The Songs of a Sinner is a collection of religious and personal reflections nestled within a blend of narrative and lyrical poetry. Why was this an important collection for you to share?

I wanted to spread the message of Christ, but not in a way that would offend people. The Bible is beautiful literature. Only about half of the poems are directly related to the scripture. I think that even a non-Christian can enjoy the poetry and the stories, even though they may not agree with the themes.

Poetry is difficult for me but rewarding. Sonnets and iambic pentameter are hard. I remember many a dark night trying to fit another syllable into a line of poetry. While sonnets are challenging, I think that it is important for us to continue the old formats and traditions. Otherwise, they will die out. I enjoy free verse, but it is too unstructured for me; whereas sonnets are highly rigid in form. Forcing myself to write sonnets even though I feel constrained by them, produces my best work. It can be frustrating. I do not use any artificial intelligence in my poetry and for that reason, it is not perfect. But, I hope that people will enjoy my poems even though they are written mostly by hand and have flaws. Sometimes, the flaws are what makes something human. I am not a fan of artificial intelligence as I have expressed in my book.

I want to explore other formats as well: The metric and rhyming scheme of American poets such as Emily Dickinson are very pleasing to me.

Do you have a favorite selection within The Songs of a Sinner? One that particularly resonates with you?

The poem, “The Prosecutor” is about me. It expresses my own reservations and questions about my own salvation. I sent literally thousands of people to prison during my twenty years at the Department of Justice. I destroyed lives, buried businesses, wrecked families, and punished criminals severely. It was all in the name of the law. Criminals have to pay their debts to society, but I had so much power and so much discretion that I started to wonder, “Who am I to judge people?” I have my own serious flaws. With a wave of my hand, someone could be indicted and destroyed, personally and financially. Whereas, another I might spare. I began to seriously question my own moral judgment in these decisons. I tried, honestly, to make my community a safer place to live, but looking back on my life, I certainly see a lot of destruction that I did.

How did you decide on the title for your collection?

I wish I had chosen another title because the title is very similar to others, including a popular song. When I wrote the book it was as a repentent sinner seeking atonement — or at least something like that. I know that when I die, I will face an interview with Jesus, and he is likely to say, “Norm, you could have done better,” but I am hopeful that he may say, “But, I kind liked your book of poetry.” When I first started writing poetry, I prayed to God. I said, “If you make me strong, I will never make a penny off of this book.” I plan to keep that promise. I have cut the profit margin on the book to almost zero and any money I make — so far, it’s $2.28 — I will donate to charity.

Can we look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?

Yes!! I am retired as an attorney. I am practicing my iambic pentameter. I will write more books, I have submitted a second book here for review. It’s a very different book from my book of poetry. It’s a book of fiction, called Mistakes, Misstatements, Lies and Other Miscommunication Tactics. I would highly recommend this organization if you are seeking a professional independent review. Titan Literary is fair and honest, but they are also kind and forgiving of human errors. I could not ask for more.

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