Reprint: Papirmasse

The March 2012 installment of art-in-the-mail from Montreal's Papirmasse will feature four of my poems alongside the work of Providence, RI-based artist Rebecca Adams.

As part of the lead up to this 'issue,' Papirmasse sent me a barrage of questions, which I responded to with a slew of answers and some pictures: some OF me that M shot, some BY me from the forest, and some of recent work, like spreads from How to Prepare for Flooding.

Here's an excerpt from the interview, conducted by Papirmasse bosslady Kirsten McCrea:

How have you noticed your work changing over the years?

Hopefully my poems are better now than they were several years ago. But that’s my capitalist illusion of progress, right?

The final assessment will from readers, from critics and maybe other poets. (Another poet, or instance, told me that the oldest poems in Hump felt like the newest ones to him...)

What are your favourite things about where you live?

That it’s frumpy and grumpy and faded-at-the-knees (i.e. that we’re NOT a boom town). Which means that Winnipeg’s cost of living is reasonable and that there is an active arts communities in every discipline.

There’s also this practical, get-it-on-sale-if-you-can mentality to temper the flights of arty fancy. I like that Winnipeg is a medium-sized city that feels, sometimes, like a gossipy village.

Beyond that, I REALLY like that we have supportive arts councils.