What drew you to submit to RED SKIES?
I came across the call for submissions on Twitter, and I started to think about the poems I've written about this year - events, my thoughts, the world, you know, everything. I was admittedly a little hesitant at first because I wanted to avoid turning 2020 into a cliché, because we're all experiencing the same awful stretch of history, and I also know that I am unusually privileged in that I'm healthy overall and I get to work from home. But the more I thought about it, I realized that no matter what your experience of 2020 was, the whole world just kind of lurched for a second - it either froze, or it launched you into peril. But everyone experienced something.
How have you spent the year 2020?
As a writer, I submitted more poems than ever before in 2020, partly I think because I felt compelled to "do something with this time." I started working on a chapbook that goes through the 22 trumps of the tarot, and I also got to record a poem on a friend's album, coming out in 2021. As a human, I got into horror movies and YouTube yoga.
You are our first contributor who performs work with music groups. What led you to mix your writing with music, and what is it like to perform in front of a live audience in contrast to submitting to a magazine and having it read privately?
It felt like a totally natural transition. My partner and lots of our close friends are professional musicians, so I feel like they've been a constant influence from day one. The musicians I work with are largely improvisers, so I feel like after living and learning and growing with them for so long, we all sort of internalized each others' artistic sensibilities. We started doing some improvised shows, and soon enough we were writing pieces to play together.
Performing is, like, the ultimate poetry experience for me, ha. I'm an ex-theater-kid, and I've definitely always had a dramatic flair, so being able to bring an audience with me while I'm telling them a story, or while one of the musicians is soloing, or whatever, to me it feels like more of a fleeting, precious experience than a written poem. And written poetry, I think, can take someone on a more timeless, archival journey from the privacy of the page, which is no less valuable. Plus, there's the added thrill of working with improvisers - you literally don't know how it's going to sound until you start reading/playing! Which I think is a lot of fun.
How do you balance your work as a managing editor at Rejection Letters with your creative side?
Rejection Letters definitely feeds my creative work. My favorite thing is the sheer amount of work that I get to read before it's published - particularly short stories and creative nonfiction, because I mostly concern myself with poetry. The amount of trust a writer needs to have to pour such intimate details of their lives into their art is something I envy, and I am honored that so many trust us with their work and experiences.
Who are your favorite writers and artists?
I owe everything to Philly's cultural scene as well as my Twitter community (see below). In particular, I really admire and am influenced by my downstairs neighbor Sekai'afua Zankel, a poet/artist/activist with whom I've been fortunate enough to work on submissions and copyediting. Her new chapbook, What I Heard, just came out from Moonstone Arts, and it's a force to be reckoned with. I am endlessly inspired by the occult poet CA Conrad - another Philly icon - and the jazz poetry of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Amiri Baraka.
Is community important to your work? Are there any small presses or magazines that you are especially fond of?
Yes! I feel like this year I really discovered the Twitter writing community, and all of the wonderful mags and presses that turn its wheels. I'm particularly fond of Twin Pies, Giallo Lit, Perhappened, blood orange, and I'm really interested to see what comes out of Wrongdoing Magazine.