Thursday, June 9, 2016

Interview with Michael Lee Johnson


 

 

J.Langdon:  What drew you to poetry? Who are your favorite and most inspirational Poets?

 

Michael Lee Johnson:  I was drawn to poetry by no roots no direction of my own, a drifter, a nowhere to go person.  I was a basketball, sports star in high school, an early marriage at 17 with child.  That marriage was short two year and back to my hometown, Niles, Michigan.  Funds from my mother allowed me to attend university where I fell in love and lost that love-then the poems began in 1968.

My first love and still is Carl Sandburg.  I read everything and imitated his voice better than anyone I know to this day.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKS1Xc1cIFQ.

Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Irving Layton, Charles Bukowski, Leonard Cohen, Margaret Atwood early poems.   Favorite Books:  The Bible, As A Man Thinketh by James Allen, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Margaret Atwood (early poems).

 

 

J. Langdon:  I have seen you do a lot for the present day poetry scene. You seem to go out of your way to help poets be noticed. What drives you to go out of your way to aid them?

 

Michael Lee Johnson:  It is simply, a passion, a drive hammer wedged between me, and Jesus Christ, and our communion with each other.  For years before the internet, I quit submitting poetry.  My reality is I have over 428 published poems and hundreds of starter poems unfinished.  I am 68 going on 69, at this point in my life I find as much joy in helping others get "kick started" as I do with my own works published in over 27 countries and 885 different publications.

 

 

J.Langdon:  I have noticed similarities to Carl Sandburg in your writings and in quite a few a Leonard Cohen.  You seem to have seen a lot in your life. Do you travel a lot for inspiration?

 

Michael Lee Johnson:  Yes, I would say Carl Sandburg and Leonard Cohen were my earliest influences.  Lately Charles Bukowski.  I had a hard time in exile arriving in Canada with a car that broke down, I tossed everything accept a few clothes and I keep poetry written up to that point and hitch hiked all over Ontario during the Canadian postal strike at the time while waiting for my landed immigrant card which would allow me to work legally in Canada.  The story is too long but the bottom-line is I traveled all provinces in Canada at one time or another.  I lived in my cars, slept in barns, and met many women.  You mix all this up and you have a poet.

 

 

J. Langdon: All the publications are quite an accomplishment.  What advice can you give, or have given to help poets be published?

 

Michael Lee Johnson:  First you need to understand the odds, new poets are lucky if they get published 2-3% of the time.  That means 2 or 3 times out of 97 rejections.  Never give up hope.  I am published at a very high rate of about 10-15% of the time.  There are many reasons why one gets rejected:  poor timing, editor has problems hasn't had time to look, the editor simply doesn't like your style, it was a themed submission and your poems didn't fit, they only publish one a year, you didn't read the submission guidelines carefully enough, the list goes on and on.  Never give up hope.

Advice?  I started a poetry site in my home community of Itasca, IL and no one cared.  In fact, they tossed the draft issue in my face after 45 years have passed.  Then I got the idea to start a group not based on geography rather interest thus my poetry site:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/807679459328998/, Contemporary Poets, Their Works, Current Poetry Projects, News, and Links.  Since only about 8-12% of the population really loves poetry this brings together a concentrated group that can help, comment, make suggestions, see new poetry sites to submit to and a natural audience to find talent for a poetry anthology.  On this site, I build confidence in inexperienced poets who only need a little support to move on into the published world of poetry.  Poets need to keep a spreadsheet with a list of publishers and add to it.  On Facebook poetry groups when you go to a site you will see other related sites to the right side.  When you go to an online publisher site always, look for "Links" or "Other Sites We Love."  Keep records in that spreadsheet of growing publishers:  date sent, name of publication, website, what "batch" of poems you sent, the editors name, the results, then each month tally number of publishers contacted, percentage of poems accepted, etc.   Here is a free wonderful list to start your spreadsheet of publishers with Poetry Publishers Willing to Receive Submissions Electronically:  https://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/pbonline.html.  Create your own Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Facebook Group, Pinterest, Stumblers, and other social media.

 

 

J.Langdon:  You say exile. Do you mean exile as the classic term? Were you running from something or forced to leave, or do you mean exile as in homeless?

 

Michal Lee Johnson:  In my case, it turned out to be both ultimately.  Initially it was exile in self-imposed choice or jail.  While in Canada, it turned out to be homeless many times over.  Who defined what exile is?  Is it choice or is it no choice but to leave, a decision to make.  Exile is lonely, without roots, drifter, no country of your own, that is what exile is.

 

 

 

J.Langdon:  You gave some good pointers and the more global the better. I have noticed you have your own YouTube channel and Sound Cloud. How is that working out for you?

 

Michal Lee Johnson: I love them all; but to be honest, it is very time consuming to do a YouTube video.  I am nearing 100 poetry videos but I love doing the music, my audio, the pictures and making it all come together. I also post them on other social media when done on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/user/poetrymanusa/videos

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