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Featured Poets at the 2015 Ohio Poetry Association Picnic and Business Meeting – Part 2

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Last week, we shared responses provided by Kerry Jensen Trautman, one of the three featured poets who will be reading at the 2015 Ohio Poetry Association Picnic, to our five questions about the writing process. This week, we’re sharing responses from poet, Steve Brightman. 


Steve Brightman

Do you draw inspiration from other poetry? If so, whose and why?

I draw inspiration from whatever is willing to offer its vein(s) to me: poetry, the weather, baseball, people I know, people I don't know, historical personae, the trees (my family's and the ones outside my window), words, numbers...

What three words best describe your own poetry? 

taut, accessible, concrete

Do you have a writing routine? If so, describe it briefly.

I do have a routine. I write every day. literally. Last week was the 2000th day in a row I've written a poem. Not all of them are good or deserve to see the light of day, necessarily, but they're poems. And they are strung together consecutively on Facebook. my routine is fairly simple. I sit down (usually in the dark) and unspool all the images/thoughts/noteworthy moments from that day in front of me (figuratively). I sift through those, frame the one I like most, and find a well-lit spot for it.

Aside from poetry, what do you like to read?

fiction. Colum McCann is big favorite of mine right now. I'm reintroducing myself to Margaret Atwood, too. I'm also partial to spending too much time reading garbage on the internet.  Oh, and Entertainment Weekly and my bills and baseball cards...


What other activities do you enjoy (e.g., art, cooking, music) that may/may not influence your writing?

driving, watching baseball, people-watching, listening


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Steve Brightman lives in Akron, Ohio. He firmly believes in two seasons: winter and baseball. His first full length collection The Wild Gospel of Careening and Other Sermons from the Rumble Strip was recently released by Red Orchid Publishing. His chapbook History, Too, Is a Simple Machine will be unleashed upon the public in 2015 by NightBallet Press.

                                                                ~

Remember, the picnic be held at, Jeffrey Park, Memorial Shelter, 1965 N. Parkview Ave., Bexley, Ohio 43209. A short business meeting will be conducted from 10:30 - 11:30 am. The carry-in style picnic will be from noon until 3:45. At 1 pm, poets Kerry Jensen Trautman, Steve Brightman, and Wendy McVicker, as well as Student Voices winners and other special guests, will read poetry. There is an open mic too, so bring a poem or two to share.



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