Interview conducted by Andrew Angus
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Mofo' Risin'
by Joseph Powell
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Poetry
Poem Review
Book Review
Poet Interview
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Poet from California
Jan 3, 2005, Monday. I emailed the Interview Questions to Joseph Powell
Jan 26, 2005, Tuesday. I received back the Interview questions.
April 5 2005, Tuesday. I posted the nterview.
1. AA: Were you featured in a literary magazne? If yes, what magazine? If yes, when or what year?
JP: No.
2. AA: Were you featured in television show, magazne? If yes, what TV program, radio program, magazine? If yes, when or what year?
JP: "Skin", a National Geograhic documentary for PBS, Nov 2002. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" in Spring 2003.
3. AA: Is this "Mofo Risin' your first poetry chapbook ? If no, what are the titles of your previous poetry books and poetry chapbooks?
JP: No. Titles of previous poetry chapbooks "Blood On the Page" (2002), "With Unveiled Faces" (1998), "Remaining Remnants of Remembered Ruminations" (1990) .
4. AA: At what age did you start writing poems seriously?
JP: 24 yrs old.
5. AA: Who encouraged you to write poetry?
JP: No one person , really - it just became a means of expression of my feelings and worldview that spring from my discovery that I have this talent.
6. AA: Some of your poems have cuss words ex. Death of Cupid. Why do you write your poems with expletives?
JP: It's just a way of expressing the feelings and emotions of the poem and its subject; I don't deliberately set out to write a poems using cuss words -- it's just if the poem calls for it or it's what I'm thinking or feeling at the time of writing, that's what comes out.
7. AA: : Who are your favorite dead poets?
JP: Shakespeare, Allen Ginsberg, Gwendolyn Brooks, Langton Hughes, Charles Bukowski, among others.
8. AA: Why?
JP; They spoke the truth in what they wrote and that's what I hope to capture in my writing and what I aspire to do everytime I write - to speak the truth (in love sometimes); to be what James Baldwin said, "an honest man and a good writer".
9. AA: Do you have a favorite living poet? Why?
JP: Yes, Maya Angelou. To me she personifies poetry- the truth and beauty and wisdom of poetry; she is able to make poetry sing- to take the pain and joy of life and give it voice.
10. AA: Who among the poets (dead/living) influenced you?
JP: Langston Huges, Maya Angelou, Bono of U2, Bukowski, Bob Dylan
11. AA: Do you write short stories? Novellas? Novels? Essays
JP: No
12. AA: Have you made book review before?
JP:Yes
13. AA: Do you have plans to write poems in rhymed verse?
JP: No.
14. AA: Do you plan to write more poems with expletives or cuss words?
JP: Really depends on the poem.
15. AA: Have you published a book that is not a poetry book? If yes, can you name the title of these non-poetry books?
JP: No.
16. AA: Aside from writing poetry, what are your favorite hobbies/recreation?
JP: Reading , watching movies, listening to music.
17. AA; Are you single, married, divorced or widowed?
JP: Divorced.
18. AA: Do you have plans to publish a second poetry book?
JP: Yes. .Sometime in the not-too-distant future.
19. . AA: What awards have you received related to poetry?
JP: None
20. AA: Have you acted in Shakespeare plays?
JP: No.
21. AA: Where were you born?
JP: Chicago, Illinois
22. AA: Where did you grow up?
JP: Chicago , Illinois
23. AA:: What state are you living right now?
JP: California
24. AA: What course did you take in College?
JP:Speech Communications.
25. AA: What is your website?
JP: None (www.musesreview.org/josepjpowell.html)
26. AA: Can you nme at least 5 of your favorite poems in your chapbook?
JP: Of Austin, TX, Billie Holliday, and Peter Paul Rubens; Thoughts Turn To Earl; Mofo' Risin'; The Death of Cupid; Withdrawn.
End of interview.for Part I.
You can read Joseph's poem samples in this website by clicking the icon: Joseph's poems. You can also buy Joseph's book 'Mofo Risin'' by clicking the icon:: Buy This Book.
1. AA: What is your job right now? (You don't have to say where you work)
JP: I currently work for a market research company in Los Angeles.
2. AA: What did you do after graduating from college? ?Did you find work immediately after graduating?
JP: I worked for a summer church camp in Wisconsin;and then a multimedia production company in California for a few months before returning home to Chicago, where I spent the next year unemployed(which allowed me free time to discover and develop my poetry).
3.AA: Did you work your way to college by ;yourself ;or did you depend on your parents or both?
JP: I mostly depended on financial aid(grants and loans).
4. AA: How much did you win in the TV gameshow "Who Wants to be A Millionaire"?
JP: $1000--I was going for at least $32,000, but missed the question that would've given me that. But I got two free trips to NY and an amazing time while I was there.
5. AA: Define street poetry.
JP: It sounds self-explanatory--like rap, I think, it's born of the street, or the 'hood, if you will. It's raw and honest and in your face, like good poetry should be, I think.
6. AA: Do you consider yourself a street poet?
JP: Maybe not technically, but based on the definition I gave, I like to believe that my poetry is raw and honest
7.AA: In your own words, what is slamming?
JP: It's a competition between poets, where a poet is given 3 minutes or less to deliver their best poem and they're judged by a select panel or by the audience on their delivery and the poem itself.
8. AA: Did you win any slamming contests?
JP: I've never really participated in any slams--not my thing, though I'm not against it, per se.
JP: No.
10. AA: Why were you featured in the program;(Skin) in the National Geographic documentary for PBS Channel?
JP: I was asked by the program's producer, who discovered some of my work online and found a piece that they thought would fit into the documentary, given its subject matter(which dealt with skin color--what it means to be black in America).
11.. AA: What was the program (Skin) all about?
JP: It dealt with the science and culture of skin and all of its connotations, including race, biology, etc.
12. AA: How did you become a contestant of 'Who wants to be a millionaire?
JP: I went to an open call for contestants here in Los Angeles, where I was tested, along with several hundred other potential contestants, and was chosen to be placed in a contestant pool, based on how well I did on the testing. My position would last anywhere between 2 weeks or 2 years. I was called a year later to do the show.
13. AA: What happen to your other chapbooks? Are they out of print?
JP: I still have copies of my last book, "Blood On The Page", which I can make available for sale, and I have the master copy of the book prior to that one, "With Unveiled Faces". "Remaining Remnants Of Remembered Ruminations"...is out of print.
14. AA: Who taught you to write poetry - your Literature teacher or by yourself?
JP: I did myself, mainly, just by doing it. As I said earlier, it came during that first bout of unemployment shortly after college. Also, by reading other poets and going to readings, I was able to learn and teach myself what worked.
15. AA: What is your favorite poem?
JP: Good question--if I had to pick one, though it's very hard, because there are so many great ones, I would pick "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks.
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Mofo' Risin'
by Joseph Powell