The Kiln Project's Interview with Devin Johnston
Born in 1970, Devin Johnston spent his childhood in North Carolina. He is the author of five books of poetry including Far-Fetched, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2015. He has also published Creaturely and Other Essays, meditations on the natural world. He works for Flood Editions, a nonprofit publishing house, and teaches in the English department at Saint Louis University.
Kiln (Claire Nist): From where do you draw your inspiration?
Johnston: I write lyric poetry, fairly brief poems that might take spark from anything: a bit of overheard conversation, a feeling or mood, a casual observation. I particularly like attending to things that are otherwise barely noticed, such as the square of sidewalk I step across every day, out front of my house. I'm sure my subjects have some consistency, and that I circle back to the same things fairly regularly. But my aim is a feeling of freedom and possibility -- for the writer, for the reader.
Kiln: When did you decide to seriously pursue writing as a career?
Johnston: I've composed songs and poems since I was a kid. Around eighteen or nineteen I began to work on it more earnestly as a craft (maybe a more accurate word than career). Around the age of thirty, my first book was published.
Kiln: How would you describe the feeling before beginning a new piece?
Johnston: When I begin a poem I'm usually feeling receptive, with the balance of patience and energy. It's a pleasant state of mind, though with just an edge of irritation. There is usually a problem to be solved, be it one of feeling, perception, or technique. The experience, at its best, involves the whole person: feeling and intellect, past and present, lungs and ears.
Kiln: In terms of your work/process, what is your greatest source of anxiety? How do you overcome it?
Johnston: I experience frustration, when a poem doesn't come together. That's not an experience that can be overcome, exactly: you just endure it and move on. You have to be honest with yourself when something isn't working and find another approach.
Kiln: Do you have a set process for writing?
Johnston: I don't have a routine of any kind, though I do have a flexible process: I revolve lines in my head until I can sound out a poem, or a substantial part of it. This usually happens over a number of days or even weeks, as I'm walking or driving or in any way idle. Then I write it down and tinker with syntax, line breaks, or phrases that aren't quite right. So only a part of my process involves writing!
Kiln: How has your writing evolved over the years?
Johnston: I don't think I would be the best judge of that. I don't reread older poems very often, and I don't have much perspective on the work as a whole.
Kiln: Do you have any advice to share with a developing writer?
Johnston: Too much and not enough! My main advice would be to read and study those who have written well, and let your own writing develop as it will or may. Don't insist on it.
Kiln: Were there any specific influences for your most recent book, Far-Fetched? Do you have a favorite poem from the book?
Johnston: I think my main influences lately have been more atmospheric than literary: St. Louis and its region, with the detritus of history that's visible in an old city; my house and kids, the interest and energy of family life; far-flung people and places, including Australia at the end of the book. From Far-Fetched, my favorite poems of late have been "Telephone" and "Ting": because of their pacing, the way they unfold, I tend to enjoy reading them aloud.
Kiln (Claire Nist): From where do you draw your inspiration?
Johnston: I write lyric poetry, fairly brief poems that might take spark from anything: a bit of overheard conversation, a feeling or mood, a casual observation. I particularly like attending to things that are otherwise barely noticed, such as the square of sidewalk I step across every day, out front of my house. I'm sure my subjects have some consistency, and that I circle back to the same things fairly regularly. But my aim is a feeling of freedom and possibility -- for the writer, for the reader.
Kiln: When did you decide to seriously pursue writing as a career?
Johnston: I've composed songs and poems since I was a kid. Around eighteen or nineteen I began to work on it more earnestly as a craft (maybe a more accurate word than career). Around the age of thirty, my first book was published.
Kiln: How would you describe the feeling before beginning a new piece?
Johnston: When I begin a poem I'm usually feeling receptive, with the balance of patience and energy. It's a pleasant state of mind, though with just an edge of irritation. There is usually a problem to be solved, be it one of feeling, perception, or technique. The experience, at its best, involves the whole person: feeling and intellect, past and present, lungs and ears.
Kiln: In terms of your work/process, what is your greatest source of anxiety? How do you overcome it?
Johnston: I experience frustration, when a poem doesn't come together. That's not an experience that can be overcome, exactly: you just endure it and move on. You have to be honest with yourself when something isn't working and find another approach.
Kiln: Do you have a set process for writing?
Johnston: I don't have a routine of any kind, though I do have a flexible process: I revolve lines in my head until I can sound out a poem, or a substantial part of it. This usually happens over a number of days or even weeks, as I'm walking or driving or in any way idle. Then I write it down and tinker with syntax, line breaks, or phrases that aren't quite right. So only a part of my process involves writing!
Kiln: How has your writing evolved over the years?
Johnston: I don't think I would be the best judge of that. I don't reread older poems very often, and I don't have much perspective on the work as a whole.
Kiln: Do you have any advice to share with a developing writer?
Johnston: Too much and not enough! My main advice would be to read and study those who have written well, and let your own writing develop as it will or may. Don't insist on it.
Kiln: Were there any specific influences for your most recent book, Far-Fetched? Do you have a favorite poem from the book?
Johnston: I think my main influences lately have been more atmospheric than literary: St. Louis and its region, with the detritus of history that's visible in an old city; my house and kids, the interest and energy of family life; far-flung people and places, including Australia at the end of the book. From Far-Fetched, my favorite poems of late have been "Telephone" and "Ting": because of their pacing, the way they unfold, I tend to enjoy reading them aloud.