How do you see your work? I couldnt do without it! Its like bread or water, or something absolutely essential to me. I find myself absolutely fulfilled when Ive written a poem or when Im writing one. Having written one you fall away rapidly from being a poet to being a poet at rest, which is hardly the same thing at all. But the actual experience of writing a poem is a magnificent one. Thematically, I dont dig genres, and I feel a little cautious about classifying my poems. I guess theyre pretty dark and intense, which probably owes a debt to the poetry I enjoy reading. I think my poems come immediately out of my sensuous and emotional experiences, and as such are really personal. As far as things that are characteristic of my poetry, I like to use a lot of emotive language and extravagant real and metaphorical imagery. I guess that something I do quite well which I admire in other people is simply looking at things in different ways, for example, in Love Poem no.2, nurses as moths, and smiles as hooks. Do you prefer clarity or ambiguity in a poem, and why do you see this as important? Theyre both important I guess, and a poem with elements of only one would make for difficult reading. It's a question of taste as to which you prefer
Certain poems, ones that are overtly political or whatever, require a lot of clarity, but I dont like hat-throwing, flag-waving poems, and I dont like being preached to, so Id have to say the latter. I like to wallow a bit. A little ambiguity gives the poem scope, and I wouldnt like anyone whos reading the poem to feel like his or her intelligence is being insulted. What would you say are a couple of your greatest achievements as a poet? I recently was runner-up in the UCE Poetry Prize with Love Poem no.2, which was judged by the Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion, who also presented the awards. Love Poem no.2 Stasis of emptiness. Sterile. Sterile.
The nurses flit across this cold white abyss
Like so many moths. What is that? A smile?
Or the subtle crook that hangs from your lips
To pull me in? I can never decide.
Do you really think youll just wash me free
Of my loving persuasions with some slight
Of hand, some stitches, forever absolve me?
Well I never asked for a priest. Or for
This snickering, Kit-Kat crunching crowd to
Come and paint me the lurid spectrum of a
Victory parade. I just wanted to
Stain the precious ivory with crimson,
Daze, and in my silence be forgiven. PAUL HORN 6/11/03 My another achievement of note was at the last gig The Trauma played, where after we had played, one young woman told me that listening to the lyrics of Sofia had brought tears to her eyes. Normally Im not happy to make girls cry, but I must admit I was proud to have created that degree of empathy. Many students find poetry meaningless and boring. How would you respond to this and explain what you think poetry is and why it is interesting? Firstly, I guess that it would be naïve of me to say that poetry is for everyone, because it isnt. A feeling that it is difficult, effeminate, or simply irrelevant puts off some people. Its partly this sort of stigma that stops some people getting poetry I think. Ive certainly got some strange looks on the bus, reading my Sylvia Plath anthology. Really I can only speak about poetry from my own perspective: as a reader, the poetry I like to read is an expression of the most intimate and intense feelings, and therefore a completely compelling insight for a voyeur like me; as a writer it provides me with an outlet for emotional experiences I wouldnt otherwise be able to communicate. I suppose another reason some students may find alien is because of the medium itself. To want to read poetry, let alone write it is just plain weird to a lot of people. This is partly why I think music is a suitable medium for verse. Arent the best songs the ones you hear and think, "thats about me"? Its often the same with poetry, and it is this quality that makes some modern songwriters poets in their own right, and I certainly aspire to use it. Any advice to a young poet? Choose your heroes wisely, stick to form, and dont be afraid to say what you want to say. Click here to return to the previous page http://www.freewebs.com/the-trauma
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