Clayton Lowe

When did you start writing poetry?

I stated writing poetry when I was 16. My mom and pop decided to end
their marriage. My mom wanted to start a new life, so being the brave
soul that she is, she packed up everything and moved us all down south
to Augusta, Georgia. We left New Jersey in a old beat up Pontiac (me,
my mother, my sister, my brother, and two dogs) to start over again in
a city we’d never been to before and where we knew no one apart from
one elderly lady my mom hadn’t seen for 5 or 6 years.

You can image at 16 having to leave all of my high school friends
behind was pretty traumatic to say the least. I retreated to my own
inner world and pretty much became a social recluse. I’d always had
a love affair with books from since I could hold them in my hands. I
read loads and loads of books – fiction, history, and science were my
favorite subjects. As a teenager, the library was my Fortress of
Solitude. Anyway, I enrolled in my new high school half-way through
the semester. I refused to speak to anyone unless they spoke to me
directly. I kept to myself and my books. I did, however, connect
really well with my new English teacher, a guy named Richard Parsons.
From my work, he new that I loved literature and writing and so he
encourage me to develop my interest and my talent. He introduced me
to poetry. In fact, he was very passionate about poetry and that
caught on with me and I became very passionate about poetry.

He fixed it so that I could do an independent study class in poetry,
which meant we could explore poetry beyond the normal high school
curriculum stuff they were spoon feeding to the normal students. I
studied all the great poets and poetic movements starting from Beowulf
and up through to the 20th century greats. In studying poetry, I felt
compelled to write poetry. I found poetry to be a medium through
which I could explore life and the big themes that life has a habit of
throwing at us.

Who have been the greatest literary influences in your life?

This list could gone on forever. But there are two very distinct
influences that changed the course of my life, my thinking, and my
world view as a young man and they were the Romantic poets – Byron,
Shelly, and Keats specifically. I was enamored with their zest for
life, that they could be poets and adventurers, and socialites. Byron
especially did it for me. Being “mad, bad, and dangerous to know,”
was something a teenage boy could latch on to and not be considered a
wussy. I didn’t fit the stereotype of a bookworm or poetry lover. I
was very athletic and athletically built. I played high school
football. I wrestled. I was also an amateur bodybuilder (I placed
second in the teenage MR Georgia bodybuilding comp). On the cerebral
side, I was my high school chess champion and was the salutatorian of
my class.

If the Romantic poets taught me that a poet could be ‘mad, bad, and
dangerous to know,’ T.S. Eliot taught me that a poet could be a
social, cultural, and spiritual critic of the state of mankind. When
I first read the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, the Hollow Men, and
the Wasteland, they blew me away. I think hands down, Eliot has had
the greatest impact on me as a writer and thinker.

I said there were two big influences, actually there is a third –
Robert E. Howard who is most famous for the Conan the Barbarian
stories. Howard really inflamed my passion for adventure. As crazy
as it might sound, one of my reasons for becoming a U.S. Army Airborne
Infantry Officer was so that I could go off and have great adventures
as a warrior and a soldier.

I some times describe myself as a warrior-poet, which as you can see
is directly related to my literary influences.

Have you been published? If not, do you intend to?

I haven’t devoted a whole lot of time to submitting poems to
publications. I once read somewhere that a writer is someone who has
something to say. I have something to say, so I write. I have had a
few poems published in small journals. These came about because the
editors heard me performing my poems at an open mic night. I do a lot
of open mic poetry readings. I love the immediate intimacy between
poet and audience and of course you get immediate feedback as to
whether the crowd liked the piece or not.

I do have a poetry collection due to be published by fifty-eight kings
press in March. The book is called A Thousand Bullets Gone Astray.
It’s about the promises we break to ourselves and to others,
especially those closest to us.

Tell us more about your family and how they have influenced your
writing.

I love to hear my children call out to me: “Dad what does this
mean?” “Dad can I…” “Dad you’re weird.” I love being a
dad and interacting with my kids and watching them grow up. I am
proud to be their dad and not just the person who provided the sperm
for their conception. Growing up, I had a father, not a dad.

I am not the perfect husband, but I have the perfect wife. I am
selfish, inconsiderate, and lazy when it comes to domestic chores.
She is generous, kind, and forgiving. We have been married for 15
years. It has not been all bliss, but what marriage is? I confess, I
have loved every day we have been together, even the parts that people
don’t like to talk about in public. Our love truly runs deep and has
helped us enjoy the bliss and weather the storms.

In terms of influence, my family inspire me – all the madness, the
drama, and comfort – inspires me.

What are the main themes you like to write about?

My work explores the marvellous complexity and simplicity of being
human. My poems range from the darker side of love to the joy of
being above ground chasing magic and moonbeams and the realism in
between.

From your blog posts, it seems you often like to go walking in the
countryside. Where would you recommend foreign poets go when visiting
the British Isles?

My favorite place to go walking has to be North Wales in Snowdonia.
The splendor, the beauty and the variety of natural surroundings are
truly inspirational. If any of your readers are thinking about
becoming a poet, there is a Welsh legend that says if you spend the
night on Cader Idris (mid Wales), you’ll come back either a madman or
a poet. I’ll let you decide which happened to me.

What poetry related social events do you attend and why?

I like the open mic scene in Britain. It’s amazing how many urban
hip, young and old, traditionalists and underground rebels who are
into poetry in all it’s various forms. Over the last several years,
I think poetry for the people has made a strong comeback. Poetry
slams and open mic poetry nights have lead the way to poetry’s
revival.

Can you share one of your poems with us and explain a little bit about
it?

This poem was inspired by many of my female friends who
are desperate to find true love, but mostly find themselves
compromising love so that they don’t have to be alone.

Her dreams have all gone to bed

The wind whispers between
raindrops of yesterday’s past
the memory of her last kiss
fades to black

She can see her happiness
stagger out the front door
into the arms of another
perfumed night

Her broken dreams have
all gone to bed haunted by
ghosts of lines left unsaid

In the morning she can see
the sun hanging wearily on the
horizon, casting empty shadows
on the pillow by her head

She can feel the emptiness
swim around inside her as
she drags herself out of bed

In the mirror she catches
her reflection, smeared mascara
underneath her brown eyes

She can spend another day
holding hands with the past
pretending everything is ok

She can hear the wind between
the raindrops and she wonders
how long can it last?

Ⓒ Clay Lowe

Thank you Clay for this fascinating insight into your life and poetry.

Clay’s website

Diane Vogel Ferri

Welcome Diane. When did you start writing poetry?

It’s very interesting to me how I started writing poetry because I knew nothing about poetry and did not even read poetry at the time. About 15 years ago I was going through a very traumatic time in my life and poetry just started coming out of a place in my subconscious. It was mostly raw and angry and full of emotions and questions. A few of those poems I would actually still consider pretty good, although I have learned what “good” (acceptable) poetry is through a lot of classes, workshops and critiques over the years.

Who have been the greatest literary influences in your life?

I have no influences in poetry because I wrote poems before I read any contemporary poets. In my fiction writing however, I think I’ve been influenced by every novel I’ve ever read. I can’t choose one particular author, but over the years I just felt that I could express myself in writing fiction as they had. Hopefully I have a style all my own.

What was the process you went through when getting your poetry published and the resulting thoughts and feelings?

I have published individual poems in a number of journals at this point, but I am working on a book collection to publish soon, I hope. A poem is like one of your babies- you work on it and nurture it over a period of time and you come to love it. It’s part of you. When a poem is accepted for publication is very satisfying, even thrilling. You will see all your efforts come to fruition and your work is validated. Publishing is a long and tedious process. The markets for fiction and poetry are competitive and your chances of publication are slim, but you’ll never be published if you don’t try. Another poet advised me that when a rejection comes in, just refold the poem, stuff it in another envelope and send to the next place!

‘Flying Over Midnight‘ was your first novel. What is it about?

To be honest it is about that traumatic time in my life that I mentioned earlier. It is about a woman with two children whose life is turned upside down and the emotional and spiritual crises she goes through. I wrote the book I would have liked to have read at that time in my life in hopes that it would touch someone else and give them hope. I call it my learning book – instead of studying writing I actually did it.

You write a blog called “Coexist” How important is religion in your life and the issues that face the world today?

I saw “Coexist” on a bumper sticker one day and thought that one word provided the solutions to all the world’s problems. Just think if we all knew how to coexist peacefully! We’d have no need for newspapers and news programs! While I am a churchgoer, I find the word religious somewhat confining. Religion is a set of man-made traditions and rituals for the most part. I find many of those rituals meaningful and important, but I also believe that religion is not always Godly. I am a very spiritual person and I believe that we all are spiritual – it’s just that the world we live in pushes out the opportunities to know our spiritual sides unless we make concerted efforts to know ourselves and have a relationship with God.

Who is Anais Nin?

She was a writer of the 1930′s who was ahead of her time as a female writer and a bit of a feminist. Her most famous work is her seven published diaries, which I admire for her honestly and her beautiful writing.

You are a special education teacher. What does your job mean to you?

I love kids and have always been proud to be an advocate for special needs children. The job is thankless and often stressful, but most of that comes from government and administrative decisions and not the children.

Tell us more about your family and how they have influenced your writing.

I think being a mother has had the biggest influence on my life and my writing. The focus of my new book is really a young unwed mother’s struggles to raise her daughter. I didn’t plan this story , it sort of wrote itself. I was not an unwed mother, but the sacrifice and love that mother’s have for their children is universal. I have a son and daughter both in their twenties now and I can’t imagine my life with out them.

Diane Vogel Ferri, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions for ‘Pen Me A Poem’. I appreciate it greatly. Below is one of your poems which you very generously agreed to share.

Stalking

The fish does not fight the inevitable.
The heron stands proudly upright to savor
the moment before swallowing the fish whole.

© Diane Vogel Ferri