Wayne F. Burke’s most recent book is Black Summer: New and Selected Poems . "Black Summer is more than a book of poetry. It is an experience to be lived and relived. Burke taps into our most shared experiences of humanity. His conversational verse entices the reader to continue following the exploits of this wandering everyman who searches, yearns for definition, only to find definitions lacking. But the road is all-encompassing. This book is for lovers of a good story, a good life, and is a roadmap for all of us who often find ourselves on the shoulder of life's highway." Wayne's poetry has appeared in a wide variety of publications online and in print. He is author of seven published full-length poetry collections. The most recent book before Black Summer, Escape From Planet Crouton published by Luchador Press, 2019. His poem “Prepositioned” was nominated for “Best of the Net.” His poem “Max” won Poem of the Year Honorable Mention from The Song Is magazine. A collection of his short stories, titled TURMOIL & Other Stories, was published by Adelaide Press, NY, 2020. He is currently at work on a hybrid of memoir/novel. He has lived for the past thirty-five years in the central Vermont region, USA.
Famous
for M.R.
I asked the famous poet to read
my poems
and he did
and then
arranged to meet me
in the cafeteria
where we sat in a booth
across from one another
and he looked down at my manuscript as
he spoke, his black bangs
over-hanging his face, and
never looking up, not
once, until the
end and
then
I wished he would have looked back down
again
because
something in his eyes,
anguish of some kind
I could not bear to look at--
he was known as the Poet of Loneliness and
was married to the Poetess of Bereavement.
Before leaving, I asked what he really thought of
my things, and
he said,
well
they are all on the surface
no depth to them
read other things beside literature, he suggested
like "Kramer's book on aesthetics."
I thanked him and he left.
I was the Poet of Surfaceness.
 |
| Wayne F. Burke |
Interview
Be: These poems are clever illuminations in common language about un-glorified everyday life. The listening brain takes note and smiles but you didn’t see it coming among the punks, herpes and smashed flies. Has your writing style developed over time or have you always been honest, clever and humorous?
MB: My writing "style," has been developing since I was nineteen (I am now 66) and began practicing the art, and craft, of writing poetry.
I dislike, distrust, cleverness in writing. Dislike cuteness as well.
Ditto sentimentality. These things are the enemies of good writing.
I try and keep a sense of humor about things: I am serious about my
writing, but try not to take myself seriously. I think there is room
in poetry for jokiness, so why not joke around a little? Seriousness
and meaningfulness in writing, are good, I think; but also can, I
think, be limiting (as can "truthfulness"). There is no limit to usage
of the form--limits are placed only by oneself. The poem is without
boundaries (beside page size and language usage), so why not exploit
the freedom the form allows us as writer's of "free verse"? Why not
use such non-poetic forms as bulletins, menus, recipes, etc.? Joke it
up a little, fantasize; the form promotes creativity, so, be creative
with it!
Be: Do you feel you get more appreciation for your poetry than the other types of writing you’ve done and is that what spurs you on? Is this the perfect medium for you?
MB: Appreciation of my poetry has been extended to me regularly: I have been widely published online and in print (plus ten published poetry collections). This appreciation has not been extended to my prose (I have published one short story collection). If the prose I wrote, and continue to write, received the same appreciation--meaning, to me,
publication--as my poetry, I suppose that prose-writing, instead of
poetry, would be my main focus.
Be: I find it interesting you became an LPN. How long have you worked as nurse? How much does working with patients influence your writing?
MB: I began working as an LPN at age 56 after having worked many
entry-level jobs--so-called "shit-jobs"--available to someone, like
myself, holding a BA Degree in Liberal Arts (Goddard College) but no
professional certificate. Working ten years as LPN enabled me to save
enough money to make possible retirement without undo anxiety as to
how or even if I could survive on Social Security.
When one of my shifts in the nursing home, where I spent my
"career," ended, so did my association, for that day, with the medical
field. I did not, have not, written anything about being a nurse, and,
presently, have no ambition or inclination to revisit, imaginatively,
that particular scene.
Be: Your poetry is new to me (as I am probably new to you) but I’m glad to find it. Is there any topic you won’t write about? Why or why not?
MB: I can not think of any subject, which has to do with the human
condition, as being off-limits to me as a writer.
Be: Who are some of the poets you admire who may have influenced your style, at least subconsciously?
MB: Reading Bukowski gave me the idea that my life, though not
particularly exciting or even interesting, to me, could be used as
subject. The writing about a life, no matter the circumstances of the
life, could be, via the writing, interesting and exciting. Bukowski
infused the quotidian with drama, and hence, excitement. Through the
magic of his language he made the ordinary seem something
special...What I had to work with, I realized, was the life I was born
into. Being a "somebody" or having extravagant experiences was
incidental to the writing. The writing gives value to the life, rather
than vice-versa.
Fascinating, to me, is the cryptic weirdness of Frank Sanford's
work; I am an admirer of the late great Alan Dugan who could consider complex, even abstruse, ideas or theories, and make them communicable through a poetry of plain stark language. Poets currently writing, whom I find interesting, include Mather Schneider, James Benger, Amirah Al Wassif, Carl Kaucher, John Patrick Robinson, among others.
Be: Any advice to writers?
MB: Advice? I quote you my poem, "Advice."
burn all bridges
as soon as you cross
them
because you are going to
want to
go back, and
if the bridge
is still intact, you
will.
Believe me, you
will.
Wayne F. Burke
