0.00
(0 votes)
You must login to vote
|
|
|
Such wonderful enthusiasm by everyone on the site in reading, commenting, and participating in every aspect of lit.org makes me so proud to be a member of the community. There are so many on my list to be EXPOSED! I wish I could do a new column every day, but be patient, for I will find you in your lairs...and there is no rhyme or reason to the order, other than there must be sufficient work for me to read in order to be able to formulate an interview....
With so many new, and very active members, my list grows longer by the day, and I wish I could do every single one of you in the blink of an eye...unfortunately, it takes me a little longer than that....but enough of that...
Rcallaci (whose picture is in the lit.org album if you want to see who is talking, was gracious enough to share with us a little of himself and a lot about his writing...and I am pleased to present him for your reading pleasure! There are very few people who will not recognize his name from his writing, and his diligent and gracious commenting...
Q: Bob, your bio indicates that you are on a spiritual journey...is that a fair assessment? How long has that been true, and how has it progressed?
A: I've been on a spiritual journey in one form or another most of my life. The philosophies of religion and science have been a major part of my teenage and adult life. The more I age the more full life becomes and I hope I've gained a little wisdom along the way.
Q: Your poem You Dare to Be Like Me! written in 2003...I truly couldn't
decide if it was it written out of anger from 9-11...or as a warning to ourselves...enlighten me? And how do you feel now about the world situation?
A: We as Americans can be quite arrogant and intolerant about views that don't coincide with our own. Many of us view the world as our Disneyland and for someone to speak out against us is apostasy. This poem is about our bloat and our deafness to the world.
We are experiencing a World Jihad. We live in thrilling and scary times.
Q: In several of your poems I "feel" a finger pointing at the establishment...am I right? What would be your priority if you could change it?
A: We are the establishment. We put a blanket over the mirror so as not to see who we really are. I would like my poetry to be the hand that takes that blanket off. We need to realize we are all a part of the same piece of dust.
Q: I loved In Dreams of Hell because it brought to the forefront fears, called on angels and demons and then resolved to a peaceful place...you have a real flair for taking the reader on a roller coaster ride...have you had both the extreme highs and the extreme lows in your life?
A: Life is about ebbs and flows, highs and lows, hate and love. What makes us who and what we are is how we handle what comes before us. I've seen beauty and I've seen horror, I've doubted and hated myself and loved and admired me as well. Life is one hell of a roller coaster ride the trick is to enjoy the whole ride.
Dreams of Hell is about that roller coaster ride.
Q: You ask in many of your poems what you could have done differently...what could have made you better...I am particularly thinking of Never is Forever ...looking back over your life, what could you or would you have done differently?
A: What a loaded question. In "Never is Forever" and other poems I ask the question of the What Ifs and What nots. We all at one time or another have regretted some of the choices that we have made. We wonder how our lives would have turned out if we chose a different road to walk on. Looking back their are many things I would love to have changed but if I did change those things I would be a different person then I am today. All those good and bad choices that I made is what made me what I am today and I kind of like where I am at this point in time.
Q: In Killing the Buddha, it would seem that you subscribe to the fact that our messengers are gone and we have no one to rely on but ourselves...do you l feel that way?
A: This poem is basically my philosophy in a nutshell. To listen to the true voice that lies within us is to listen to the universe. We are our own messengers our own spiritual guides and by getting to truly know ourselves is to know God.
Q: Does death worry or concern you? Some of your poems seem to dread it...so set me straight if I am mistaken.
A: I have a healthy fear of death. I've seen my share of death and in some cases the devastation that it can cause. I'm an existentialistic poet, the meaning of life and death hold an equal fascination to me. Do I dread it? Well I really would rather be alive then dead it's something that I could wait on.
Q: Some of your poems are romantic, some are reflective, some are protestations...do you consider yourself all those things...a romantic, one who is reflective and a protester?
A: I mainly see myself as a reflective thinking poet with a dash of romance and a little vinegar. I reflect alot on Sin. What is it. Why are we drawn to it. I wrote a lot of poems on our attraction to sin. A few that come to mind “ The seven deadly sins”, “Sin”, “Perversion” and “Don’t Bite the Apple”. Sin is such a juicy little thing. Most of my so called romantic poems have to do with Nature. I personalize nature into male female. Poems such as "Why Grass Grows", "Breathless, frostbite, speechless and heatstroke" all have a romantic flavor to it. Nature is such a delicious thing. As for the Vinegar, I have alot of that. I protest mainly against intolerance. Intolerance and fanaticism drive me up the wall. Two of the more recent ones "A fundamental Flaw" and "No Need to Pray" Intolerance is such a foolish thing.
Q: Ok, I have to ask this...flies, worms, and rot are symbols in many of your poems....their significance...are they the "enemy" of what stands between us and finding true selves?
A: Flies and maggots, worms and rot represent the emptiness and hollowness of our souls. They suck out the light leaving in its wake a rotting worm infested core while buzzing flies continuously regurgitate the sins that consumed us. When we embrace sin (and it can be oh so sweet) we become the worm and the fly until there is nothing left but happy maggots.
Q: What is the favorite of the 159 pieces you have posted at lit.org (and believe me, I know how hard this question is)...and if not THE favorite, one that particularly did what you wanted it to do?
A: I love most of my pieces and to single one out is quite difficult. So rather then pick out one piece I'll pick out one of my favorite series. My most fun pieces are my " Beastie Poems". I've written ten of them to date and hopefully more in the future. These came about by me reading Kitten Courna's poem "Creatures". I was enchanted and kept seeing the little beasties in my mind. So with Kittens kind approval I wrote my first beastie poem. A much darker version then Kittens. The little beasties kept on pestering me so I wrote nine more. My favorite one of that group would be "The Beastie King".
Q: You are generally pretty reticent about "issues"...are there any particular issues which sharpen your sense of esponsibility...make your blood boil, or which you would like to address?
A: There are many issues that I'm passionate about. The preservation of our Ecosystem is on the top of the list. Depleted Rainforests, polluted waters, extinctions of wonderful species that we will never see again, the plight of the gorilla , whale and elephant, the disappearance of the free range, parks and the natural wonders of this world. I'm also a nut on Space exploration, Stem Cell Research, Animal rights, and Medical Ethics. Man's arrogance, ignorance and gluttony are the cause for the weakening of our ecosystem and the disappearance of nature's treasures. I may not address these in an "issue" type forum but I do address them in my poetry.
Q: You have written two rants...one about the recent staff write off, and another entitled Wall of Fire. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask what precipitated "Wall of Fire"...and you are so eloquent, and so effective in your prose, why not more of it?
A: The "Wall of Fire" was a remembrance of an event that has remained in my dreams. It was a dark moment in my life that has shaped every inch of Who and What I am Today.. At the time I wrote this piece our country was headed towards the war in Iraq. Young wide eyed idealistic soldiers like my self thirty years before, off to learn what hell is really like. History constantly repeats itself and we're to dumb to learn its lessons.
I have written a few non-fiction pieces about Free Will and Time but have shied away from writing short stories. Poetry comes easier from me, it's comes in a flash, while prose I have to work and sweat for it. When I wrote my time series one sentence could take a day to write. It takes much more commitment and I'm basically a very lazy guy.
Q: How does science fit into your view of the world and its creation? I was struck by your poem Silent Bang, which is what partially generated my question.
A: Science is a huge part of my world. Quantum theory, String theory, particle physics, cosmology, black holes and curved space, the macro and micro universe and universes, evolution and the big bang enthrall, enchant and beguile me.
Science and religion are different shades of the same thing. The language used and the mindset though is quite different. In my poem "Silent Bang" a tiny string stirred was caused and thus creation and chaos began.
Q: Forgive the phrasing here...you are "godly" in your demeanor, your comments and many of your writings, but you do not seem to follow any one doctrine....is that by design, or are you just keeping that information to
yourself?
A: Well I don't wear robes and live in a cave and I'm as ungodly as the next guy. But religions and all forms of spirituality and the integration of those religions with science have been a obsession of mine most of my life. I've been a theist, deist, pantheist, pagan, agnostic, atheist and agnostic once again. I believe God is dead, yet to be born and is alive. I believe in magic and science. I'm a walking contradiction. Life is one grand mystery and I'm just one little fool in its weave.
Q: Why do you write, Bob...sometimes I feel it is sharing or artistry, and other times I feel it is more the "teacher" in you (but always artistry)...Do you write for pleasure, to inspire, to be published? And if you are (published)..spill it so we can go look or buy!
A: I write for pure pleasure. I love the art in it, to create a moving picture with words. I'm somewhat of a frustrated teacher so I do like to impart some of my addled wisdom. If my poetry can inspire someone then that's a gift which is priceless. I don't write to be published I'm not focused enough. I'm too lazy to submit,submit,submit. Maybe in a few years while I have more time will I then try to publish.
Q: Has there been an event in your life which set you on your present path...the journey of knowledge...or has the "journey" always been the thing?
A: The journey has always been the thing. I love knowledge. The more you know the less you know is such a truism. I 'm just about on the B's in the alphabet of understanding.
Rapid-Fire Want to Knows.......
Q: Your favorite poet/poem of all time?
A: William Blake as a Poet and the "Raven" by Poe as a Poem
Q: Your favorite non-fiction author/work?
A: Ken Wilber as author "The Selfish Gene" by Dawkins as the work
Q: Your favorite fiction work/author?
A: "The Silmarillion" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Q: The single thing you are most proud of (pure satisfaction, not sinful
pride) as you review your life thus far?
A: Marrying my Wife
Q: I don't know how much of a music aficionado you are, but would very
much like a peek into your music library....can you share what you like?
A: I love and Eat Opera. Italian and German are my favorites. Verde blows me away and Wagner inspires me (not the man but his talent) I could name over two hundred opera's that I love but I'd put you to sleep. Mozart, Bach and Beethoven are my musical Gods I could never get enough of them . Coltrane and Miles Davis get me down and dirty.
Q: You could write a sentence to the world which everyman (which you say
you are) would hear or read. Write the sentence for me.
A: Life is all about Flow, follow its breeze and bend with it
Q: If you could sit down in your library with a group of six (living or dead) what would you want to know, and what would you like to ask?
A: I only need two to sit down with. That would be God and Lucifer.
First I would want to ask if they created us or did we create them. Then I'd ask them for the meaning of existence and to kiss and make up.
Q: Favorite pastime other than writing?
A: Chess, opera, science, history, science fiction, and movies
Q: Pet peeves about others writing?
A: Hip hop speak, those who can't take criticism.
Q: What are your aspirations five years down the road....
A: Maybe to get published. That would be cool.
I want to thank Bob for taking his time and being so forthright and interesting in his responses.
I enjoyed getting to know him a little better, as I have enjoyed getting to know everyone I have EXPOSED! and met at lit.org...
Until next time,
Claire
----------------------
Question of the Week
Q: You do the expose and the photo book and now you do the poetry thread and still comment? But you don't comment on everybodies stuff so arent you being too unfair here to be a staff membership?
A: Well....first of all, I started EXPOSED! and the album before I was made staff. I was asked by a more senior staff member to take on the poetry thread, and I think it's done pretty well. I try to comment on as much work as I can, but in commenting, I am just a member like you, and do what I can within the time I have to do it. My comment to post ratio is pretty high, so I hope I try to do my part. I enjoy the site very much and while I would love to comment on everything, there just aren’t enough hours in the day. I try to vary my comments so I read new people all the time.
If my "visibility" is a problem, the person to go to is Crowe. (crowe@lit.org) or to the staff (staff@lit.org). Lit.org is Crowe's site, which he made and maintains for the benefit of all of us. If he (or staff) wants to slap me down, take away responsibilities or silence me, then that is his prerogative, and I will accept it.
|
EXPOSED! at lit.org (williamhill)
