Pat King: I'd like it if you could start out by telling us a little bit about the Outlaws of the Spoken Word reading series.  When was it started?  Who are some of the regular readers?  What happens at a typical reading?

Continued.....

Pat King: I'd like it if you could start out by telling us a little bit about the Outlaws of the Spoken Word reading series.  When was it started?  Who are some of the regular readers?  What happens at a typical reading?

Jack T. Marlowe: The Outlaws of the Spoken Word had its beginning in March of 2005. The readings are held on the third Thursday of each month (with rare exceptions).

The readers are spoken word artists/poets from many parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.  Some are veteran readers, who've been doing the open mic thing for years,and some are fairly new to the scene...but all are welcome.  We also occasionally have live musicians, mostly the singer-songwriter types.  The music ranges from folk rock to
country to blues, to whatever else the people wanna play.

Some of the poets haven't been involved in the small press scene.  One who has--Paul Sexton--has had poems in Thunder Sandwich, Unlikely Stories, and Mad Swirl; another one--Nicole Lilly--has some work online at Mad Swirl and one of her poems  in Zygote in My Coffee (print edition #3); another poet--Opalina Salas--has had work in Motherkisser, Mad Swirl, and Wings of Icarus; Roderick Richardson has poems up at Mad Swirl; and one of our newer participants, Douglas Thompson, has been published in remark and in Cause & Effect Magazine.

What happens at a typical reading?  Well, I usually host the readings, although from time to time, there will be a guest host.  The venue is small and intimate, so we have a very informal atmosphere, with a lot of camaraderie, conversation, and coffee. Before
and after the readings, some of us hang out in the parking lot and engage in smoking, joking, and the occasional political debate.

During the reading itself, performances may include not only poetry, but short fiction pieces are sometimes read, too.  You'll hear a variety of poetry, but most of it is free verse, usually pretty edgy stuff.  Most of us read our own work, but if someone has a piece by another poet that they like, it's okay to read it.  And for Bukowksi's birthday, we have a memorial event, reading some of his stuff before we read our own.

PK: I'm from Birmingham, Alabama myself, so I know how hard it is explaining to people that there are actually enlightened souls in a Southern metropolis.  Do you run into these sorts of problems when communicating with someone on, say the east coast?  Do you find yourself having to defend your scene sometimes?  For that matter, are there any problems you encounter from locals?  Also, how has your identity as a Southerner and a Texan influenced your writing?

JTM: Oh, every once in awhile I'll get some comment about "Texas rednecks" from some ignoroid.  From my experience, though, I hear that kinda thing more from people on the west coast than from the east.  It's usually people who've never been to Texas, or never spent much time here.  Or else they're just regional snobs.  Dallas and Fort Worth both have great art museums.They have orchestras, ballet, and live theatre productions.  The music scene is huge, and includes rock, jazz, blues, and more--not just country, like some might assume.  Not that there's anything wrong with country.  I listen to it all.

Of course, there's plenty of poets and poetry readings here.  And I don't feel
any need to defend the scene.  If anyone has an uninformed, negative attitude about Texas or Texans, that's their problem. 

As for locals, they're either into poetry or not.  The only complaint I've ever
heard from anyone was from a lesbian who sent me an email, complaining
that one of my compadre's poems were "pornographic" and "demeaning to
women."  And his writing is tame, compared to what you hear from some
of the other poets, especially the slammers! 

Has being a Southerner/Texan influenced my writing?  To some extent, yeah.I mean, there are subjects or bits of local color in my writing that you aren't as likely to see in writing by a poet from Detroit, San Francisco, or the Bronx.Like seeing a herd of longhorn cattle behind a gas station, or cactus growingalongside the highway.  Or hearing a Hank Williams song in a local bar.  But in general, I'd say my work doesn't reflect too much regional bias.  My hope  is that what I write can reach all kinds of people, wherever they live. You can't please everyone, though...so I just do what I wanna do with my writing.

PK: How long have you been writing?  What inspires you to write?


JTM:  I first started writing when I was in high school--which was a
longgg time ago.  My first published work was a short story in my
school's "creative arts" magazine.

I find inspiration in the happenings of everyday life, but also through
music and visual art.  I also get inspired by things that I've read--it
might be a story in the news, or it might be a word or phrase in a
book that acts as a trigger.  But there are times when an idea comes
to me, and I ask myself, "Now, where in the hell did that come from?"

PK: Who are some of your favorite visual artists?  Musicians?

JTM: My favorite visual artists include Picasso, Salvador Dali, Fernando Botero,Marc Chagall, M.C. Escher, Frida Kahlo, Matisse, Monet, and Magritte.There's plenty of others, but those are the first ones that come to mind.

Musically, my tastes are REALLY eclectic.  Favorites range from Johnny Cash to John Coltrane, Muddy Waters to Motorhead, Patsy Cline to Patti Smith, ZZ Top to Iggy Pop, and from Frank Sinatra to Frank Zappa. And that's just a few examples!  

PK: Your taste in art tends toward the surreal.  From what I've read of your writing, specifically in the West Memphis Witch Hunt, you do spice up your otherwise folksy, plain-spoken poetry with some fairly surreal images.  Is this intentional or more of a natural part of the writing process?

JTM: Hmm...I've never really thought of my writing as surreal...but I've never thought of it as folksy, either.  If those tendencies are there, I don't think they're intentional. I just write what comes to me.  I've used some metaphoric images that maybe could be considered surreal, but those are mainly in poems that haven't yet been published. 

Some of my other writing, I'd call hyperrealism, but to the readers, it doesn't matter what I call it.  I'll let y'all decide.

Last update : 22-11-2007 14:28

Average user rating

   (0 vote)