For Minimal Books, September 2010
1. PS: How did your adventure with literature begin? MM: Well, I guess the adventure began with Corduroy, my favorite book when I was a kid. I liked the one where he was left behind in the Laundromat and fell into the soap box. Mom must have gone on a book-buying spree when I was born, joining book club after book club. Bedtime stories were a must and a tradition that carried on when my kids were born. We all love to read, so there must be something in that.
2. PS: What is the background of your writing? Where do you search for themes? MM: I do not have any formal training in writing. I started writing goofy, rhymey poems in early Grade School then song lyrics and plays followed in Junior High. Then I found Metallica. I cannot really stand listening to much of it now but I had “…And Justice For All” on vinyl, the double album. I nearly wore that out then picked up “Master of Puppets” and “Ride the Lightning” on cassette. It heavily influenced my mood, and my writing that were still mostly song lyrics. It was not until High School that a friend introduced me to the writings of Bukowski and Joyce Carol Oates. These were the two “weird” books in our library. I stopped writing song lyrics and wrote only bad, angsty poetry. The writing progressed naturally on its own from there with life experience. Themes were not something I looked for but went through.
3. Some of your poems are engaged in social problems. Is being engaged something you feel is your duty as a poet, underground poet?
No. I wouldn’t say so. I do not feel duty-bound to much of anything as a poet. It is more of as a person, I have a problem with bullshit. I suppose it carries over. I do the writing because I love to. It is more of an impulse than anything. Having it published was not something I really considered until I joined a writing site and another writer there turned me on to Remark Poetry and Zygote in my Coffee. If I start thinking too much about how others perceive it, it fucks me up. So, I don’t.
When it comes to publishing and editing though, there is a strong sense of obligation to get it right. When I was making print stuff with Rural Messengers, I had great writing to work with but I was more focused on making something beautiful or inspiring you could hold in your hands. At Red Fez, the presentation is handled for me. The site is there, I just have to find the work that I want to share. My favorite pieces are generally narrative with a punch. The focus is often on social problems and attitudes. Nevertheless, I also like to have fun and enjoy some of the more whacked-out, experimental stuff.
4. How did you start working for Red Fez?
Leopold did it. It’s his fault.
I think I found Red Fez via a link on Zygote. I sent them a submission of poems and started poking around the site. I ordered Leopold’s Red Fez novella and was quite taken with the little book. The printing and the writing were excellent quality. We started corresponding via email and eventually, he asked me to come on as one of the editors. He said I seemed organized (for a poet) but it was probably just a ploy.
5. According to its manifesto Red Fez is underground magazine that is against academic and corporate lit industry. Is the difference only of economic origin or perhaps this is a question of ethics, esthetics or something else?
Academic and corporate lit are not that interesting to me. This may or may not be due to my limited access to it. I don’t know. It’s more the idea that you must pay to play or be someone of note to have anything significant to say that I find disgusting. You can find this in the underground scene too, though it seems less of an issue and contrary to my idea of it, so I try my best to ignore it.
I have nothing against MFA programs or workshops, etc. Honestly, I have no idea what goes on there. For me, it is a lot of money and time that I do not have to spare. I can pursue writing, editing and publishing without it.
6. Are there any themes or genres that you as editor and poet recognize as specifically underground?
Poetry is underground. I mean, who reads it much anymore? The short story seems to be gaining some ground in the mainstream but still something to sort of play with on your way or in between writing novels. This is likely to continue to change as our attention span continues to shrink. People are not as intimidated by the short as they are of poetry. This could change too, if more people were exposed to underground poetry which is not to say it is “dumbed down” but rather it is accessible.
7. Do you consider underground poet/writer as one who would/should never sell himself to corporate media?
Yes and No. I do not think there is anything wrong with being paid for your work. Until the underground can find a way to make a profit and pay their writers, what choice do they have than to turn to corporate media? I do not blame anyone for trying to survive or for getting their work recognized by the larger public. It is not just the underground that is struggling to stay afloat anymore. Print media, magazines, and newspapers are in the fight now too. The difference being, the underground has a large network of people willing to do it without pay. Still, just because you are willing, does not mean that it is ideal.
8. Is underground art in your opinion the art that is by definition beyond the acceptable? Do you consider underground as nonprofessional, antiestablishment or marginalized by some means?
The Underground often pushes the boundaries of acceptable. Those boundaries are increasingly fuzzy. Just look at popular culture. I do not think underground writing is unacceptable by definition, but some of the best work is going to make people uncomfortable. Underground is inherently antiestablishment, not necessarily in the views expressed but in its attitude toward convention. Alternative might be a good word to describe what takes place but most of what I’m interested in is run with the DIY attitude that is tied strongly with the Underground movement.
9. Is underground experimental? Do you consider your own writing and writing by Red Fez authors as experimental and, if so, which way those experiments go?
I look at the underground as more a network of writers and the delivery system there to support it. The writings may not always be experimental but certainly the system is. It continues to try new and modified ways to exist. As for the way it’s going… it’s going digital and micro.
10. Ronald Sukenick as a small press editor was fighting (as he wrote) for a free intellectual discourse. Do you recognize Red Fez as the part of the same fight and if so how does this fight look like now?
I look at Red Fez and other sites like it as a sort of alternative library. While the content should remain free to access, there should be a way to pay the creators for their work. This is the fight I’m engaged in. Generally, if you want to receive funding from arts or government organizations, you have to be part of their game. That involves way more ass-kissing and producing more of the same than I care to be involved in. So how does this work if you want to remain the alternative? We need to work together and use the established systems against itself.
piotr siwecki