Ryan Van Winkle

Who are you and what do you do?

I'm Ryan Van Winkle – Reader in Residence at The Scottish Poetry Library. What that means is I promote the reading of poetry by 'any means necessary.' I do a weekly podcast, organize events, work with kids, work with old folks and generally try to make poetry exciting and accessible.

The idea is simple — poetry is not just an academic, high-brow, esoteric, wanky medium for the middle-aged bourgeoisie. Yes, it is often turgid and unreadable, but most TV is turgid and unwatchable yet I still tune in for Curb Your Enthusiasm. Words, images, smells, stories and sounds are vital. We need these things to understand our own lives. Poetry helps. So does Daredevil, so does the modern art museum, so does Coltrane and Daniel Kitson. And with that in mind, I try to mix poetry with stand-up comics, musicians, total idiots, and people you might not expect to appreciate and enjoy the dark verse. I try to highlight interesting collections or great poems, to offer guidance to all those who think that poetry might have something to offer them but just don’t know where to start.

Also, I write poems and my first book just came out.

How did you get involved in poetry?

I got involved with writing poems (like a lot of young males) because of Charles Bukowski. He was honest and full of blood and spoke to me in a genuine way. That stuff made me think maybe I could do this, maybe I had something to say which could be said through poetry. It changed my opinion of what a poem was.

Of course, the problems with Bukowski are many. Because of his insulting, posturing, egocentric views, a lot of potential readers don't read beyond him. Luckily, I was curious enough and went to a book shop where I found Hayden Carruth's Scrambled Eggs & Whiskey which I loved immediately for it's title and later for its incomparable grace. This book sealed the deal between myself and poetry and got me out of Bukowski's dangerous, self-perpetuating, poetic orbit. It convinced me to read more.

What’s the best thing about being a poet?

Writing 'Poet' as your job whenever you travel between countries. When I was crossing the border between Syria and Lebanon recently I wrote 'poet' on my customs card. Surprisingly, the rather stern men in military fatigues were impressed and held up the line as they brought one of their colleagues over. “He's a poet!” they said of the man. “Nice to meet you,” I said. “I am not a poet,” he said humbly. Which is exactly what I would have said.

And what is the worst?

I always feel bad for comedians when they go out and people say, “tell me a joke, funny man.” Sometimes people will ask me to recite a poem when we first meet or at some other inappropriate time. I hate that. I'm not a poetry monkey and I don't like to read poems on demand. I don't have my work memorized and, even if I did, I wouldn't. My response is usually, “visit my website.”

What is the most important thing you have learned?

I've had the pleasure of meeting a lot of really genius poets. Poets like Kei Miller, John Glenday, Vicki Feaver, Chase Twitchell etc. What I've learned from all of them and all the poets I admire is that writing is hard work and is not only about inspiration. It is not about scrawling your thoughts freely onto a piece of paper and hoping people will take notice. Writing takes concentration, serious thought, awareness of what has come before. It takes editing, burning and breaking and knowing that if I want to be good, if I want to grow as an artist, I'm going to have to work very hard at it. I used to view writing as a fun thing to do, a way to 'express myself' and figure myself out. In some ways it still is but it isn't exactly fun any more. It is work and I've learned that most good poets I know, poets I respect, think of it that way too.

What book do you wish you had written?

There are many. Recently, I wished I wrote Matthew Dickman's All-American Poem. It is filled with love and wonderful incandescent imagery, stories, pop-culture and it feels very human and very real. The book feels very close to what it feels like to be alive and awake these days. Dickman writes how I would write if I was a better poet, indeed, if I was a better person. I interviewed Matthew recently for the SPL Podcast and we talked about 'Love' with a capital 'L'. He said everyone should write a love poem or, at least, a love letter. His poems are sometimes like love-letters. I haven't written one good love poem in the last ten years! His are rich and beautiful and capture that bee-in-your-belly feeling incredibly well. Mine don't have that, they have fear and awkwardness and trepidation. I wish they had more love. 

Links:

Tomorrow, We Will Live Here

ryanvanwinkle.com