Todd Hearon returns to music with a sonic trilogy

Todd Hearon

Music has always been a part of Todd Hearon’s life and following a brief break for other creative pursuits, he’s returned with a three-part album release and in this interview, we dive right into what this is all about.

The Texas-born songwriter goes into the story behind his most recent release, “Impossible Man” and how it follows his 2021 and 2023 albums, “Border Radio” and “Yodelady.” We also talk about his musical hiatus to go to grad school in Boston and co-found The Bridge Theater Company, an independent troupe in Boston’s Theater District.

Todd shares how his poetry and other writings blend with his music, and gives us the story behind Myrtle, his 1950 Gibson J-50.

Opening the interview is an excerpt from “Guillotine” and closing things out is the song “Looking Glass,” both of which are from the new album.

“Night of the Hawk” dives into themes of shamanism, misogyny

By Max Bowen

“Five By Five” is the name for our series of written Q&A interviews with writers and musicians. The name actually refers to audio signals, which ties in with our regular podcast. Five By Five is another way to say “good signal strength” or “loud and clear,” but can also mean “exceptional quality,” which certainly lines up with the artists we speak with.

Psychotherapist and poet Lauren Martin is hoping that her new book, “Night of the Hawk” (She Writes Press) can promote kindness and tolerance in the world.

Her book, a collection of poetry she has worked on for many years, addresses different themes, including climate politics, women’s health and love. In this interview, Martin looks at the shamanistic journey she has been on most of her life, the central message of her work and what she hopes that readers take from it.

What was the shamanic journey that you went on?
I was born with an intrusive ability to see people’s ancestors. When I was a child, spirits would come alive in my bedroom at night. Talking. Mumbling. Agitated. Pleading. My father is a physician and when I would ask, “Why are there people in my room?” he would say it was my eyes adjusting to the dark. And thus began a journey of not being believed.

When a child is shamanistic or a medicine person, there are specific rites that protect children like this from the negative impact of interacting with the dead. Because I did not get those protections, it led to increasing metaphysical occurrences as I grew up. Due to the complications caused by this, I was extremely isolated as I tried to figure this out. I spent decades seeking out answers, eventually ending up in what I see as the root of all religions.

I read that you’ve worked on these poems for many years. How have you changed from the first poem you wrote to the more recent ones?
What a great question. I actually have written poetry for a long time, but this book came together while I was laying in bed with a spinal fluid leak. I typically don’t do many edits and tend to wake up with a poem fully formed. My shamanic journey has always isolated me and the eight years of bed rest made it worse. I think I’ve become more comfortable with my spirit-driven life of service and less expectant of personal desires which ultimately, are not guaranteed.

What are some of the topics your work focuses on, and why did you want them included in the book?
Climate Politics: My religion reveres nature as vibrant and alive entities essential for our survival. I feel deeply concerned by the way greed has distorted facts with regard to the environment.

Women’s Health and Disability: I have spent my life passionate about the fight against misogyny. All the conversations right now seem to focus on our problems with our allies rather than our unification and strength. As a result, policies are rolling backward.

Love and Loss: My poetry is a way I can process my deepest vulnerabilities.

Would you say there is a central theme to your work? If so, what is it?
If I were joking I would say my directness but I think there are a few. Shamanism. Misogyny. Disability. Underlying all of this is the grappling with love and death. I do think my personality has lived in the raw vulnerability of the truth and I hope the exposition of that in my poetry allows people to explore their own vulnerability around these themes. To me, the quality of our connection to others is what sustains us in the world and demarks a meaningful life.

What do you hope people get from reading your work?
My hope is that it promotes kindness and tolerance. I want to express the invisible pain that exists in the world: the pain people hide from each other, the pain of the marginalized, and the pain of the natural world which I believe supports our human machinations and deserves greater reverence.

Poet makes big return after 26-year hiatus

By Max Bowen

He’s back, everybody.

Poet Stephen C. Pollock is set to release his debut collection “Exits” (Windtree Press, June 29). When his career in academic medicine wound up taking all of his time, Pollock opted to put poetry on the back burner—but the desire to return was always there.

In this interview, we look at the work collected in “Exits,” which features a different work of art paired with each poem. Pollock talks about the pairing process, how it feels to be back, and his plans for future releases.


I understand this book marks a return to poetry after 26 years. What caused this hiatus?

My original career in academic medicine intervened. After I graduated from Amherst College, I trained for 10 years to become a physician, ophthalmologist, and neuro-ophthalmologist. In 1987, I was recruited to Duke University as Chief of Neuro-Ophthalmology, eventually achieving a rank of Associate Professor with tenure. I ended up serving on the full-time faculty for 17 years.

Some physicians are able to write poetry throughout their medical careers. I didn’t belong to that group. For me, maintaining a consultative practice in neuro-ophthalmology, training residents and fellows, publishing clinical research papers in medical journals, and carrying out a variety of administrative responsibilities was all-consuming.

While the instinct to write poetry was completely suppressed throughout this period, it was not extinguished. As I cut back on academic responsibilities during my last year at Duke, that instinct began to slowly reassert itself.

How did it feel to be back?
Surprised, thrilled and thankful! Ideas for poems began to percolate to the surface beginning in 2003, and the impetus to write has continued to make its presence felt, though at irregular intervals.

Did you have to spend any time getting back into the flow of your work?
I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t actually have a flow. I have always been undisciplined with respect to writing poems, as evidenced by the fact that I have no set writing schedule. In contrast to most other poets, I lack the ability to sit down daily at my desk and call forth ideas and/or personal experiences to serve as the basis for new poems. Nor have I ever relied on writing prompts to prime my poetry pump. Instead, I wait for lightning to strike (or, mixing metaphors, for the Muse to whisper in my ear). The unpredictability of this approach means that I never know when the next poem will materialize.

Once I begin writing, however, I become intensely focused. When fully engaged and maximally productive, my efforts typically result in four new lines of poetry per day (derived from perhaps a dozen pages of notes and drafts).

Is there an overall theme to the book? If so, how is this captured in the poems?
The overall theme is mortality — disease and decline, death and remembrance. Many of the metaphors are drawn from nature. However, despite the unifying theme, the book features a potpourri of styles, ranging from formal poems to free verse to hybrid variants. At the same time, the poems don’t conform to contemporary genres. I’m hopeful that readers will sense a timeless quality to the work.

 

I like that you paired art with the poems. How did you go about selecting the works?
The decision to include visual art was an intuitive one. I sensed that many of the poems would resonate in interesting ways with visual images and that this would enhance the reader’s experience.

While a few of the images were selected solely for illustrative purposes (e.g. the image of a goldfinch and a coneflower accompanying “Seeds”), most were chosen because they offered alternative slants on the content of the poems. Though the poem “(eclipse)” drips with erotic innuendo, it’s paired with the image of a 1908 patent for an orrery, a mechanical device that replicates the motion of the earth around the sun and the moon around the earth. The sonnet “Nasal Biopsy” is ostensibly about a surgical procedure, but a cathedral door was chosen to accompany the poem because the speaker perceives gothic architecture in the anatomy of the nose and because the poem is ultimately concerned with questions of faith.

This is likely a tough question, but do any of your poems in this book stand out?
It’s an easier question than you might think. “Seeds” is the best sonnet in the collection, and “Syringe” is probably the most original and creative long poem I’ve ever written. “Arachnidæa: Line Drawings” seems to connect with readers, given that it was a finalist in one statewide competition and was awarded second prize in another statewide competition.

What’s the editing process once you’ve finished a poem?
Intense and merciless. Editing, often over months or years, is critical to achieving the desired outcome. I’ve learned that a satisfying first draft almost always begins to exhibit flaws after sufficient time has passed to afford an objective assessment. For example, the eight-line poem “(eclipse)” underwent 19 revisions over as many years.

I really like the cover for the book. Where did this concept come from?
I’m so glad you like the cover. This is the first opportunity I’ve had to discuss how it came to be.

The first step was to select a photo. I knew I wanted a black-and-white image, so I reviewed hundreds of stock photos filtered by terms such as “mortality” and “death.” Most of the options consisted of skulls or illustrations of the grim reaper, which seemed more appropriate for decorating a Halloween party. However, when I came across this image of a bare tree against a threatening sky, I immediately gravitated toward its ambiguity. Is the tree dead, or is it merely dormant? Do the ominous clouds portend a storm? I also loved how the main trunk contrasts with the lightest part of the sky.

The next step was to crop the photo for a 6" x 9" format, which I did in a way that preserved the visibility of both trunks but didn’t allow the tips of the branches to extend to the cover margins.

I then selected Adobe Caslon Pro as the font for the title. (This is a contemporary version of the font originally designed by William Caslon, an 18th-century English typographer). Consistent with all of the headings in the book, the title was rendered in all caps with the first letter larger than the rest. Note how the serif of the uppermost arm of the “E” points directly toward the serif of the adjacent “X.”

To the casual observer, all of the letters of the title are white. But that’s an illusion. All are shades of light gray, and each letter is a different shade. My objective was to maintain consistent contrast across the title. However, because the clouds become darker from left to right, the letters of the title had to do the same if they were to appear similar to an observer. The letters of the author’s name also employ a range of light grays in order to achieve the same effect.

Other features of the cover that required decision-making included: the position of the title; the font sizes of the title (66 pt / 46 pt); the position, font style, and font size of the author name; and the distance between letters. Regarding the latter, the “X” and the “I” in the title had to be separated by an additional 2 pt in order to keep their serifs from touching.

Do you foresee more books in the future?
Given my age (67), reduced life expectancy (due to longstanding multiple sclerosis), and my undisciplined and unpredictable writing schedule, I doubt that additional books will be forthcoming. But you never know…

Poet Quinn Bailey brings it back to nature in new book

Poet Quinn Bailey always had a strong connection to the natural world, so much so that it's become his career. His new book, “The Currents Of The World,” collects a variety of poems shaped by witnessing, again and again, the power of nature. The poems have a pretty straightforward approach, but touch on a number of themes, such as the beauty of nature, the joy of dance, and trusting growth to happen in its time.

Quinn and I talk about the origins of the book and how he came to the attention of Homebound Publications. He looks back to how he first connected with nature and his favorite settings for writing his poems. We also talk about how he came to the decision to collect his poems and find a publisher to share them with the world.

To close out the interview, the author gives us a reading, sharing two poems—one from the book, along with a brand new one.