BCC Shines a Light on: D. R. James
Name of the piece published by BCC:
When/where was it originally published:
North of Oxford, 2021
Tell us more about your piece! What is the background of the piece? What led you to write it? What’s your process?
Three factors created this poem. First, two gimmicks. My most recent book, Mobius Trip (Dos Madres Press, 2021), is comprised entirely of what I call 10 x 10’s, that is, poems of 10 lines of 10 syllables per line. So that was my “formal” restriction (and very fun). But also I would work with banks of single random words swiped from others’ poems—no rule about how many or which ones, but they and my combinations of them served to ‘inspire’ what would end up in each ten-syllable line. Finally, because I rarely begin a poem knowing where it is going to go or be ‘about,’ as this poem’s lines gradually compiled I started to see something emerging (and this NEVER fails) that spoke to my current situation: I needed a counter to my bitter, existential angst, which this naturally morphing scene provided, though it wasn’t the pity I preferred but didn’t need. As Marvin Bell said, a poet’s obsessions always come out.
How did you feel when it was first published and how have your thoughts or feelings on the piece changed from then to now?
As always, I was thrilled that a publication took the poem. I really liked it and what I had discovered by writing it, and I like it just as much now. (Unlike many poets, I always like my previous work and enjoy rereading it.) Because the angst is behind me, now I enjoy remembering that relief but also the poem’s rhythmic and sonic interplay.
Is there a specific message you would like readers to take away from reading this piece?
I’m not very keen on sending messages via poems, so if this one somehow connects with a reader, whatever the hook, I’m satisfied. (But I’ll probably never know!)
What else would you like to tell readers about your writing? (Doesn’t have to refer only to your BCC piece)
Mobius Trip was definitely a departure from my earlier books, but each of the earlier ones departed in its own ways too. For example, If god were gentle is very different than Since Everything Is All I’ve Got as are the many chapbooks before, after, and in between. If anything, very generally speaking, my vibe has evolved from more discursive ‘messaging’ to leaping lyrics.
Where can readers find more of your work? (Website/social media, etc.)
https://www.amazon.com/author/drjamesauthorpage
Samples:
http://www.verse-virtual.org/2020/november/james-d-r-2020-november.html
https://thegalwayreview.com/2020/12/23/d-r-james-five-poems-2/
https://lothlorienpoetryjournal.blogspot.com/2021/06/four-fantastic-prose-poems-by-david-r.html
