Richard Fox

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WORD SONG INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD FOX

AT GEORGE AND WENDY’S , SANIBEL ISLAND, FLORIDA

BY GARY McLOUTH, January 19, 2016

Richard Fox come from Worcester, Massachusetts, the town where people are “provoked to write,” according to American poetry icon, Stanley Kunitz. I’m not really sure what that means, but when Richard tells me he’s “compelled to write,” and that Elizabeth Bishop and Frank O’Hara also hale from Worchester, I get it.

And, just to make sure I’m focused, Richard explains that Worcester is a hot-bed of poets in the blue-collar-SLAM tradition, compared to Boston where a lot of academic poets are “working hard to write obscurely.” I’m reminded of something someone said once about T.S. Eliot, but Richard brings me back. “I started as a page poet, but I’ve squarely been into performance poetry the past three years, the SLAM poets seek the page and the page poets seek the stage—we end up in a similar place.” We quickly discover our admiration of Joe Pacheco’s page to presentation ability is mutual.

I’ve read a few of Richard’s poems written about his Uncle Louie, a man Richard knew as a child knows an adult uncle. Lots of husk, little seed. Richard tells me that he likes to “smash archetypes,” and the way he does that with Uncle Louie poems is to recreate the Uncle Archetype. “Reverse Engineering,” he calls it. “You have a  chance meeting with someone. You don’t know them, so you fill in their life story with pieces of other people’s stories. That’s what I’m doing with Uncle Louie, recreating him with stories I’ve heard over the years from my family. Each one of them knew different things about Uncle Louie, or even things that would describe Uncle Louie.”

In the process, Richard finds out that his Uncle Louie and his cohorts pulled some rather outrageous pranks in their time, especially when drinking was involved. Passing off Ex-Lax as chocolate on unsuspecting relatives, was one. Pissing into the gas tank of a disliked neighbor’s car was another. He’s not sure what to do with these vignettes of cruel fun, and how Richard continues with the Uncle Louie Poems is anyone’s guess. “It’s like potato chips,” he says, “you can’t stop at one or two.”

We turn to personal writing trivia and shop talk cherished by most writers. Richard has been winning his battle with oral cancer and I’m assuming that his experience has taught him multitudes about overcoming writers block. “You know what the definition of writers block is,” he asks. I’m ready for explanations of gnomic influences on writing practices, diet supplements and their side-effects, the writer’s mother’s relationship with God…

“Lazy.”

Richard Fox began writing over 50 years ago, and he hasn’t really stopped. The only thing that can stop him from writing is himself, and that is not going to happen, certainly not as a result of writers block. “When what you are writing doesn’t seem to be working, it doesn’t mean you’ve got writers block. It means you’ve decided to quit on that piece at that point. Okay, go onto something else.”  Richard doesn’t mean to sound unsympathetic to those of us who feel stuck with a piece of writing, rather he believes that like an athlete on a long running course, the writer may have to change speeds, alter the pace, pause for breath but never give up writing.

“I’ve found that being part of writing groups is essential, being in the company of other writers, building editing skills on other writers’ work, applying those skills to your own [work]. One project may peter out, but you need to pick up another one. Writing is all kinds of things. Hemingway is said to have said that drafting is best done drunk and editing sober. Whatever works, I say.”

Richard joined GCWA recently, and claims that although he likes being in different places, SW Florida is feeling pretty good to him. “Life slows down; people listen to you here. I’m one of the younger poets, whereas up north, I’m seen as an older poet, a voice of experience.”

Dorothy Brooks

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WORD SONG interview with Dorothy Brooks at the McGregor Café, Fort Myers, Florida.

by Gary McLouth
October 22, 2016

“A poem is a small (or large) machine made of words.” William Carlos Williams

Dorothy Brooks hails from Atlanta, Georgia, and like many of us transplants, she had to make some adjustments. Instead of commuting from Atlanta to Lake Lanier for sail boating, Dorothy and her husband now step aboard from the dock behind their home. That kind of adjustment makes one feel like a genius, but what about a poet (wandering lonely as a cloud) looking for other poets? Dorothy was well aware of the solitary nature and often secluded life-style of poets. Sightings can be rare enough to try the soul.

A long time ago, I went to a writers group in Peace River… then, I heard about the Gulf Coast Writers Association. I remember entering the GCWA meeting place. Tables were set up by genre, and I spotted the Poet’s table. It was like a moth being drawn to a fire. Several people sat around the table, and a feeling of belonging washed over me. Poets, writing poetry! My tribe!

As members of different yacht clubs, we agreed that dinner conversation rarely touches on poetry. The name games don’t include poets. Okay, maybe Shakespeare.

I get bored with table talk about what other people have done, and when attention turns to the present, well, golf and grandchildren don’t hold much interest over the long haul. If I am asked what I do, now that I am retired, my enthusiastic responses about poetry are quickly deflected by statements like, “Oh, I should write a book, but who has the time?” and “You can’t make money writing,” and “Yes, but what do you actually do?”

Dorothy and I talked about types of poets.

I see a personal poet, one who writes strictly for one’s self, family, a few friends. No idea, or intentions of writing for a larger audience. Then, there’s the poet who writes for the public. This poet thinks about publishing; the poetry gets sent out to audiences beyond family and friends. That’s a poet who’s trying to make a connection with the world, so to speak. I guess I’m that kind of poet.

Dorothy writes “nature” poems because she loves experiencing the marshes, the barrier islands and the Gulf of Mexico waters, but poetry is more than the crafting of words to engage nature. Her teaching in the FSW Life Long Learning program in Punta Gorda, encourages her fellow poets to “look at this, witness!” not to politicize or demagogue but to become aware of how the language is used to describe and to express things.

I was a math major in college, a career IBM-er. This whole poetry adventure grew out of my waning interest in one and one equals two. The other side of my brain kicked in to fill the vacuum, and I’ve been reading and writing like crazy to catch up. I’m self-directed as far as English and writing are concerned. Workshops with poetry teachers and conferences attended and led by experts have guided my own writing teaching. There’s a lot of experimenting with other poets’ styles. Right now, I’m reading Laura Kaschicki and Sylvia Carbelo. 

I ask Dorothy what ‘catching up’ is all about. She stares me down for a moment, takes a careful sip of decaf. “You know what I mean.”

Getting back to personal and public poetry, I’m not saying that writing about personal feelings is forbidden in public poetry, quite the contrary. It’s in how those personal feelings are written about. There are rules and formulas for writing news stories, short stories, memoirs, novels, children’s stories and so on, but a poem can take many different forms, set its own rules even when following other rules. That’s why I love writing poetry. There’s always more to learn through writing poetry and from reading what’s in poetry.

Tim Jacobs

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Q: Tell us your story…

CIP-7-ZF-8518-56360-1-012Tim Jacobs:

I’ve been a member of the Gulf Coast Writers Association since 2004. When I first joined, the membership was still under 50 members and a “large” meeting was about 25 people showing up. The organization has come a long way over the past eleven years of my membership. I’m grateful that I got to be the speaker twice during that time and I have also given back by serving on the nominating committee for three years, and also held the positions of Program Director, Vice President, and President on the Executive Committee, and currently serve on the Corporate Board.
 
Each meeting I’ve always walked away with something, whether it be a new contact, a new lead, another story idea, or simply left the meeting with the inspiration to go home and write some more. I’ve made some great friendships and even some business partners.
 
What I truly love about GCWA is that when you’re at a meeting, everyone is on the same level. Everyone is there to help a fellow writer get to that next level in their writing. It’s a joy to be a part of the enthusiasm of other writers when they get published or win an award for their work.
 
Also the speaking guests and workshops over the years have been wonderful. Regardless of what kind of writing you do, or what stage you’re at, you get something from each speaker. The same goes for the Special Events that take place throughout the year.
 
With this group, the education of writing is a fun process!