Monday, May 02, 2005

interview ques for:

wordwoman:
1) do you believe in heaven and hell?
2) where did you grow up and how has that affected your socialization skills?
3) what do you do for a living -- how different is that from what you dreamt of being?
4) what is your biggest pet peeve?
5) name your biggest crush & where are they now?

que:
1) if you could come back in a different era, when and why?
2) the worst poem you ever read/heard & why?
3) top 3 rules you want your daughter to abide by?
4) what are the best and worst things about St. Louis?
5) do you believe in the death penalty?

scatterbrane:
1) what insires you to write?
2) what do you look for in a mate?
3) what is your dream career?
4) who is sun tzu?
5) if you were a woman, what would you fear the most?

know13:
1) what is your biggest fear?
2) who is your favorite writer/poet and why?
3) what is the best revenge?
4) what is more important to you as woman and why?
5) how can a man impress you?

amanda:
1) if you could do anything over again, what would it be?
2) what would you tell r.kelly if you had him tied up in a room?
3) what is your worst characteristic?
4) what writer/poet would you say your style came from?
5) when did you know you were in love with your husband?


rich:
1) what is the mission statement of acentos and how is that important to the poetry community as a whole?
2) what would you consider the body of poetry?
3) when do you know you are in love?
4) if you could marry a poet (dead or alive) which one would it be & why?
5) how do you let go?

4 comments:

my coffee is always said...

1. I have two. Dying alone. It's the fear of the unknown, not knowing what to expect, the idea that another's presence will bring comfort and ease the anxiety. I believes it ties into number two: Letting go. I love the illusion of "control" some how it's comforting and allows me to sleep at night.
2. Zora Neale Hurston. Her use of our "language" , fiercely independent, her relationship/friendship with Langston Hughes (my friendship with B-Fran aka Langston)and other writers during the Harlem Renaissance (Neo-Soul Family and never meeting a poet stranger), she and I have had similair experiences with cars and cash flow, as well as the fact that she was one of the original touring poet-writers.....
3. Doing well....
4. Sisterhood. I work hard on not being the type of sister who sizes other women up as potential threats. I was taught to be comfortable with the type of woman I've become. (I'm the cute girl next door who could beat the boys running down the block, throw a ball harder then the boys, was his friend and confidant before anything else, and in the end, let him feel good about who he really was without the pomp and cicumstance.) I'm don't strive to fit in the other categories, I love my locks, short nails, blue jeans and strange t-shirts. I won't be rockin any nails and weave anytime soon. I do me all to well.
5. Cry for no other reason other then to cleanse his soul..

Amanda Johnston said...

amanda:
1) if you could do anything over again, what would it be?
High School. I dropped out after the tenth grade and had my luv my Zayna at 17. I wouldn’t trade her for the world but I gave up on me back then. Now I know I could have had her and kept myself, too.

2) what would you tell r.kelly if you had him tied up in a room?
If wouldn’t say anything. I would slowly pour gallons of urin on him to the sound of all his money burning on an open flame. Take that Pide Asshole!

3) what is your worst characteristic?
Low Selfesteem. No matter how others try to encourage me I’m never good enough for myself. Sometimes I foolishly puff out my chest and strut to hide it. Warning world -if you see me doing this it’s not ego – I’m probably on the verge of tears.

4) what writer/poet would you say your style came from?
I am extreamly influenced by my home family – The Affrilachian Poets. We include Frank X Walker, Nikky Finney, Crystal Wilkinson, Kelly Ellis, Ricardo Nazario-Colon, Bernard Clay, Mitchell Douglas, Parneshia Jones, Shayla Lawson, Bianca Spriggs and several others. I’m still a baby to poetry, the last four years or so, and these people scooped me up and showed me the light at the end of the pen.

5) when did you know you were in love with your husband?
Dancing on the roof of the Flamingo Cantina in Austin, Texas. He spun me out once then pulled me back into his arms and never let go. We got married three months later and just we just celebrated five years in March.

Rich Villar said...

1) what is the mission statement of acentos and how is that important to the poetry community as a whole?

"Acentos provides a renewed spotlight for Latino poetry in a venue that fosters an encouraging atmosphere for writers of diverse backgrounds and experience, in a setting that stimulates both open dialogue and an increased sense of community in the culturally
resurgent South Bronx."

That's our mission statement. Its importance is twofold:

Showcasing Latino writers is one small way of recognizing that we belong to a much larger canon than many of us have been taught. We take cues from Mistral, de Burgos, Lorca, Neruda, etc...just as much as we do from the masters like Yeats, Whitman, the Beats, etc.

Secondly, Acentos very simply provides a spot to showcase new and untried work in a space that will welcome you like family. For the Latinos among us, it means we are able to drop that bilingual piece and not have to wait for the translation. For everyone else, it means getting out the kinks in your work in a setting that fosters poetic experimentation. Being in Mott Haven is a very special thing too...right now it is definitely in its formative years, but it is quickly gaining a reputation as the new Williamsburg, so to speak.

2) what would you consider the body of poetry?

If you trace the etymology of the word "poetry", you run into a Sanskrit root word indicating gathering, in the sense of heaping up or piling up. I think it's nice to think of the body of poetry as those of us who are actively engaged in the act of gathering: namely, artists of all stripe seeking truth and beauty and gathering it into herself/himself.

3) when do you know you are in love?

When I write about her, unashamed.

4) if you could marry a poet (dead or alive) which one would it be & why?

I would probably end up marrying Sylvia Plath, because I always fall for women with issues. Plus her poetry is amazing, as were her journals, and nothing turns me on like intelligence.

5) how do you let go?

Well. I don't, really. I think it's an illusion to think that the stuff in your life just goes away. You incorporate all your experiences into a paradigm for living and surviving. I guess I let go when I say "fuck it" and go hide from the world (which I have been known to do from time to time).

Raquita said...

1) if you could come back in a different era, when and why?

I would come back at the beginning of the civil rights movement so maybe I could learn better about the struggle, understand the motivation better. Figure out why the leaders were so much stronger louder and more visible than the black leaders we have now. I would love to be strong enough to say comeback into the slavery era but I know I am not that strong. I read slave narratives when I think I may have forgotten what I can never really know.
2) the worst poem you ever read/heard & why?

That's a trick question - there is this spoken word artist on our scene name Paid tha Paid. He is so bad - he had a really good moment every once in a blue moon but for the most part its just bad poetry. But he loves it so much, works so hard at it, that I have to admire that, even when the poems suck.

3) top 3 rules you want your daughter to abide by?

a.Always love yourself as hard and as strong as you love anyone else.
b. Face your fears, they may not go away but you can win daily battles with them.
c.live by your rules - not anyone else’s (except maybe these from mommy)

4) what are the best and worst things about St. Louis?
BEST - St Louis is a diverse city. That's its best feature. My daughter has people of all colors and nationalities who love her and look out for her. She has eaten more types of food in her 11 months than I had before I went to college. She is exposed to Poets, business people, teachers, every type of person and I think that is the best thing st Louis has for our family.

WORST - the segregation of the city. THE same diversity that I applaud in the above post is only apparent if you seek it. My fiancée and I have a diverse group of friends, and we live in a very diverse area, but these are few and far between. There is the Italian neighborhood, the Bosnian neighborhood, the African neighborhood, African American, rich white neighborhoods poor white areas, Everything is so sectioned.

5) do you believe in the death penalty?

I understand why people do, I can sympathize, and know if some one was to harm my child I would want their life. But it is not my place to take it, to even ask for it. People have told me I must because I am pro choice, but what I believe is right for all of society may not be what is right for me. So no. Judgment is not mine to make. I have my place and I try hard not know where that is, even when tested