Sincerely Art: Interview Series

            Sincerely Art --- Interview Series Sy Albright interviews David Subacchi  --- poet/author https://www.writeoutloud.net/ profiles/davidsubacchi SA: The first thing I noticed was that you are an Italian from a family that emigrated to Wales. That tale probably merits an interview unto itself. Often writers have backgrounds that propel their writing. Is your unique journey a foundation of your writing? DS: Yes it is. I was born in Wales but all my blood is Italian. I feel both Welsh and Italian which is great, but also it means that the journey of self-discovery that all poets undertake, is more complex. This comes out in my writing, where certainly in my first two published poetry collections it is plain that the poetry veers between Wales and Italy, in terms of influence and subject matter. Later collections take a wider view and tackle a greater range of topics, but Italy is always there bubbling under and sometime...

Sincerely Art --- Interview Series Sy Albright interviews Elidio La Torre Lagares  --- poet/author/professor SA: Mr. Rossi informed me your “Urgent Poems for a Humanitarian Crisis” was one of the most read poems he’s ever published at Ariel Chart. He also mentioned he nominated you for a Pushcart Prize for Poetry and you received a 2 nd nomination for another publication. That’s a major sum of things to deal with emotionally and artistically. Did you come out of it a better artist?   ELTL: I must start by acknowledging Mr. Rossi’s initiative. I was truly honored. I’m grateful because both the Ariel Chart and The American Poetry Journal nominations came at a time of emotional loss. I, by no means, intend to attribute pharmacological properties to artistic accomplishment, but I did find comfort in poetry. By the time I wrote these poems, Puerto Rico had been devastated by a major hurricane. I had lost my father, and I was taking my daughter to a coffee s...

  Sincerely Art – Interview Series   Sy Albright interviews Michael Griffith---poet/author/writing instructor   SA: The writer Mark Antony Rossi describes you as “one of the handful of English professors who actually make sense.” Besides the dark humor I believe what he’s getting at is you write what you preach or teach. Can you share your writing philosophy with us? MG: That's high praise from Mark, who is also a respected writer and teacher in his own right. I need to set two things straight before going further, though: my official title at work is “instructor.” College students tend to call all their various teachers “Professor” and we teachers all adopt the title pretty generically, but I don't want it to seem like I claim to be something which I am not. Secondly, I teach courses in the field of communications at the collegiate level, courses like Public Speaking, Mass Communications, and Intercultural Communication. I teach classes in poetry, c...

Sincerely Art – Interview Series   Sy Albright interviews Linda Imbler--poet/author Check out her The Sea's Secret Song http://www.somapublishing.com/2018/03/the-seas-secret-song.html?m=1 Her latest release is part fiction, part poetry Pairings https://www.somapublishing.com/2018/11/pairings.html   SA: First I want to extend my congratulations on the Pushcart Prize Nomination and the Best of the Net Nomination. I read both qualifying poems and easily see the connection. Your work meets what Mr. Rossi calls “the poetic justification” which is an artistic way of saying your work is genuine poetry. What in your life brought you to writing?   LI: Thank you very much.   I appreciate your support.   As a young girl, I used to write poetry about what I observed in nature. Back then, everything had to rhyme. I made my own poetry books from paper, cardboard, and shiny wrapping paper. As I went into my teens, I began to hear poetry throug...

Sincerely Art – Interview Series   Sy Albright interviews Lailah Saafir--poet/author Her latest poetry release -- Full Mood http://www.somapublishing.com/2018/04/full-mood.html?m=1     SA: Tell us a little about yourself and how you got into writing.   LS: I have been through many things. My first experience with writing was when I was 14. Trying to commit suicide and living through it gave me a new outlook on life. I started by pouring out my heart on the page because I didn't feel like I could talk about how I was feeling. SA: I noticed from your bio in your book “Full Mood” you have experience speaking in public. How does that personal contact help shape your writing --- if it does?   LS: Public speaking  allowed me to relate my thoughts to others and to find out what others were thinking. I realized I was not alone even in my darkest times. People were actually interested in what I had to say much to my surprise. “Natur...

Sincerely Art – Interview Series   Sy Albright interviews Mark Antony Rossi--poet/playwright/editor/publisher http://arielchart.blogspot.com      http://www.somapublishing.com   SA:   I have known you a long time. There’s so much to cover. But not possible to cover it all. Let us start with the Art. What does that mean to you? MAR: It means craft. It means working on something that has meaning and purpose. Which as you know is the opposite of most of the media and music these days. They stopped seeking Art and blame the masses. But commerce has infected so much of our lives. Art might be one of the few things left that is pure. SA: You are one of those people that just does things. Magazines disrespect writers. You start an internet journal. Publishers ignore writers. You create your own electronic publishing company. Where does it end? MAR:   You sound like my wife. Ha. It’s a valid point. After a while if you can’t chan...