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PLT: Welcome to PLT Mike and your
Point of Life web site , where you say in your Home Page "Born Manchester England retired Florida in 92, a highly successful businessman". I was immediately intrigued, if you�d lived your early life in England and if this had influenced your poetry, which I understand you started after retirement under the title A Professional Optimist
M. L.: I lived in Manchester for 46 very happy and contented years. I return every year to visit family and friends and still feel the same joy. My life experiences of the British way of life is intermingled with the American experiences. When we look beneath the superficial surface people all over the world are the same and every sane person wants to live a joy filled life...All my philosophy and poetry is designed so that everyone can experience the divinely blissful life on earth they deserve.
PLT: You say professional optimist but I notice in one of your poems Oscars for Shadows, that you might have a tongue in cheek attitude about that.
"nobody will notice its golden interior, illuminated in elegant ingenious creativity, time expires in modest silence, a few vivid shadows may be vocalized in lament, as the picture book pages turn"
M. L.: Some of my poetry (metaphysical) comes to me in dreams and is transported via my brain to the computer in the early hours. Other poems, like the one you mentioned, comes from my observations of people and things I have encountered throughout my life. I try not to allow any personal feelings or sentiments interfere with truthful observations.
PLT: Apart from your own publications, you seem to have made appearances on many eminent literary web sites, such as Ygdrasil Poetry Journal to cite but one, as well as print publications, do you have any favourites where our readers can regularly access reading your work on line.
M. L.: My articles and poetry are published all over the world thanks to the internet. A search on Google with the words 'poetry by Michael Levy' or "articles by Michael Levy" will show the extent of the reach of my works. I have one golden rule of never sending any works to editors by snail mail or to publications that require any payments to read my works.
PLT: You describe yourself as a poet and inspirational philosopher, do you think philosophy and poetry really go together, when at the same instance you seem to maintain that academic knowledge represses poetic expression.
M. L.: Good question, unfortunately philosophy has been captured by academia in the same way as God has been captured by religion. Both analytical imprisonments are false and have no meaning to me. Therefore, my philosophy is not welcomed by academia and I don't endorse their perspectives. I will start to wonder where I went wrong if any university offers me an honorary degree in philosophy? Authentic philosophy comes from the same source as authentic poetry and the two are super companions that work in joyful synchronicity with each other.
PLT: Your site takes us also to Life Enchantment Lectures : various lectures you�ve given in the course of your career from Corporate Ethics to Authentic Mental States. Since essentially your site is to present your published books to the public, how do you think your lectures serve to present your personality as a poet?
M. L.: I have written seven books and all contain poetry. Likewise, all my talks contain poetry. Poetry can reach parts of the human mind that analytical words cannot touch. One thing is for sure, my talks are not like any others you have heard from academic speakers or most other best selling authors.
PLT: I must say I��m impressed by the apparent themes in your work, you��ve managed to write a whole book Ultra-Violet Haiku De-light, on just Haiku... Was this a period that you went through or did you find yourself always writing in this way?
M. L.: I never try to force any particular style. My poetry styles come and go at will. I allow my brain the freedom it deserves to compose each piece with meaning that sometimes is out of the grasp of the intellectual mind but can be accessed by the readers intelligence. Therefore, some works may need a lot of study by a professor, whilst a young child will understand it right away.
PLT: Again one of your books
The Joys of Live Alchemy, features the theme of alchemy as the source of poetic inspiration, that seems to me a deeply metaphysical speculation, as eg., you demonstrate challengingly in the final verse of your poem Gyrations of the Universal Wheel: "An encore is requested by the standing ovulation of vibrating gravity, A Sun is born awaiting children of earth to evolve, Fed by a milky way, ascending from of a black hole, A race of cosmic particles will develop as earthlings, Viewed through time/space lens of astronomical candidates."
Are there any writers who you feel influenced you in your poetry on alchemy and transmutation?
M. L.: You may find this hard to believe
but I have not read any books. I left school at sixteen because I tried to make the teachers laugh and
they tried to take my smile away. We both failed. Of course, I have read some poems by various poets
but nothing any human has composed has influenced any of my poetry that I am aware. It comes from a place
that contains
Live Alchemy.
PLT: Perhaps you could select a poem from each of the seven titles of the works under publication at your site at present, here we��ll just list their titles and link them to the Pandora Box for the benefit of our readers. Thank you very much Mike for giving us this opportunity to do our Cover Interview with you and our best wishes for the success of your latest book Worry Causes Wrinkles.
M. L.: Thank you Robin for giving me the opportunity to talk to you and your readers. I wish you all great prosperity. May you all go from strength to strength in divine bliss.
In Love & Joy Michael Levy. Professional Optimist
PLT: For our readers, here are Seven poems from each of the seven titles of the works under publication (each will take you to a page in Pandora Box):
From
Worry Causes Wrinkles The Writers Prayer From Invest With
A Genius A Picture With-In A Picture From
The Joys of Live Alchemy
A Merry Old Soul From What is the Point The Eternal Melody From Minds of Blue Souls of Gold Final Score From Enjoy Yourself Its Later Than You Think The Gravy Train From Ultra Violet Haiku De-lights ~ Three Haiku�s
Click Here!
"Investment tip for the New year ... Worry yields a negative return."
~Michael Levy.
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