"I do love humor in poetry…"

Bookslut’s got a hugely interesting interview between Matt Rohrer by Ruth Tobias. It makes me want to meet him. I remember not being outrageously impressed with Rise Up, but I feel like I should take another look. He put out A Plate of Chicken in 2009, which is much more formally technical book and worth a look, and his newest, Destroyer and Preserver, comes out next spring.

In the interview, he names Creedence as his poetry’s soundtrack and responds to the “where do you see politics in your poetry,” question with, “Uh, yikes.” And says more charming things like:

“Nothing is more boring, because nothing is risked.”

“Well I love trees. And I think nature is great. Hooray for nature.”

“I always wish a poem were as emotionally direct and powerful as a rock and roll song… Lyrically, rock and roll doesn’t have to be anything special — it’s the emotion that the music imparts to the song that takes everything to the new level. Which is why I get so tired of hearing those conversations about POETRY and LYRICS, or WHY BOB DYLAN IS (or isn’t) A POET, and blah blah blah.” (This one hit me right in the heart like a high-five.)