INTERVIEW | By The Chapter & Verse Team  » Aspiring writers need to keep the faith, read and write a lot, and never lose faith, says award-winning Canadian poet John B. Lee.

The Toronto writer recently won the 2nd Annual Love Poem Contest, organized by poet Oneal Walters. His winning poem was titled In the Heat of the Sun and the Cool of the Moon, I Love. It describes a sexual moment with layered details that are soft and calm. 

A much-published and highly-respected poet, Lee says that for him, "poetry is a calling." 

 His interest in poetry began at an early age. "Much like other young people who aspire to achieve something similar to their great sports heroes, I wanted to become Dylan Thomas."

Excerpts from the interview:

How does it feel to win the 2nd Annual Love Contest?

It is always gratifying to have someone honour the work in this way.

How long have you been writing poetry?

I wrote my first poem when I was eight, then began writing in earnest when I was twelve.  My first published poem came when I was in high school and my first published book came at age 21.
  

Why did you decide on this particular piece of work (In the Heat of the Sun and the Cool of the Moon, I Love) to submit to the contest?

I chose this poem to enter because it was brand new the day I sent it and because it seemed to fit the theme.

How difficult do you feel it is to create/craft a winning piece of poetry?

I simply have to develop the patience to wait and do the work necessary to be available to catch the work in flight.

What can readers expect to see from you in the future? Have you any current projects/publications on the go?

I am always hard at work on several projects.  The Burning Sweater is due out from Black Moss Press in 2010. Let Light Try All the Doors, which won the Rubicon Press Chapbook Award is due out in September.  Tough Times, a book of essays I am editing on the economic collapse and its impact upon the arts is due out in 2010.  Sweet Cuba, a book of poems in translation into English from Spanish is due out in 2010.   A book on the War of 1812:  The Life and Times of Joseph Willcocks, is in negotiations.  And as always, I am working on several other projects including a book called, The Widow's Land.

 

What words of encouragement would you like to share with aspiring writers?

Keep the faith.  Do the work.  Read, read, read.  Write, write, write.  Never lose heart. 

You mentioned you wrote your first poem when you were eight. Most of us are introduced to poetry in high school. How did you discover poetry at this age?  

I grew up in a house full of books.  My father and mother read poems to us at bedtime from Mother Goose and the poems of Edgar Guest.  My paternal grandmother was an elementary school teacher and I found many of her books in the hallway bookcase.  I actually attempted to write before I could write.  I remember cracking the cover of a book as a little pre-literate lad and attempting to write in it.  That pencil scribble remains inside an old book at home on the farm.  As for the first poem, I wrote it in June for Father's Day.  We were making Father's Day Cards in art class and I didn't like any of the verses on the board, so I made up my own.  My father kept that card to his dying day.  The poem is called, "To A Fried".  He laughed and laughed because I had left off the 'n' in 'friend' and of course, To A Friend, however common a salutation, is entirely inappropriate as a Father's Day greeting.

You had your first published book at age 21. Is there any advice you would give to young poets who are between the ages of 15-20 who are thinking about writing their first collection of poems?   

I suppose I would say, "don't publish too soon."  The book I had published at that age was named as one of the best ten Canadian Poetry books of 1976 by the National Library Journal of Canada.  

Do you often submit to poetry contests?

I am very selective.  If I have a poem worthy of submitting I'll submit it.

What developments have you seen in poetry contests over the years? Are these changes good or bad?

There are more competitions than ever before.  Anything which brings attention to a craft which is further and further outside the mainstream is a good thing.  

You mentioned, "I simply have to develop the patience to wait and do the work necessary." Is this what separates a 'hobby' writer from a winning poet? Could you elaborate on the distinction between a poet and a person who writes poetry for fun?  

I have always written poems with a serious intention, perhaps because I have always read poetry as a serious reader.  When I was quite young (and this remains true to this day) I began reading poetry which took my breath away.  I read Shakespeare, Dylan Thomas, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and on and on, and whenever I read a great poem I was inspired to wish to do that.  Much like other young people who aspire to achieve something similar to their great sports heroes, I wanted to become Dylan Thomas.  Or rather, I wanted to achieve something like the achievements of Thomas in his poem, "Fern Hill."  I MUST do that.  It was a calling.

So, for those who practice the craft so long to learn simply to pass the time, I repeat what I wrote in an introduction to an anthology, "better a bad poem than a good bomb."  

But for me, poetry is a calling.