Like a Small City is an anthology of poetry sharing dark moments and a celebration of survival from those dark moments. What was the inspiration for this collection of poetry? 

While I think the collection as a whole, flows well together, I actually worked on the poems individually only writing the occasional poem in response or juxtaposition to a previously written poem.

So the inspiration for the individual poems was life experience and imagination blended together though not all poems have the same measure of both in them.

Also some of them come out of writing exercises or were inspired by reading other poems or observing things. For example ‘The crumpled people huddle’ was inspired by the rental crisis. While ‘Leaf City’ was inspired by the racial discrimination of dark skinned people.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I suppose because I have a long history of illness and have experienced a lot of violence these themes naturally reared their heads up time and again. Also things about the art of writing popped in too.

But I also like to write a lot of character vignettes too and by doing this I hope to build greater empathy in readers while also exploring other themes in my work which keeps it more interesting for me as I develop as a writer. Which also means I’m not just stuck with my own history. I can explore other things.

What were some goals you set for yourself as a writer in this collection of poetry?

I guess the only thing I stuck too was to write regularly. I usually write two to three times a week. And each sitting, I usually write two or three first draft poems. And it’s amazing how it adds up. But not all the poems went in the book.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

While I’m still writing poetry, the next big project I’d like to do is a play. Hopefully this and another collection of poems will be available in about three years.

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