Name some writers who have affected you and how they have affected you.
Charles Simic. I adore how Simic, through his sly and small observations, is able to construct an entire world from the dross of this one. He is the Joseph Cornell of contemporary poetry. I also always admire his ability to conflate the great and the small, the philosophical and the absurd.
William Stafford’s plain speech.
Do you read more poetry or Fiction?
Definitely poetry. There is so much more opportunity in poetry for risk taking with regard to style. There are more creative moves that can be made. To me, fiction is generally constrained by plot, and that makes it always seem like a bit of a contrivance. The story must always move on, you know. I get this same feeling when I’m watching films made for mass audience. “Pace” always seems foremost in the director’s mind.
When did you first realize that you wanted to write creatively?
When I found myself reading poetry books (Ashbery, Edson) instead of the protocol for Southern blots during the job I had at a molecular genetics research lab.
How do your experiences impact your writing?
Very tangentially. Most of the time I feel my life doesn’t have the authority to call attention to itself. When an “I” appears, it is often a persona. However, as I get older, I feel more compelled to say it straighter.
What was the last book you finished?
Did you like it?
Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire. I found Pollan’s idea of the domestication of plants (and their subsequent domestication of us) to be a story as equally important as the reverence held for “the idyllic wild” in nature and our projection upon that wilderness, which has generally been the tradition in American nature writing since Thoreau.
How often, and where do you write?
Because I have two boys, ages 2 and 4, I usually end up writing at night when there is complete silence. This works much better for me than early in the morning. The entire day is stretched out behind me.
Do you have any big writing projects
planned for the future?
I’m interested in writing a series of pieces reflecting natural histories that are alternatives to the generally-held view of how life evolved on earth.
I’m also interested in writing a series of pieces where I anthropomorphize flowers, trees and bushes.
My translation projects include the early poems of JosŽ Saramago and the mature works of Friederike Mayršcker.
Tim Kahl‘s work is in Midnight Mind Number Four.
