Where and when were you born?
I was born in Lafayette, Indiana, USA in 1951.
Could you tell us something about your background?
My mom was a housewife until after the divorce when she
worked for a while in the insurance industry.
My dad started out as an electrical engineer, then became a lawyer and
finally ended up in real estate development, building numerous
commercial/business parks, strip malls and large housing developments. They are both retired at this point. As for me, I’m still working on a degree
from the School of Hard Knocks. I
briefly went to college but never graduated.
I’m a literary stumblebum.
I’ve been on my own since 1969, ricocheting through life
like it was some crazy Pachinko machine.
I’m a poster-child for the DIY lifestyle: having been my own boss for
most of my adult life, living by my wits and learning my lessons the hard way,
by trial and error.
I’ve never been married, have no children, drive a used
car, never owned a house, never been outside the US (except for a few brief
incursions into Canada and Mexico – but soon that won’t even be possible thanks
to King George).
I’m just one of the minions, with one exception, I have
touched people via my writing all over the world.
Were either of your parents or grandparents (or any other relatives) writers? If not, were any of your relatives actively interested in literature?
To my knowledge, none of my relatives were writers. They probably all read, but beyond that, I have no idea.
Are any of your siblings writers or involved in a
creative profession?
My sister, Caren Armstrong, is widely recognized in the “folk” scene. She is a singer/songwriter. She doesn’t make a living from it but her career as a travelling bard makes life worth living.
What was the first poem (or who was the first poet) that turned you on to poetry?
Longfellow’s “Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” was the first poem I can recall and Charles Bukowski was the first poet – tho at that point (1969) he was mostly know to me as the “dirty old man” (writing for Open City and the L. A. Free Press).
What age were you when you first began writing poetry, and did you receive any encouragement?
I was in high school, so maybe I was sixteen. I wrote a poem about the Czech Revolution entitled something like “While Freedom Cried Jan Palach Died” (Palach was a student protester I think, who was killed by the Soviets). I can’t recall getting much encouragement at the time. But these were stormy times and unless you were a jock, encouragement was something you heard about, but never heard.
When you started writing poetry did you have dreams about becoming a "professional" poet? If so, did anyone advise you against this course of action?
No.
Did you ever get a poem published in your school
magazine?
Man, it was so long ago…I do remember that there was a poetry collection put out by somebody from my HS but I can’t recall the name of it. I believe that the poem I previously mentioned was in it, and possibly another poem of mine, but I’m not sure. It was 1969, after all. The mimeo revolution was in full swing, but I knew nothing of it, save for the small “underground” newspaper I put out, and that had nothing to do with poetry.
Did you go to university?
No.
When did you first start submitting to poetry magazines? And can you tell us how many rejections you received before having something accepted for publication? (And if you received many rejections, was this off-putting?)
By the time I started submitting to magazines I was in my
early forties. I’d been rejected so
many times (in other fields of study) that it didn’t ever bother me to be
rejected by some editor…they are usually so polite. It got to the point that I created a SAS-post card with a number
of check-off boxes to mark as the reason for rejection. One said something like “we really love your
work but it’s not consistent with the theme of our next issue” and then the
next box down read something like, “pack your bags because we’ve informed the
poetry police and they’re coming to get you.”
It was all very tongue-in-cheek.
You’d be surprised how many editors didn’t get the joke.
I was relatively lucky I guess, I got as many acceptances
as rejections (a much better ratio than in the other areas of interest I
mentioned). I also started publishing
my own work, so I could control how it was presented and eventually began a
magazine for the same purpose, tho it blossomed into so much more in later
years.
What was the worst rejection you ever received?
What was your first published poem? Which poetry magazine published it? And what year was it published?
I believe my first published poem appeared in Random
Lengths (a bi-weekly newspaper in San Pedro, CA), entitled “The Old Dog”. It was written as homage to the poet Charles
Bukowski who had been sick and was in his last months (tho I didn’t know it) on
earth. It was 1993, I believe. I had to include it as a letter to the
editor, since the paper didn’t publish poems.
However, my first poetry publication was in the rag,
Report to Hell, and the poem was “Pueblo de las Putas”. It was published in 1995.
Round about the time that you started seriously writing poetry, who were your literary heroes? And would you say they had an influence on your writing style?
Being unversed in literature as a whole, most of my initial influence came from Bukowski. I’ve read most of the books he has written and the influence of his “voice” has just sort of incubated in me for years and years. I had to find my own voice before my poetry made sense to me and it wasn’t until the early nineties that that began to happen. It had been a long hibernation (nearly twenty-five years). But when I woke up, I was hungry.
Have you ever attended a creative writing course or been involved in a writers' group? If so, did you find it useful?
I did run a “workshop” out of Angels Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro for about two years, but it was more of a support group for writers. I have never attended a workshop; too damned expensive and/or too damned awkward, time-wise. I heard a rather self-righteous poet declare once, “It’s not a poem until it’s been workshopped.” As someone who has been DIY most of my “career”, this sounded like a bunch of hooey!
When did you put together your first collection of poetry?
My first collection was a hand-stitched collection entitled “Unkissed by the Angels” and it was the first publication of the Lummox Press (my press). It was published in 1994 and is long since out of print. I took it to my first featured reading at Living Planet in Long Beach, CA.
How long did it take to get it accepted for publication? And, if appropriate, how many times was it rejected?
I beat all that BS by publishing it myself.
How long did you have to wait between acceptance and final
publication?
What sort of critical response did you receive?
Well, most everyone that saw it liked it. But it was never sent out for review, as I didn’t even know that that kind of thing was done. I knew I wasn’t going to get into the “major” mags in L. A. like Caffeine or Flipside (never did make it into any of the “established” mags), but thought I could continue to troll the back-waters of the “littles” (as Bukowski used to call them). That’s where I’ve had the most success.
Would you say that your publisher actively promoted the
book?
I did, yes.
Did you do readings and signings at bookshops to help promote the book? If so, did you organise these yourself, or were they organised by your publisher? And would you say that they had a significant effect on sales figures?
This doesn’t apply.
How many copies of the book sold?
Fifty or so.
Is it still in print?
No.
At the beginning of your writing career did you enter any poetry competitions? Did you enter a lot or just a few? Did you have any success? And, with hindsight, what are your thoughts about the relative merits or demerits of poetry competitions?
I have never entered a competition. Mostly because I don’t think it’s right to charge a reading fee.
Which of your poetry books has been the most successful in terms of sales, and how many copies has it sold to date?
My books bring me pocket money. If I sell enough to pay for some food and drink and maybe some gas money, I figure it’s been a good day. I’m not really into it, at this point, for the money. It’s not a commercial enterprise.
Have you won any awards for your poetry?
No.
Do you make a living out of poetry?
If not, do you make an adequate living through poetry related activities such as teaching creative writing workshops? Or do you have to supplement your income through unrelated activities?
Look, poetry is a supplement for my soul whilst I try to survive on this planet. I repair houses for my meal ticket. There is no safety net. Poetry is something I do to lessen the bitterness. It’s like gardening. It nurtures.
With the benefit of hindsight, are you glad that you pursued your dream of being a poet? Also, if you could turn the clock back, would you do anything different?
If a young would-be poet approached you, which poets would you recommend as vital reading?
It would depend on the sincerity of the would-be poet and his/her interests. I liked reading Bukowski, but he wasn’t the only influence. I’m aware of lots of poets that few have ever heard of, much less read.
Which poetry magazines would you recommend him or her to
subscribe to?
Can’t say. I’ve never really met a poet who would subscribe to a little mag. Some must, I’m sure, but the poets I know are a scurrilous and cheap crowd. Some would rather pay $5 for a pack of smokes than spend the same amount on a poetry book.
Assuming that this would-be poet showed some promise, would you advise him or her to pursue a "career" in poetry?
No. I don’t really know anybody who has made a career out of poetry. I know many poets who have “piggy-backed” poetry success onto a teaching career, but that’s about it. In my experience, poetry is something like an aperitif – it’s not a main course. Tho some might say (and I might agree) that it can make or break a good meal.
If so, what further advice would you give him or her?
Take care of your teeth and your asshole.
Finally (and extremely hypothetically), you are selected to appear on the hit reality TV show, "Desert Island Poets", where you are marooned on a tropical island for three months with a typewriter and several reams of paper. You are provided with all necessary provisions, but you are only allowed to take three books with you. Your appearance fee is more than you could hope to earn in a decade and the show is so popular that all previous participants have become best-selling poets. So, would you participate? And if so, which three books would you take with you?
Are you kidding? Of course I’d go, if for no other reason to escape the drudgery and noise of civilization! I’d take some light reading… The Collected Works of William Shakespeare, The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, and The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction.
See
R.D. Armstrong's Biography & Publication list
See
Lummox Press
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