Creators' Conversations: Michael Maul

My Twitter followers know that I had a chat with Michael Maul yesterday. It was not a long conversation, but I liked sharing thoughts with him. So I thought of sharing the conversation with you. When I sought his permission to do this, Michael immediately agreed with me.

Before showing you the conversation, let me introduce him with you. Michael Maul resides in Bradenton, Florida, living near Sarasota Bay. His poems have previously appeared in numerous literary publications and anthologies in the U.S. as well as in Ireland, Scotland, and Australia. He is also a past winner of the Mercantile Library Prize for Fiction, for a short story set in Siesta Key and his work was selected for inclusion in Intro 4, an anthology of new voices published by The University of Virginia Press. Maul is a graduate of the Ohio University creative writing program, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He later held faculty and administrative positions at Ohio University (Athens, Ohio,) The Columbus College of Art and Design (Columbus, Ohio,) and Saint Louis University (St. Louis, Missouri). 

I have not done any editing and put the conversation as it was in the chatbox. Now let's begin. 

Me: Hi Michael, I hope you are safe in this critical situation of the global pandemic.

Michael Maul: We are doing our best. I wish you the same!

Me: Thank you. It's a tough situation. It's hard to stay inside for such a long time. Haha. Probably all of us will be recovered soon from this. Fingers crossed!

Michael Maul: That would be a welcomed outcome.

Me: We always complain that we don't get enough time to invest in our hobbies and now we've got lots of time to bloom them. May I know about your hobbies?
Michael Maul: Of course. Well, writing poetry is at the top of the list in terms of what I like to do. I also play guitar in a jam band every week when possible. Before that, it was motorcycles and horses. I also enjoy fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Me: Wow! That's cool. I have read a few poetries of your latest release "Birds Who Eat French Fries" and I have noticed that your writing style is quite different from the other poets. Which thing inspired you to think of this book?
Michael: I think life is a muddle of tragedy and comedy everyday. In my chapbook, I wanted to sort that through, There are 28 poems in the book. Fourteen of them are somewhat "dark" and fourteen are lighter. But really, none of them is purely one or the other. I also wanted to use the chapbook to include shorter pieces, because left to myself, I can occasionally write too much.

BIRDS WHO EAT FRENCH FRIES COVER

Me: Ohh. How long did it take to write this chapbook? 

Michael: The writing itself spanned about four months, followed by a few months of design and production. I rewrite a lot, too.

Me: I will definitely complete reading this book and give you honest feedback. OK, when it comes to writing, what inspires you to write more and more poetries.
Michael: That is a really big question. And maybe "inspires" might not be the best word. I don't wait for inspiration. I write because every morning new ideas arrive and I interact with them. Sometimes even during the night. I have to do it as soon as the engagement occurs, so I drop everything and do that. I want to hold up my end of the bargain with a poem...they come to me and I want them to see me as someone worth coming to.

Me: You have inspired me now. Tell me about your most favourite poem in "Birds Who Eat French Fries".
Michael: Well my favourite poem in "Birds Who Eat French Fries" is perhaps "Loving Memory." I also am proud of "Love Song for Melanie Harris."

Me: There often occurs a scenario when a poet doesn't find a word which can portray his/her thoughts correctly, he/she creates a new one. Have you ever created any new words?

Michael: I would say it is rare. There are a lot of words out there and how the poet juxtaposes them in relation to other words/ideas he or she is using is usually sufficient to get the job done. I have created a few, but would not be able to give you a clear example off of the top of my head. I have been writing and publishing poetry for over fifty years.

Me: OK, let's come out of the writing topic. Tell me a secret that nobody knows about you.
Michael: Oh man. I'm sort of an open book. But here is probably one: when I was 21 or 22 years old I worked as a cowboy on a ranch in Texas (branding cattle, etc). Later this was worked into the first short story I ever published. The title was/is "They Got Makers There".

Me: That's fascinating! Our conversation seems really interesting and I want to put it on my blog (kmgreads) if you allow me to do so.

Michael: Of course, Kangkan.

Me: Thank you so much. There are so many readers of my blog who want to be full-time writers. What'll be your message to them?

Michael: Good writing is always difficult, no matter how talented you are. But it should not feel like work. If it does, you may need to rethink what you are doing. There is a quote from Ernest Hemingway that I like. He said "For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can".

Me: I agree with you. If you were not a writer, which career would you have chosen?
Michael: Probably a journalist, but I would have felt sorry for myself. I taught college for five years and didn't like it. I prefer working alone. Writing provides that opportunity. Along with the opportunity to be happy and poor.

Me: Tell me about the project that you are currently working on?
Michael: I plan to bring out another chapbook sometime toward the end of this year. I have some poems close to ready. Just need to finish the contents, find a commonality between them and a title. And a publisher!

Me: Thank you so much for giving me your precious time Michael. I hope "Birds Who Eat French Fries" will cross many milestones and be a great success. I wish you all the best.
Michael: This was a fun time for me, Kangkan. Your bedtime now. Thank you!!

Before you exit this blog, I want to thank you for visiting my blog. Please write a comment in the comment box below to tell me your opinions on presenting a conversation in this raw format. If you loved it, share it with your friends, foes and families. It will encourage me to bring more conversations to you. Follow this blog by clicking the follow button on the sidebar and put your email in the subscription box so that you can get an email notification whenever I upload a new blog post. Click on this URL to buy Michael’s latest chapbook: https://www.michaelmaul.net/bookstore Keep smiling, keep reading. Bye!