We love learning more about our contributors, and an interview seemed like a fun way to hear more about the writers and artists we publish, so we gave them a choice of questions to answer. We hope you also enjoy hearing more about the artists and their works. Get yourself a copy of our Work and Labor Issue to read "Worm Moon" from John Wojtowicz...
What was the inspiration for the piece published in the issue?
Spring has become my favorite season but it is also the season of doing. There’s no more winter excuses for not waking up and beating your dreams with a rubber hose. If I am inside on a really nice day or haven’t done anything productive, I fear a man in uniform will begin banging on my windows shouting Carpe Diem.
What is your creative process? Do you plan pieces out or let them happen as they come?
My process is a bit like fishing in that if I’ve got 15 or 20 minutes I’ll cast a line into the void and see what I can reel in. I don’t wait for lightning to strike but I usually have a little bait with me, you know, a few words or a particular image that just might hook the big one. I start in a dot notebook (lines feel too formal and the blank page kind of overwhelming) and give myself permission to make a mess. Then I use voice to text to get my draft into Word and clean whatever I caught for cooking. I’d like to note that I am a terrible fisherman and no pole leaves my hands without a tangled line.
What is your "white whale"?
For me, as soon as I corner one white whale, another with great hair who plays saxophone appears on the horizon—sort of a writerly hedonic treadmill. Currently, I am very into haiku so my white whale is to have some haiku published in Frogpond, Modern Haiku, Heron’s Nest, Acorn, etc. I do try to soak in my successes and I find having a few writer email pals is a great way to do this in an on-going way.
If you're part of a workshop group or other creative community, tell us about it! How did it form, what all do you do, and how does it help your creative process?
I think it’s great After Happy Hour Review was born out of community and has to be part of the reason you all are so adept at selecting pieces that honor both readers and writers. My main writing community is Murphy Writing of Stockton University. From my first workshop to my first featured reading to the celebration of my first book, these folks don’t know how to close a door and I am so grateful for them. I also find attending workshops keeps me accountable and gives me an audience for my newest work which I am usually the most excited about.
What do you do in the rest of your life and how does that connect and/or conflict with your creative life?
By training, I am a licensed clinical social worker and right now, I teach social work/sociology full time at my local community college. This keeps my analytical mind occupied so my creative projects can simmer on the back burner (but don’t want to over cook ‘em). I have two kids. Between coaching soccer and going on cub scout camping trips (my back!) with my elementary school son and attending theatrical performances and middle-school sports games for my daughter, they keep me busy but influence so much of my work. My new chapbook, No Lightsabers in the Kitchen, has quite a few poems they’ve inspired. They help me get out of my own way and see the world through new eyes. My wife makes sure I am walking in the right direction (with pants on) and supports my creative life. I also monitor bluebird boxes at a nearby state park, rescue horseshoe crabs, and take a lot of walks with my dog, Charley, who ensures we (literally) stop to smell the daffodils. I find working in short bursts and keeping my mind creatively engaged in between (poetry podcasts, college radio, audio books) help me to keep up my practice going in this season.