|
Interview with Desi Di Nardo
National Post's “The Afterword” by Mark Medley
Desi Di Nardo's work has been featured in numerous North American and international journals and anthologies, plus some unique places: printed on Starbucks coffee cups and featured as part of the Toronto Transit Commission's Poetry on the Way initiative. She published a collection titled "The Plural of Some Things" last year.
Can you remember the first poem you ever wrote? What was it about?
I always remember writing poetry, even from a very early age, but "Rainbird in the Annex" is the first poem I wrote when I began my writing about eight years ago. Fittingly, it deals with the influence and essentialness of place for a writer and the shaping of one's voice or craft based on what that writer or artist defines as 'home.'
Who's your favourite living poet -- Canadian or otherwise -- and why?
There are so many brilliant poets who are the backbone of what modern poetry in Canada is today, but unfortunately those poets who I care to choose are no longer with us. As for a favourite living poet, I don‟t have one, though there are a handful of poets whose style I appreciate. P. K. Page is one. Another is Pier Giorgio Di Cicco for his wry wit and magical way of personifying unlikely matter. And someone whose work I've only been recently acquainted with is Tim Lilburn whose poetical charm is heavily entrenched in landscape and the natural world.
Who's one poet you pretend to know but in reality have never, ever read?
I don't have to think too long on this one. Geoffrey Chaucer.
If you could get everyone in the world to read one poem, what would it be?
Hands down – Al Purdy's "The Last Picture in the World". It is starkly still, sad, and impossibly beautiful.
What's the poetry collection you'd take on a desert island?
Probably any one of Pablo Neruda's collections. I can't think of anyone else's voice I'd more want to share the island with.
Novels are always being adapted into movies. What are some poems that deserve the Hollywood treatment?
I'd like to see "The Prelude" by William Wordsworth made into a flick and presented at Cannes with Malcolm McDowell, the main actor from Clockwork Orange, as the lead. Actually, I can't believe it hasn't been done already!
What's the most exciting thing happening in poetry these days?
More and more poetry is reaching people who might otherwise not be readily exposed to it. Not only is the poetical word alive and well but there are more opportunities and venues for performances and readings, a larger number of poets mentoring students in schools, greater community involvement, and much more accessibility for those interested in getting published on the Net.
What poetry blog or website do you read every day without fail?
I have to confess I don't. I'm afraid I'm not the most techno-savvy person when it comes to the Internet. So if it doesn't concern retrieving emails or typing out my poems from longhand, I determinedly try to stay away.
What are you working on next?
I just released my new book of poetry this past December and am finally settling down to continue with a 2nd book of poetry. The timing couldn't be better. April is not only National Poetry Month. It's a time when the snow melts, the clouds part away, the birds beckon, and the slight colouring of growth appears once again.
______________________________________________________________________
“Interview with Desi Di Nardo,” in National Post's “The Afterword” (books blog,), Posted: April 19, 2009, 7:30 PM by Mark Medley.
Desi Di Nardo's work has been featured in numerous North American and international journals and anthologies, plus some unique places: printed on Starbucks coffee cups and featured as part of the Toronto Transit Commission's Poetry on the Way initiative. She published a collection titled "The Plural of Some Things" last year.
Can you remember the first poem you ever wrote? What was it about?
I always remember writing poetry, even from a very early age, but "Rainbird in the Annex" is the first poem I wrote when I began my writing about eight years ago. Fittingly, it deals with the influence and essentialness of place for a writer and the shaping of one's voice or craft based on what that writer or artist defines as 'home.'
Who's your favourite living poet -- Canadian or otherwise -- and why?
There are so many brilliant poets who are the backbone of what modern poetry in Canada is today, but unfortunately those poets who I care to choose are no longer with us. As for a favourite living poet, I don‟t have one, though there are a handful of poets whose style I appreciate. P. K. Page is one. Another is Pier Giorgio Di Cicco for his wry wit and magical way of personifying unlikely matter. And someone whose work I've only been recently acquainted with is Tim Lilburn whose poetical charm is heavily entrenched in landscape and the natural world.
Who's one poet you pretend to know but in reality have never, ever read?
I don't have to think too long on this one. Geoffrey Chaucer.
If you could get everyone in the world to read one poem, what would it be?
Hands down – Al Purdy's "The Last Picture in the World". It is starkly still, sad, and impossibly beautiful.
What's the poetry collection you'd take on a desert island?
Probably any one of Pablo Neruda's collections. I can't think of anyone else's voice I'd more want to share the island with.
Novels are always being adapted into movies. What are some poems that deserve the Hollywood treatment?
I'd like to see "The Prelude" by William Wordsworth made into a flick and presented at Cannes with Malcolm McDowell, the main actor from Clockwork Orange, as the lead. Actually, I can't believe it hasn't been done already!
What's the most exciting thing happening in poetry these days?
More and more poetry is reaching people who might otherwise not be readily exposed to it. Not only is the poetical word alive and well but there are more opportunities and venues for performances and readings, a larger number of poets mentoring students in schools, greater community involvement, and much more accessibility for those interested in getting published on the Net.
What poetry blog or website do you read every day without fail?
I have to confess I don't. I'm afraid I'm not the most techno-savvy person when it comes to the Internet. So if it doesn't concern retrieving emails or typing out my poems from longhand, I determinedly try to stay away.
What are you working on next?
I just released my new book of poetry this past December and am finally settling down to continue with a 2nd book of poetry. The timing couldn't be better. April is not only National Poetry Month. It's a time when the snow melts, the clouds part away, the birds beckon, and the slight colouring of growth appears once again.
______________________________________________________________________
“Interview with Desi Di Nardo,” in National Post's “The Afterword” (books blog,), Posted: April 19, 2009, 7:30 PM by Mark Medley.
