As I slipped into sleep, I wrote
a poem in my head with an expensive
fountain pen on silk.
When I awoke
I discovered it had been a dream,
the writing done with a leaky
inconsistent ballpoint on toilet
tissue, and I was left to reconstruct
what I could, a project
too often abandoned.
Inky Interview Special: Poet (& Noise Maker) Robert Beveridge, from Akron, Ohio
THREE HUMAN TRAITS?
“Love, faithfulness, and compassion…. These are attributes
modern studies of the human mind do not attribute to us,
at least without converting them first into forms of self-
interest.” Marilynne Robinson
1. LOVE
We use the word to mean our feelings about
lust and the act of it, someone’s restored car
or living room, our dog, our freedom
(whether we have it or not), days off work,
being at a rollicking party, or alone in silence.
So it’s meaningless, that overused cliché,
without specifying devotion, friendship, or
intimacy. With field filled with
pretty young women, men often assume
the ever-ready default: coitus.
But the father who pushes his son out of
the way of a speeding car and being hit
himself damages that skeptical assumption.
We have platonic love—or some of us do.
2. FAITHFULNESS
And yet how strong the urge to intimacy
the straight man has when faced with
a woman whom most would call beautiful.
But some resist the urge because they thought
it loathsome to betray their wives’ trust.
Or what of the captive soldier, tortured
to reveal his country’s military secrets,
but who stands fast for years? You see
that there can be a trait called faithfulness.
3. COMPASSION
The word gives rise today
to a perverse type of faith in
the selfishness of humankind.
We automatically roll our eyes
at the briefest mention of
altruism; and then we are
treated to a secular sermon on
the hard nose versus the soft heart.
It’s true that a long caravan
is safer than a lone traveler,
but it’s also true that the man
who falls on a hand grenade
dies to save his compatriots.
So the perverse argument fails
to prove compassion a ghost.
We are left then with explaining
the inexplicable, the man
who died to save his friends.
Inky Interview Exclusive: Professor John J. Brugaletta from California State University, Fullerton
Inky Articles: Professor John J. Brugaletta: Two Hypothetical Poles Of Thinking While Writing Poetry
What waxes wanes
the enforced reincarnation hour
and green quartz veins
over the mind of pride
nonentities
Nowhere you!
Everywhere the electric!
the golden one
living in a poetic world, devouring words
these are the thoughts that run rampant
love paves the way to our existence
Inky Interview Exclusive: Rus Khomutoff, a Neo-Surrealist Poet From Brooklyn
Poetry Drawer: Prisoner of Infinity: To Felino A. Soriano by Rus Khomutoff
Congratulations on your new book release, 21st Century Surrealism: A Guide For Artists and Creative People. Can you give us a brief synopsis?
Thank you dear Editor, and hello and welcome to your readers. It is this tone that begins 21st Century Surrealism, because it’s a friendly book that takes the reader by the hand, and along a journey that explores art and creativity, and what art is all about. I began with a look at Surrealism as an art movement, and a look at why it worked so powerfully when it did, and why it died out as a powerful force in contemporary art. 21st Century Surrealism isn’t a history book, it’s more of a book about creativity itself, thoughts on what makes some art good, and some not, and makes the case for the art of the imagination; why it worked a century ago, and why it can work today.
I should point out that I was careful to include all art forms. Surrealism was originally a poetic movement, not a visual art movement, so the book isn’t specifically about painting or writing or music, but about general creative principles that can be applied to any sort of creative thinking.
The structure of 21st Century Surrealism has three main chapters: A Study Of Scarlet, The Tomb, and The Gardens of Elysium. Why did you choose this structure? How is the first chapter related to Sherlock?
This was my first non-fiction book, and so I had an infinity of structures of choose from. I wanted a tone that was fun and friendly, that felt, while you read it, that your mind was exploring an exciting new world. One reviewer commented that it was like an academic book written by a poet, which is a great compliment. The book argues that art should be exciting, emotive, and have a structure that is engaging, so it should itself embody its own principles. Any book about aesthetics should at least embody its own conclusions!
The Study Of Scarlet is a play on words. The first chapter is a study, an analysis, and perhaps the scarlet matter is the mind and the heart, but also I found a few quotes by Sherlock Holmes (well, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) that sum up some important and useful principles. One quote concerns the mind needing to store only the right components. We can only invent something using the palette of our experiences, the words and images in our heads, so the things we put there (Dali called this ‘eye food’) are very important for a creator.
In A Study Of Scarlet, you discuss several aspects to conscious thought. How would you describe conscious thought, and how do you apply it to art?
One important part of the book is a look at how the mind works because this is really important for imaginative people. Surrealism was based on a theory of the unconscious, so anything that analyses surrealism must analyse consciousness too. Consciousness is simply being aware of our thoughts, that is all. There might be a thing called the unconscious, a realm of thoughts that we are not aware of, but we must become aware of it at some point otherwise it might as well not exist. Ultimately, I make the case that dreams and strange imagery are no more or less ‘conscious’ or genuine than any other thought. Surrealism as a principle is a fraud. Imaginative thoughts are not more or less conscious than any other, and not better or worse for it either.
How important do you think emotion is in creating art?
This is a difficult question. In some ways emotion is vital because all good art moves us, so art needs to be emotional, but the emotions in an artwork are made by the dialogue between the artist and the audience. An unfeeling artist can still move a sensitive audience. We can feel sad at a broken cup, for example. I make the case that the good artist needs to feel and understand what he or she is trying to convey though, and not leave things to chance, so, for the perfect artist, sensitivity is vital. Emotional sensitivity is as vital to an artist as eyesight is to a painter.
Do you think art needs a political/social/philosophical message, or is it enough to just feel emotion from it?
Art with a political/social/philosophical message is often emotional… and it will help the audience understand it. Perhaps art that lacks those things must only be personal, but even then we must understand the experiences of the artist and the message. Is it possible to have art without a message that is still emotional? I imagine a Rothko painting, with flat coloured bands. People can be filled with emotions by those paintings, and perhaps they are picking up what the artist felt when he painted it (this is the aim of abstract expressionism). Isn’t that a personal message? Even in that most simple and most abstracted form of art?
Can you share with us an illustration from the book?
The book cover is from your own painting entitled God Being Killed By Thesists And Athiests. Can you walk us through the idea behind it, and why you chose it as a book cover?
The painting was about a battle between theism and atheism, with religion on the left, and atheism on the right. The interesting thing about the painting for me is that it has two different emotions and viewpoints, religious and areligious, at the same time, and appears as one or the other depending on your viewpoint. The crucifix on the horizon is either Christ representing rebirth, or a gravestone representing death. In visual terms the painting is also a battle between blue and red, light and dark, and many other contrasts. It is a dramatic and challenging painting that looks like what people think of as a ‘surrealist’ work, and so it made for a perfect cover.
The back cover is another one of your paintings, The Paranoid Schizophrenia of Richard Dadd, which is one of your best selling prints. Why do you think people are fascinated by this image? How do you apply your concepts in 21st Century Surrealism: A Guide For Artists and Creative People to this image?
The Paranoid Schizophrenia of Richard Dadd is fascinating partly because there is a lot in it, there are always things to discover. It is based on, and is an homage to, ‘The Fairy Feller’s Master Stroke’ by Dadd, and that painting is crammed chock-full of things: faces, plants, fairy creatures. People love images that are loaded with things for them to see and discover. Another influence on the work was Bosch’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’. One of the principles in 21st Century Surrealism is that more information makes work better, and the Dadd painting, and Bosch too, really sums that up.
When and where is the launch for 21st Century Surrealism: A Guide For Artists and Creative People?
I’m lucky enough to have a solo exhibition of my artwork in Stockport War Memorial Art Gallery this September, so the opening of that that will mark the official launch for this book. The exhibition itself will be called 21st Century Surrealism, and I’ll exhibit 21 paintings, including the original ‘God Being Killed By Theists And Atheists’. Some fabulous poets will be taking part in the exhibition too. Former Cheshire Poet Laureate John Lindley, Nantwich poet Helen Kay, and many poets from the extensive Write Out Loud group will be writing new poems to accompany the paintings. The exhibition will open with a launch event on Saturday September 15th at 2pm. A special poetry reading event will take place at 2pm on September 22nd, which will be filmed. The whole exhibition will be open to the public daily from September 15th until October 2nd.
What is next for you? I’ve heard on the grapevine that there is another book coming soon…
So much is coming. I have a new book for the autumn called Deep Dark Light, which is an odd combination of poetry, philosophical ideas (each on one page, like poems) and a surrealistic story. It is structured like a musical symphony in text, so is an unusual, experimental work, that is perhaps similar in structure and feeling to one of William Blake’s visionary books.
I have two music albums coming out this year too: The Modern Game is a pop album with a theme of how technology is affecting the world, and as the musical half of Fall in Green, Testing the Delicates is a ground-breaking recording which combines poetry and classical piano to convey a narrative about mental health, and what it means to care. My video show for YouTube, ArtSwarm, will continue every fortnight too, and, if I have time, I will find time to paint something.
Get your copy of 21st Century Surrealism: A Guide For Artists and Creative People by Mark Sheeky
Your literary or photographic work has appeared in over 100 journals. Can you tell us about your journey towards being a writer? What subjects do you photograph? Do you combine words and pictures?
As a bookish person, I’ve aspired to be a writer since childhood. I read constantly. I keep paperbacks in my jacket pockets and my pants pockets so I can read at any time I am not otherwise occupied. I even pocketed paperbacks at my wedding, just in case. Understanding at an early age that few are fortunate enough to write literary fiction full-time, I sought out a career in the media so I could write for my day job, to develop the muscle memory. I first started photographing as a necessity for publications with limited resources, where I needed to both photograph and write up assignments. I’ve since evolved into a prolific shutterbug, and am most interested in architecture, urban landscapes, urban decay, graffiti, and natural landscapes. My iPhone photo albums are largely devoid of people–for whatever reason, I’m more drawn to art, architecture and the like. I seldom combine words and pictures, but my writing and photography sometimes draw inspiration from the same subjects.
You are an Iraq War veteran. How much has this experience fed into your work?
Iraq was rough. I often strive to tell war stories, and experiment by trying to tell them through different forms. It’s something I feel I have to do justice to as a storyteller.
You are also an award winning journalist. How did you get into journalism? Have you advice for any of our followers who want to enter this field?
In high school, I wrote an earth-shattering investigative exposé on how high school athletes used the dietary supplement creatine and how it was potentially harmful. Earlier in May, I received a prestigious Peter Lisagor Award from the Chicago Headline Club at the ritzy Union League Club in the Loop after watching a video presentation about the acclaimed Chicago Tribune journalist Anne Keegan, whose first high school story had been about birds nesting at the school, which somehow stirred up controversy with notoriously open-minded administrators. Anyone interested in entering the field should just amass clips, and use them to persuade editors of their writing chops. It’s largely all about what you can do. That being said, the transition from dead trees to online has taken more than a pound of flesh, and the carnage continues until they settle on a new, more viable business model. I’ve been sickened to see so many of my talented colleagues laid off, or just given up on a career that seems to be circling the drain and certainly has endured a great deal of political scorn over the last few years.
You were named poet laureate of Chicago BaconFest. Interesting! Can you tell us about this? What is the literary scene like where you live?
I get nervous reading my work at half-empty coffeeshops but somehow wasn’t daunted to read a dumb joke poem in front of thousands of people at the UIC Pavilion, including comedian Hannibal Buress and Chicago Bears players. I was also a runner-up in the PBR Art Contest for poetry, earning me a three-month supply of that hipster swill. For some reason I imagined a worker would dolly a few cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon to my door; instead, they sent a paltry check.
Northwest Indiana is the New Jersey of Chicago–it has a surprisingly vibrant literary scene that includes afew journals, the Zine and Small Press Festival in Michigan City, many lovingly crafted zines at cafes and boutiques, writers groups, the Indiana Writers Consortium Steel Pen Conference, open mics and more. Neighboring Chicago definitely has one of the best literary scenes in the country, with at least a few live lit events every week. Plenty of big-name authors pass through. I’m going to see National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward at the Chicago Humanities Fest in Hyde Park.
What is it you love about the short story form? What about poetry? Any preference?
Short stories are one of the most digestible and accessible forms of literature, a narrative contained in a convenient package. I love the soaring heights of language poetry can ascend to. No preference. They’re both great expressions of creativity.
What do you care about? What themes keep cropping up in your writing?
I write a lot about industrial decline, abandonment, alienation, war, despondency, injustice and other themes. While my work may be thematically dark, it’s typically leavened by a lot of humour.
Describe a typical day in your life.
It’s a grind. I write, write, write for my newspaper…at a bar, a fellow reporter recently introduced me as the “journalist who wrote the entire Times of Northwest Indiana and produced 12 stories a day.” That’s a comedic exaggeration, but not by much. I write journalism by day and write literature by later at night, often working on short stories or poems into the wee hours of the morning. I read as much as possible, try to walk as much as possible, and frequent plays, museums and other cultural events on the weekends.
If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
There’s so much that’s so profoundly wrong with the world, from poverty to inequality to sexism to racism, to senseless gun violence. If you put a gun to my head, I would probably call for more appreciation for media, literature and the arts. I say that partly out of self-interest but truly believe, however Pollyannaish it may sound, that most of the world’s problems could be solved if people read a book a week, kept up with the news, developed empathy for other people, and maybe spent a few hours volunteering. So many intractable issues seem to be at least partly the result of ignorance.
Who inspires you and why?
This is perhaps the toughest question. Any author I’m reading, any painter whose work I’m looking at. It takes bravery to create art in a cruel, indifferent world.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
I was miserable for most of my youth but haven’t since attained any wisdom of note. Mostly, I would encourage my younger self to not be such a perfectionist with literature and just write. My biggest regrets are failing to submit to literary journals like Canvas at Indiana University because I held them in such high esteem and held myself in such low esteem that I didn’t think I was worthy. Now they’re gone and I missed the chance to develop as a literary writer, whether they accepted my work or passed on it with stale, dashed-off form letters that are almost always more error-ridden than the cast-aside submissions.
Tell us a story in five words.
Fiction: Baby shoes, never worn
Have you been on a literary pilgrimage?
I’ve frequently sought out literary sites, such as the Thurber House in Columbus, the James Whitcomb Riley mansion in Indianapolis and Jean Shepherd’s childhood home in Hammond, Indiana. I’ve frequented places like the American Writers Museum in Chicago and The Things They Carried exhibit at the National Veterans Art Museum. The closest I probably ever came to a pilgrimage proper was my cross-country road trip to Fort Lewis by Seattle, which I fancied was a modern-day version of On The Road even though it was far less exciting.
Do you have any advice for other writers?
As someone who suffers from Imposter Syndrome, no matter how widely I’ve been published, I probably shouldn’t be proffering advise on this subject. But read, write and read a lot. That’s the ticket. Read widely, and keep trying to incrementally improve. Reading’s the key thing.
What are you reading at the moment?
Katey Schultz’s Flashes of War, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s lost short story collection I’d Die for You, Alison Moore’s The Lighthouse, Michael DeForge’s Very Casual, Sam Graham-Felsen’s Green, Nathaniel Rich’s King Zeno, Tatjana Soli’s The Lotus Eaters, Eimear McBride’s The Lesser Bohemians and Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. I’m also a professional book reviewer for a national magazine and read tons of books for work.
What is next for you? What plans have you got?
Novels, plays, maybe even screenplays. I’m been slowly but surely working my way up to longer works, and we’ll see how it goes. I’m trying. Everybody’s trying.