Where and when were you born?
I was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada during
the last Ice Age.
Could you tell us something about your background?
Father was born in England and worked as a draughtsman. Mother was born in Ireland and was a housewife.
Were either of your parents or grandparents (or any other relatives) writers? If not, were any of your relatives actively interested in literature?
One grandfather wrote for a newspaper in Ireland and an uncle wrote for the CBC News desk and also wrote a historical biography which was published in Canada.
Are any of your siblings writers or involved in a
creative profession?
My youngest brother authored a series of books on Canada.
What was the first poem (or who was the first poet) that turned you on to poetry?
Mother Goose, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Lewis Carroll, etc., etc.
What age were you when you first began writing poetry,
and did you receive any
encouragement?
I was 10 and received no encouragement whatsoever.
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?
In school we didn’t write poetry, we studied it.
Did you go to university, and if so, which subject(s) did
you study?
After graduating from high school I studied Commercial Art.
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?)
Around 1985, and while I received (and still do) my share of rejections, I did get early acceptances, which was encouraging.
What was the worst rejection you ever received?
I have mercifully forgotten.
What was your first published poem? Which poetry magazine published it? And what year was it published?
Illusions
published by Broken Streets (USA) 1985.
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?
No one in particular. I’ve always read voraciously and probably too indiscriminately.
Have you ever attended a creative writing course or been involved in a writers' group? If so, did you find it useful?
I have taken several courses and have belonged to many groups, and have found them all useful. I presently belong to Back Room Poets in Oxford.
When did you put together your first collection of
poetry?
After being fortunate enough to have Pack Rat (a chapbook) published in 1992, I started putting a collection together with the working title Firewater.
How long did it take to get it accepted for publication? And, if appropriate, how many times was it rejected?
Firewater was
accepted in 1993 by Ekstasis Editions, Canada; the second publisher I sent it
to. It was published in 1994.
How long did you have to wait between acceptance and
final publication?
Approximately a year.
What sort of critical response did you receive?
I’m afraid I’ve never seen any reviews.
Would you say that your publisher actively promoted the
book?
No, but by then I was in England and not readily available.
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?
I took books to readings and sold them myself.
How many copies of the book sold?
In total? I don’t know.
Is it still in print?
Not likely.
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 entered a few - still do occasionally with the occasional success but, unless it’s a major competition I don’t believe it helps or hinders your reputation.
Which of your poetry books has been the most successful in terms of sales, and how many copies has it sold to date?
Haven’t a clue.
Have you won any awards for your poetry?
Shaunt Basmajian Chapbook Award 2002 and 2004.
Do you make a living out of poetry?
You’re kidding!
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?
Yes. No.
If a young would-be poet approached you, which poets would you recommend as vital reading?
Read who and what you love the most.
Which poetry magazines would you recommend him or her to
subscribe to?
There are a lot of good magazines out there. Sample as many as you can and subscribe to all the “best” ones you can afford, i.e. the ones that publish ‘your’ kind of poetry.
Assuming that this would-be poet showed some promise, would you advise him or her to pursue a "career" in poetry?
I would suggest they consider poetry as an avocation, not a vocation.
If so, what further advice would you give him or her?
Read. Read. Read.
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?
All things considered, I probably would. As for books: the best encyclopaedic dictionary I could find; a comprehensive thesaurus; the largest and most inclusive anthology of modern poetry available.
See: K.V. Skene's Publications List
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