Interview with Jude Francis:

What is your process for writing poetry?

i usually start with a few words or a phrase that just happen to strike me. i'll get the sense that hey, this is something i could make a poem out of. so i write it down and i start from there, i figure out what it is i'm trying to say and i build the poem around that initial phrase. it doesn't always end up in the final poem, depending on how the piece turns out, which reminds me of the poem 'why i am not a painter' by frank o'hara.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

speaking of frank o'hara, he has been one of my greatest inspirations. he was one of the first poets that i ever liked of my own accord, rather than something i was made to read in school. his movement, personism, has a focus on the relationship between the writer and the reader - addressing a poem to one person, a kind of love letter. his frankness and love for the mundane are what make his poetry so appealing to me, and on several occasions have i tried to emulate his style and voice. i find inspiration for my poems in mundane things - words and phrases that i see around me, in conversations or in other media. a flock of birds flying low across an empty road, the humidity in a laundromat, a single purple flower on the side of a road. i believe there is an inherent poetry in everything, and i take great joy in finding and exploring it.

What advice do you have for poets looking to hone their craft?

i think that the best way to get better at poetry is to write it. i know it's what everybody says, but practice is really all you can do. picking out simple things and trying to write even just a few lines about them can be a very effective way of getting into the habit of writing. i find that i think in poems fairly often now, but very rarely do they turn into anything concrete. it can also be fun to pick a poet and try to emulate their writing style.

Any authors you have to recommend?

given what i've already said here, frank o'hara has to be the first poet i recommend. hanif abdurraqib is another that i admire greatly and hold to be one of the best poets currently writing. silas denver melvin appeals to me as a fellow trans poet who embraces their gender and writes about it as a thing to be celebrated.

Interview with myself:

What is your process for writing poetry?

Usually, I have a feeling that I try to translate into words, or words that I want to expand upon. Once I know what I want to write about, I crack open the notes app and see what I can turn it into. I generally write my poems in one sitting, without drafting--just one and done. I've also as of late tried to be more conscientious about my writing, paying attention to my choices instead of just letting the words flow.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

I think I find most of my inspiration in myself. My experiences, my emotions, and my observations of the world around me come together to create the poems that I write. I try to find beauty in everything, even difficult things, and often that beauty comes in the form of writing about experiences and feelings that are difficult; if there isn't beauty in the situation itself, I can make something beautiful out of it. I also think I am driven by a desire to connect with people, and poetry is one of my vehicles to do so. By writing, I find that I can touch other people who have or do feel the same ways that I do.

What advice do you have for poets looking to hone their craft?

Everyone knows to practice, but I think my other big piece of advice is to analyze your own work. Figure out what you liked and didn't like about something you did in a piece, and why you did it, and then do it deliberately next time. Play around with different styles too! Poetry is art, and your words are your tool of choice. By using them consciously, you can use them more powerfully.

Any authors you have to recommend?

I recommend the works of Jude Francis, a dear friend of mine and my greatest poetic inspiration. Clementine von Radics was the first poet whose work I truly fell in love with. Amanda Lovelace's collections are strikingly powerful and emotional. And, like Jude, I also recommend the work of Silas Denver Melvin.