“The Last Time,” “Global Warming,” “Faded Jeans,” and “Converting” by Kevin Pilkington appeared in Issue 46 and can be found here.
We’d love to hear more about this set of poetry.
I hope to create narratives in these poems that capture an image the way a photo or painting does, then put a slightly different spin on them that only language can create. For example, in Converting: “In no time my faith became/bark, my soul wood.” From The Last Time: “I might snack on the hole in the middle/of a bagel to keep my weight down.” All four poems are from a recently completed collection entitled, Walking On October. The entire collection is comprised of personal journeys, usually urban, so each plugs into what the ancient Irish poets call “place wisdom” of my surroundings in search of some form of truth.
What was the most difficult part of writing this set?
Like all of my poems, these were labored over, each going through numerous drafts. There are a lot of tools in my craft bag that I use when working on the architecture of a poem. I love metaphoric language and agree with Shelley who suggests new metaphors create new thoughts and thus, revitalize the language. The metaphors in these four poems are what energizes them and supplies the gas in the tank. I also find that what is the most difficult in writing is usually the most rewarding.
Recommend a book for us which was published within the last decade.
The book I recently enjoyed was, Also A Poet by Ada Calhoun. A beautifully written and moving memoir about the New York City East Village art scene in the 60s and 70s. She celebrates the life of Frank O’Hara through interviews and an unfinished biography by her father about the poet along with his circle of artist friends. Calhoun wants to finish the uncompleted biography of O’Hara by her father, the respected critic Peter Schjeldahl. It captures her complex relationship with her dad along with the poets and artists she grew up with.
If you could have a drink with any author, who would it be? Why?
I would enjoy having a drink with Dylan Thomas with one caveat – he would have to be on the wagon. So maybe we could talk over a good mocktail. He was the first poet who showed me what language is and what it can be in poetry. He created startling images that I return to often almost on a weekly basis to help me keep the world in focus which seems totally out of focus these days.
What are you working on now? What’s next?
I completed a new collection of poems I just sent off to my publisher last week and am keeping my fingers crossed. Also, I am halfway through a third novel, I think, and plan to continue working on it this summer.
Our thanks to Kevin for taking the time to answer a few questions and share these poems. Read “The Last Time,” “Global Warming,” “Faded Jeans,” and “Converting” here.
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