Where and when were you born?
I was born in Paisley, near
Glasgow, Scotland on 29th May 1962.
Could you tell us something about your background?
My father is Canadian, but of
Russian-Jewish stock. My mother is
Scottish. They were both the first
generation of their families to enjoy tertiary education, so I guess you could
call them working-class-made-good.
Were either of your parents or grandparents (or any other relatives) writers? If not, were any of your relatives actively interested in literature?
Both my parents were good at making up stories when we were kids. My father's speciality was "Roberta, Robina and Robert" and my mother's was "Jezebel The Haggis Eating Fairy". At one point my mother wrote her stories down, with a view to publication, but she did not pursue it after receiving one rejection. For the last ten years or so she has been working, on and off, on some travel memoirs.
Having my head filled with stories at bed-time probably planted a seed in me at an age when I was very impressionable; and retrospectively, it seems like it was almost inevitable that I should end up following the course that I have.
Are any of your siblings
writers or involved in a creative profession?
My brother, Jonathan, is a sculptor. My sister, Sasha, trained as a painter. My other sister, Kaela, is a singer-songwriter. They are all fantastically creative individuals.
What was the first poem (or who was the first poet) that turned you on to poetry?
The first poem that ever clicked for me went something like this: "When I was young I had no sense/ I bought a fiddle for seventeen pence/ And the only tune that I could play/ Was 'Over The Hills And Far Away'". I've no idea who wrote it.
What age were you when you first began writing poetry, and did you receive any encouragement?
From about the age of nine, every year I would dutifully pen a poem, with a view to having it published in the school magazine: an ambition I finally realised at the age of fourteen. I started writing poetry semi-seriously at the age of seventeen, after winning the school poetry competition. The only encouragement I received was from my English teacher, Maurice Cox.
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?
When I was in my late teens I
harboured fantasies that I would one day be hailed as the late 20th
Century's equivalent of T.S. Eliot. I
was wise enough to keep quiet about such lofty ambitions, though I did once
confide in my father that I wanted to be a poet, to which he wisely responded
that poetry wouldn't pay the bills.
Did you ever get a poem published in your school magazine? (If so, please tell us the title and the year of publication).
My poem, "What Is A Teacher?" was published in the Lochaber High School magazine in 1977. With lines like "A teacher has a mouth but no ears" it caused a bit of a stir in the staff-room.
Did you go to university, and
if so, which subject(s) did you study?
I went to Edinburgh Art College when I was 24, as a "mature" student. I specialised in Sculpture.
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?)
I started submitting my work to poetry magazines in the mid-1980s. I don't know how many rejections I received before getting my first acceptance, but later on I started keeping records of my submissions and I was averaging about one acceptance for every ten rejections. And yes, I did find it off-putting, but it didn't put me off. I persevered regardless. I think you have to.
What was the worst rejection you ever received?
The worst one I received was in the guise of "constructive criticism", where the editor of the magazine virtually re-wrote my entire poem, which irritated the crap out of me. A polite "no thank you" would have sufficed.
What was your first published poem? Which poetry magazine published it? And what year was it published?
My first published poem was "The Call", which my friend, Jay Ramsay, published in a compendium like magazine called "The Third Eye: The Psychic Issue" in 1983.
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?
The first poet I really respected was Edwin Morgan, who I studied for my O' Grade English exam. Shortly after that I discovered Sylvia Plath and T.S. Eliot; and both of them turned my head, each in their own individual way. Truth be told though, I was much more influenced by the likes of Jim Morrison, Patti Smith, Syd Barrett, Mark E Smith, Laurie Anderson and Nick Cave than I ever was by any mere poet.
Have you ever attended a creative writing course or been involved in a writers' group? If so, did you find it useful?
When I lived in London, I briefly joined The Tooting Bec Poets. It was a soul-destroying experience, and nearly put me off poetry for life.
When did you put together your first collection of poetry?
I self-published a pamphlet of poetry in 1981, under a pseudonym, but I'm not going to tell you its title, just in case there are any copies still in existence. I didn't attempt to put another collection together until the mid-1990s.
How long did it take to get it accepted for publication? And, if appropriate, how many times was it rejected?
The collection, which was called "The Bad Seed", was sent to Stride Publications in the Spring of 1996. They were the first publisher I sent it to, and to my great surprise, they accepted it.
How long did you have to wait
between acceptance and final publication?
If I remember rightly, they accepted it round July 1996; and it was finally published in March 1998. It was nearly two years I had to wait, which seemed like a lifetime... and there was always the fairly realistic fear that the publisher would go belly up before my book saw the light of day.
What sort of critical response
did you receive?
It got slated in Chapman and Envoi and got a favourable review from K.M. Dersley in Tears In The Fence.
Would you say that your
publisher actively promoted the book?
Stride were actually pretty good at promoting it. They also managed to get it distributed round bookshops, which is something of an achievement for a small press publisher.
Did you do readings and signings at bookshops to help promote the book?
No. I do not like reading in public. The last time I did so was at The Troubadour Cafe in Earl's Court, London, back in 1980.
How many copies of the book
sold?
The book was printed in an edition of 300 or 400. I suspect it was probably only 300. It sold out in about four years and was never re-printed, though I still have about fifteen or so copies in a box stored at my dad's place.
Is it still in print?
Aside from those fifteen copies, 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 think I've blown a good few hundred quid on poetry competitions over the years, with fuck all in the way of returns. The nearest to success was being informed that I made the final 20 in one competition. I haven't entered a poetry competition in many years now, having finally come to term with the fact that my poetry is not the sort of stuff that will ever win a competition. When I feel like gambling now I buy lottery tickets... and sometimes, I even win the odd £10.
Which of your poetry books has been the most successful in terms of sales, and how many copies has it sold to date?
I've only published two books of poetry to date. 'The Bad Seed' sold about 300-400 copies. My more recent collection, 'Dropping Ecstasy With The Angels' hasn't yet sold that many, though it might one day.
Have you won any awards for
your poetry?
My collection, 'Dropping Ecstasy With The Angels' picked up The Poetry Kit's Readers Choice Award in 2005. It was shortlisted for a number of other awards and even nominated for a Saltire Award.
Do you make a living out of
poetry?
You've got to be joking! Who wrote these questions anyway???
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?
I make a lot more money out of
my artwork than I ever have out of my poetry, but even that is still a far cry
from a "living". I've done
all sorts of things to earn my bread and butter, everything from gutting fish
to working as a props man for film and television. Currently, I am living off of funds raised from selling my flat,
but that is necessarily a temporary state of affairs.
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?
I don't think I ever really pursued a 'dream of being a poet'. Right from the outset I questioned the value of poetry; and therefore could not dedicate myself to it with any real conviction. My path, as a poet, has been faltering and wavering. I am truly a Doubting Thomas: one that the Peters and Pauls of the Poetry World would see as a heretic; and yet, poetry still has me in its thrall. If could wind back the clock would I change anything? Well, maybe... I think I would persevere some more with learning to play the guitar, because musicians have so much more fun than poets.
If a young would-be poet approached you, which poets would you recommend as vital reading?
I would suggest that they read a huge variety of poetry, and especially that they read poets who come from other countries and cultures. A good starting place would be here
Which poetry magazines would
you recommend him or her to subscribe to?
Most of the poetry magazines that I liked are dead and gone now, like Terrible Work and Ramraid Extraordinaire. They published a few issues and then bit the dust. The ones that survive much longer than that are usually propped up by Arts Council grants and have a tendency to be bloated, middle-of-the-road and way too mainstream for my liking. Of the more established/ establishment magazines I would suggest Acumen, Tears In The Fence and Orbis as they are expansive enough to occasionally incorporate poets like me.
Assuming that this would-be poet showed some promise, would you advise him or her to pursue a "career" in poetry?
Unless they showed some real genius I would do my level best to persuade them to concentrate their energies elsewhere..., seriously!
If so, what further advice
would you give him or her?
Assuming I ever did meet a young, genius, would-be poet, I would recommend that they listen only to their own true voice; that they write, write, write; and that they are never deterred or swayed by the opinions of editors, publishers or critics.
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?
What a fantastic idea for a reality TV show! I think I may have to pitch it to Endemol TV!!! But seriously, what could be duller than "Desert Island Poets" aside from maybe "Desert Island Accountants"? It's never going to happen, is it? But even supposing it did and I was invited to participate, the answer would be NO, despite all the tempting carrots being metaphorically dangled in front of me. Having worked on the other side of the camera I'm only too aware of how "reality" can be distorted in the edit suite. The only way you'd get me on such a show would be at gunpoint! Should the hypothetical producers ever resort to such desperate measures I would chose the following books: "The Women's Encyclopaedia Of Myths And Secrets", "A Course In Miracles" and probably "The Encyclopaedia Britannica" or maybe Jamie Oliver's "Desert Island Cookbook".
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