The truly great writers make the reader believe in their work, that it’s actually happening even if the reader knows this is impossible. Once a reader invests a certain amount of emotion into the work of a writer then the writer has them for life.
He was complex – intelligent, competitive, hardworking, and an incredibly charismatic man. I’ve put a lot of thought into who he was as a man and performer, and this is the basis of the film. He is an American hero.
A lot of my own frustration about the aftermath of the Brexit vote, particularly the increase in racist violence, has gone into the book
I’d be lying if I said that some of the poems didn’t come from a painful place. Though I don’t think I intentionally made them that way. I find that when writing poetry (and more so than any other form) that the poems end up going in a way they want to work. It’s not always in a way I imagined them to be, but sometimes I take a step back and say, fuck it maybe it works better that way.
I wanted to read a book of the same events from different perspectives and, when I struggled to find a multiple point-of-view novel without a pass-the-baton approach to events, I decided to write one
I just get bored with certain domains, I get very obsessed, I ingest then move on.
I sort of painted myself into a corner on “The Paris Hilton Mujahideen” and I’m glad I finished it, not proud but close. But generally, I’m amazed that (A) people have listened to what I’ve made and (B) that I’ve been able to work on music for this much of my life
I think it’s always interesting to see a poet sustain a theme across a series of poems, approaching that theme from different directions. I’m fundamentally very nosy, so if someone is fascinated by something I want to understand why
There are millions of YouTube channels out there and it leaves me speechless that people take the time out of their day to watch and interact with mine. I’ve got so much gratitude
Corso was doing things with language that were new and fun, a little surrealistic even. “Penguin dust, bring me penguin dust, I want penguin dust—“ Nobody else was writing anything like that. But I suppose what really makes him important to me is that, indirectly, he got me into publishing which is something I’d been wanting to do for a long time
The most wonderful moments are when you can combine reading book submissions with reading for pleasure
I know a lot of poetry and can carry the sense of a poem, its feel if you like, around in my head and can use it in difficult times as a chant or as reassurance. I see the world through these poems
When I hear those songs on the radio, I’m so proud of them. It was a special time.
It’s like any horror movie villain, once you know too much about their past they’re not scary anymore.
It seemed logical to combine my love of outsider literature with the DIY, punk ethos of zines and thus PAPER AND INK was born.
Forced writing is bad writing. It has pretty much come naturally to me. I still pretty much (like Kerouac) write spontaneously.
The more I said the embarrassing things the less embarrassing they became.
The original goal has always been to put out books in the best way that I can of the work of well-established writers as well as writers that are not as well-known.
Originally I thought I would only publish my own work when I wanted to but the prospect of publishing other fantastic poets and their work became too appealing.
In the end, the sun will destroy almost everything humans have ever done. Knowing that's the ultimate end for this species should inform all our choices going forward. It truly doesn't matter – whatever we do with our lives will one day be undone.
Johnny Bender. He speaks in something like riddles, but under the seeming madness he points to some big truths, leads us forward, a guide. Like a Shakespearean fool. Can’t lie. I’m very excited about this novel. A love story, a thriller, a murder-mystery, a ghost story. Perhaps somewhere between Hitchcock, Kafka and Under Milk Wood, but me.
I do love London – how could you not? – but it feels like it is run by the wealthy now. Moving to rural Yorkshire at the age of 33 felt like a new phase, a re-birth, a changing of the mental gears.