John Miller
Oyster River Pages: Why do you write and/or create?
John Miller: A word or a phrase or even set of sounds gets stuck in my head. I have to write a poem around it to get that part of my mind back.
ORP: What is the most challenging aspect of your artistic process?
JM: Letting go of a piece before I overwork it. I have a tendency to revise, revise, and then over-revise. Mary Ruefle says every great poem (not that I've written any!) has a problem with it. I'm still learning that flaws can be features.
ORP: What would you say is your most interesting writing and/or artistic quirk?
JM: I'm a drummer. Though I don't write formal verse, I'm still listening for musicality. In fact, I don't consider a poem finished until I listen to a recording of it and am satisfied with how it sounds.
ORP: Do you know more than one language? How does this influence your art and/or writing?
JM: Does Alabam-ese count? I have studied French for years. I practice with an app on my phone—and by talking to myself in French. Sometimes when I get stuck during revising, I'll think through how a phrase would be rendered in French. Sometimes it even changes the poem.
