CanLit Poets
Nathaniel G. Moore
Nathaniel G. Moore is an editor at Danforth Review. His work has appeared in Globe & Mail, Descant, Taddle Creek, and This Magazine. He is co-editor of Toronto Noir, and author of Let\'s Pretend We Never Met. His next book of poetry, Pastels Are Pretty Much the Polar Opposite of Chalk, is forthcoming in 2010. He went to the same high school as Margaret Atwood.
Poems
Questions & Answers
Is there a specific moment that inspired you to pursue poetry?
Romantic impulses at the age of 17.
How/where do you find inspiration today?
In music, in beauty: in the music of words and the inspiration to continue that textual sound.
What is your writing process?
It is quite manic. I write when I have time: usually in the late afternoon and I transcribe scribbles from my notebooks. I edit constantly, and attempt to conjure something new. I am interesting in challenging my own predictable forms, which are likely only predictable to me.
What is your revision/editing process?
Tedious and brutal.
Did you write poetry in high school? If yes, how did you get started? If no, why not?
Yes. Romantic obsessions of the upper-middle class.
Do you use any resources that a young poet would find useful (e.g. websites, text books, etc.)?
I have a personal website, (www.nathanielgmoore.net) whether it is of any use to a young poet is debateable. I think the Danforth Review (www.danforthreview.com) is a great source of poetry interviews, as well as reading contemporary poets published in Canada by any of the LPG publishers (www.lpg.ca) or other innovative publishers. Broken Pencil magazine has reviews and interviews and articles about new poetry trends and publications in each issue. It is a print magazine but also has a web component. (www.brokenpencil.com)
When you were high school aged, what would have been helpful/motivating to hear from a published poet?
Not to worry about how long it takes to become skilled. And also learning that showing your poetry to your family is a sure-fire way to alienate them and make them uncomfortable. I would suggest that the only really useful audience for your early poetry is the subject of your romantic obsessions. There is no real other reason to write poetry as a teenager. And makes sure they like you back or else start writing about someone else, dead or alive.
MLA: Moore, Nathaniel G.. CanLit Poets: Nathaniel G. Moore. canlit.ca. Canadian Literature, 21 Apr. 2010. Web. 18 June 2013.
