In our first interview, we have the one and only Richard Allen Pogue, owner of the popular prompt blog: “…..”; An amazing poet that crafts breath-taking verses, and sometimes, prose.
Curious on how can Mr. Pogue write such intense poems we asked him his secret and the reply was as simple as it could have been:
“I live intensely”.
Writing on Tumblr since 2016, with the motivation of stirring thoughts on people’s minds and feelings on their hearts, which he is with poems like this:
“Yellow sweater I do not know where you are. For your radiant color reminds me of her… in the springtime, and it is December, and I cannot be… Why? I’m not I cannot go back to where I once was I cannot kiss lips that are no longer there I cannot hold the house that has been burned down I cannot hold her was burned down Yellow sweater I leave you to gather dust and to make friends with moths and spiders and old memories Yellow sweater I do not hate you but I can not love you anymore longer”
“Do you think that people need to think and feel more?” we asked.
“Not so much as thinking more, just think more purposefully and consciously, Thinking is a skill just like anything else, if you don’t practice or train, you won’t be better at it” which is totally true.
We carried on into his viewing on the subject of poetry an inquired, in his point of view, is poetry helpful in the thinking process, and we were presented by this well thought-out answer: “A strong vocabulary is essential to human interactions. Being able to convey both concrete and abstract concepts broadens perspectives. Somethings are better explained in black and white, while others require a full spectrum of colours.”
He shared with us that poetry has “at times served him as a release valve, a way to bring his thoughts to the open world”. He was able to help others with his poetry, as when whenever one of his best-friends went into a break-up, Mr. Richard would take some time to write a poem about his friend’s exes inspired by the conversations that they had about it, which his friend would always be grateful about; Another instances, he would offer unsolicited poems to the local bar’s staff and patrons, gestures of random kindness and sensitivity that ended up cheering people’s days, winning people’s friendships, and at one lucky day, a date.
When asked about the poetry community on the platform, and his thoughts about it he summarized his thoughts in the following manner:
“Tumblr poets are a mix between raw pieces of coal, and hard pressed diamonds”
And when asked for his top advice for the young writers and the reason for it, he said:
“Write for yourself first. Because you are your first audience. If you don’t know what to write, simply write about what you would like to read.”
Finally, when we asked for him to share his views upon the writing market in regards to poetry, and he showed optimist about it saying:
“ Spoken word is on the rise for years and I believe has revitalized people’s interest in poetry, because there is something they can relate to.”
“There are 900 ghosts haunting the attic in my heart, and yet somehow I haven’t dined on the flesh of former lovers. The skeletons in my closet say otherwise, but what do they know? There are 900 ghosts haunting the basement in my mind, and yet somehow I haven’t set this house ablaze for the insurance money. The demons below the stairs say they’re grateful, but I know they’d survive the inferno anyways. So what is there to do when 900 ghosts haunt your body and soul? Live, I guess”
For more of Mr. Richard A. Pogue’s works, check him at:
https://poetizer.com/author/18099
https://www.poetrysoup.com/me/imperiallefty
https://hellopoetry.com/richard-allen-pogue/
on Tumblr @Imperiallefty for poetry prompts and awesome poems.
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