespeare. Listening to Gertrude Stein taught me a few things as well.
Where does your inspiration come from (music, film, other books)? A: Pretty much life inspires me. Hopes, dreams, experiences, life changing events. We write what we know and what we have seen, only the scenery changes to suit our ennui.
Explain how your local and regional environment influences your writing, your process, and your product (in other words, how does your reality intersect with the worlds that you create?): A: Mainly I use it to gather inspiration. If I were still living in the Appalachia region instead of Cascadia then I would have written "Sunrise silhouettes Appalachia" and gone on to describe that scene. Living outside of Portland I find I write a lot of poems about rain.
What's your literary guilty pleasure (sci-fi, 50 Shades, westerns, etc)? A: I used to read a lot of Earle Stanley Gardener, Perry Mason pulp fiction but lately I am too busy writing to read much except other peoples manuscripts in progress.
You have to invite three authors to dinner, who are they? Why? A: They are all dead so It would not be much in the way of dinner conversation but here goes. William S Burroughs because I absolutely love his voice. He had a delivery like none other I have ever heard. Oh that drawl. Kurt Vonnegut so I could talk style with him and Aldous Huxley because of his dust dry wit.
Favorite title (you wish you had come up with): A: Sweet Thursday (Steinbeck)
Line you wish you wrote: A: "He was a sad poison nice guy more poison than nice." (Burroughs)
Book you did not read in high school but now have read and have an appreciation for: And why: A:The Old Man and the Sea; Hemingway used such simple language and it is more like a novella than a novel in length by today's standards yet he said so much. The book is rich in imagery and feeling. Poetic prose to my mind.
Favorite words: A: Splarg and Glarbnaster are my favorite words right now. You wont find them in a dictionary so don't bother.
Least favorite words: A: Conformity and Surrender
Advice you would like to pass on to other writers: A: Pretty simple, Don't be afraid to suck. When I go back and look at some of my early writing I cringe but I never would have reached the point I am at if I had been afraid to try. That's how we get better. Very few people write their best stuff right out of the chute. It takes time and practice and courage so get out there and do it.
Beatles or the Stones? Elvis or Cash? A: Beatles yes, Stones not so much. As for Elvis and Cash. Who knows where Elvis would have wound up if he hadn't gotten ruined by his manager. He had excellent musical tastes and could really act, though he was never give the chance to do serious roles. I also love Cash. That power of that voice could cut through steel and I have yet to hear something of his I don't like. I call that one a tie.
What you would discuss with your pet if your pet could talk: A: My cat and I talk every day. Animals all communicate much more than most people give them credit for. Poster Nutbag tells me what he wants and what he needs. He tells me when he is happy, bored or super pissed off at me. He also knows when I am upset or ill or lonely. I do wonder if he sees ghosts.
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