Ask The Author: Mike Dockins

In January, “Letter To Iredell From The Yucatan” by Mike Dockins.

1. What made you choose the stanzaless structure of this poem?

This was not the first of what is now a collection of 21 epistolary poems, making up my second (and so far unpublished) manuscript. The first few I wrote were stichic, which felt right, and the rest of the poems followed suit. I remember showing one to my friends Tom Holmes and Michelle Bonczek, and Tom asked why there were no stanza breaks; he felt the poem needed such in order to breathe. But by then I was convinced that the stichic form presents a relentlessness that echoes the relentlessness of the speaker–who is me, but not me. I can’t remember who’s the author of that great quote about the first-person persona being not me but someone who knows me very well…. In any case, the entire collection is stichic, and on some level I like to think of it as a poem-cycle, one long and relelntless controlled rant.

2. How has being a singer-songwriter influenced your poetry?

They say that poetry is all about rhythm and “music,” and I think that’s true. But in fact if anything my studies of poetry and of language in general have done more to influence my song lyrics. I feel like I’m a better lyricist these days because of that. As a rule, I’ve tried to keep those disciplines separate, but of course there’s overlap, both conscious and unconscious. Meantime, I do try to pay close attention to rhythm, even with erratic-lined free verse poems such as this poem.

3. What Mayan deity would you summon? What would you have it do?

When I first saw this question, I almost fell over laughing. What a terrific and unexpected question. The first to come to mind was Quetzalcoatl, but that is in fact an Aztec god. But there is a Mayan counterpart known as “Q’uq’umatz *PV*
Feathered Snake god and creator. The depiction of the feathered serpent deity is present in other cultures of Mesoamerica. Q’uq’umatz of the K’iche’ Maya is closely related to the god Kukulkan of Yucatán and to Quetzalcoatl of the Aztecs.” (good old Wikipedia) When I was about 10 years old, I saw an ad for a movie called “Q.” I was dying to see it, but never did. Years later, I watched clips and it turns out the movie is horrific. But I liked the image of Quetzalcoatl terrorizing Manhattan from his roost atop the Chrysler Building.

4. When traveling, what measures do you take to make yourself appear less touristy?

I have always aspired to be not a “tourist” but a “traveler.” Semantics? No. There’s an image in “Letter to Iredell from the Yucatan” of a “tour-bus imbecile in a Steelers jersey.” I have nothing against tour buses or Pittsburgh sports teams, but I thought the image epitomized a certain “touristy” characteristic. I don’t want to stroll down the streets of Playa Del Carmen (a town which helped me write this poem) screaming of being a foreigner. Granted, being whiter than a ghost, I can’t fit in naturally, but there are things I can do to not stand out too much, like not wearing a fucking Steelers jersey.

5. How is a taco fake?

Anything fast-food, I need not waste time naming names. I don’t set the bar too high for tacos, but I’d rather eat one at a more upscale Mexican restaurant. Also, I’m not a great chef, but there are a few specialties I’m proud of, one of which is homemade tacos. Here’s how it goes. I use ground turkey instead of ground beef, and I always try to find like 99% fat free stuff. I sautee that up with garlic, onions, and spices (and lime), and I don’t use lettuce at all. I’ve learned to appreciate fresh cilantro in place of lettuce. If possible, I use my own homemade pico de gallo. I like to think that these are not fake tacos.

6. Do you ever trust the worm?

Generally, I trust the worm, though I’ve never tried one. To this day, I can’t shake the image of Craig T. Nelson swallowing the worm in Poltergeist II and what happened to him afterwards. So now I always think that the worm will open its eyes right before I swallow it and my house will implode, something like that. You know what — no, I don’t trust the fucking worm.