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Denise is no longer banned in Canada.
After 13 years of submission to the National Endowment of the Arts, her
"Misspent Youth” gave rise to the Queen
for a Day
.
Denise Duhamel gives Amazon Books a reason to rank poetry.
I noticed
that in the course overview at FIU you state a philosophy that
poets should read as much as they write and should be able to name their
influences. Can you share any tricks for finding new subject matter?
I think reading poetry is ESSENTIAL. So often young (and not so young)
poets think they are saying something "genius" when in essence
it's been said many times before and many times with more heart and
grace. Some students say they don't want to read others because they are
afraid to be "influenced," but that's crazy. Have you ever met
a painter who didn't have a favorite painter or a filmmaker who didn't
have a favorite filmmaker? Many poets mistake poetry as
"emotion" or "feeling"--it does take emotion to
write it, but poetry is an art form that takes rigorous practice like
other art forms. A poet in need of new subject matter may be really in
need of a new form. There are many great books out there like The Poet's
Companion
(Addonizo/Laux), Poetry as Survival (Orr), and In the Palm of Your Hand
(Kowit) that speak to subject matter and how to find it.
How can a writer that reads excessively be
sure to keep their own style?
If a poet is afraid of losing her own "style," she hasn't
found it yet. But she can create "voice" by imitating others
and writing response poems.
Your birthday (June 13) is shared by Yeats
and Harriet Beecher Stowe. This is one day before the Army's official
birthday. Though you picked at this theme in your NEA statement and the
Boy George poem, Where you destined to be a poet?
I do know about sharing Yeats' birthday, and I love Yeats in many ways,
but culturally I relate more to Boy George! Also, I was astounded that I
was actually born on the same day and YEAR as Boy George which meant
that he and I started out at the very same time, so to speak, like
horses on the same track. I didn't know that I shared the same birthday
with Harriet Beecher Stowe! There may be a poem in that--I know my
birthday is one day before Flag Day. I wonder if that's the same thing
as the Army's official birthday?
What sizable challenge comes to your mind
now that almost stopped you?
If anything almost stopped me from being a poet, it was finances--plain
and simple. I wanted to be a serious and dedicated poet, the kind who
tried to write every day, the kind who was always thinking about reading
and writing. And to make that happen, for over a decade I worked at very
low-paying jobs, many times part-time teaching. I did anything possible
to make my writing happen. I know some people are able to both write and
have another lucrative profession, but I was unable to manage that.
In 1999 you wrote: "But how much fame
can an American poet really have, let's say, compared to a rock star or
film director of equal talent?" After 3 years inclusion in the
American Poets, a National Endowment of the Arts award, television, and
your latest collection Queen for a Day, what would you like to conquer
next?
I am of two minds--part of me fantasizes about being famous (like Boy
George), but the other half of me is grateful for my obscurity. I can
say what I want to in my poems--there are no sponsors to censor me.
Because America so ignores her poets, we poets have the freedom to
experiment and say pretty much whatever we like.
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Denise Duhamel
Interview
by Philipe Nicolini  
Exquisite Politics
 
Queen for a Day: Selected and New Poems
 
The Star-Spangled Banner
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