Interview with David Wagoner
Hugo House: In a few weeks you'll be debuting a brand-new piece at Hugo House-have you started working on it yet?David Wagoner: Yes, I've started working on it, but mostly in my head.
HH: Can you give us a hint of how you're approaching the theme of "Love Is the Drug?" Literally? Figuratively? Prose? Poetry? Interpretive Dance? None of the Above?
DW: I'm going to be looking at some of the problems facing a poet who tries to write love poems. I'll be using poems of others and some of my own.
HH: What were your first thoughts on receiving an invitation to write to an assigned theme? Any regrets on saying yes?
DW: My first thought was, “Oh, God, it's almost as hard to talk and think about it as it is to write it or experience it.” But no regrets.
HH: Could you tell us a little bit about your process-how you approach writing something new?
DW: I have approached the writing of poems from every direction I can think of. But the best ones have come in this order: random notes in prose or some lines, rough draft in which I try to discover voice and form, rewriting and often reordering, more revisions, abandonment.
HH: Tell us 3 non-literary things we don't know about you.
DW: 1) I do sleight of hand with cards. 2) The only photo I have on my work room wall currently is a signed photo of Houdini. 3) I think Ingmar Bergman's movie The Magician may be one of the best ones ever made.
