Ken Poyner's flash pieces pulled the Weird Lit editorial team right into the author's strange, descriptive world and delighted us with their humor and playfulness. We were equally amused reading his interview responses and appreciated his thoughtful, strong opinions. In fact, we wish more of his witty directness existed in the lit community. Enjoy Ken's interview below!
What makes you keep writing, even when it's hard?
I feel compelled to. I stopped writing for fourteen years, disgusted with the social and academic realities of the process and environment. But I grew tired of not having a voice. Even if I am shouting into nothing, there is still the possibility that a random wonderer may drift past and hear.
What other creative activities do you like to do?
I love ballet, specifically modern imagistic ballet. I cannot dance (I often joke that, with my small Iroquois heritage, when I attempt to dance it rains), but wish I had the talent to do choreography. Other than that, we are consumed with my wife’s power lifting, but you may not consider that creative, though at times it seems as if it is.
What's your favorite thing to clean?
The wife.
If you could have a month of free billboard space on the side of a busy highway, what would you put on it?
Read, consider, grow, be kind.
Describe your workspace.
Paradoxically, of late I have been writing in public parks. I cannot walk as much as I used to, but the wife still does. We go to one of several local parks and while the wife goes round and round the track, walking with her trekking poles, I will sit at one of the benches with a satchel of books, a flutter of pens, and a couple of writing notebooks. I then revise in a corner of my living room in my wing-backed chair, surrounded by a number of books and my computer.
What's your favorite tree?
I have to go with old, stately oaks.
Does your day job affect your writing topic or approach?
I am retired, after thirty-three years in computer systems. Before that, seven years in private law enforcement; before that, two years in construction and construction materials; and before that, two years selling shoes part time. Mixed in, I taught systems administration part time for ten years. It all impacts my writing, but the knowledge acquired in college does seep into some of my work. My collection of pseudo-science poems, “The Book of Robot,” relies heavily on speculation and projection about computers.
What is your least favorite word?
Snuggle.
If you were to get a line from a book or poem tattooed on your body, what would it be?
I hate the modern practice of superficial tattoos. At one time, tattoos attested to specific accomplishments or alliances. Now, they are often trivial, or an attempt simply to shock or draw attention. I would not have anything tattooed on my anywhere, except perhaps notice on the bottom of my feet to see other end.
What's your favorite obscure novel or short story (a work you never hear anyone else talking about)?
“The Nine Billion Names of God.” It is an Arthur C. Clarke short story, as well as the title of the collection of stories in which it appears. The entire collection is special.
What's your least preferred afterlife scenario?
I find out I was wrong and there is a Hell.
Do you consider yourself an organized or chaotic writer?
I write mostly short items, which individually, do not require a lot of planning and organization, as is likely required for a novel or longer collection. I am organized in my writing environment, and hopelessly fall into a pattern, but the content of my work often simply springs upon me unannounced, angry and demanding.
If you could see two cryptids compete against one another in a friendly challenge, what would they compete in and which one would win?
Bigfoot and the Skunk Ape in Greco-Roman wrestling, with Bigfoot winning. But Bigfoot and the Skunk Ape may be the same cryptid. We have our own cryptid here, located in the Northwest River Park, called Old Stinky. Maybe he is a cousin of the two aforementioned.
What's your editing process? Do you have a first or beta reader, or a workshop group?
My wife reads my work after I type it up. I have a third party who reads the manuscripts for my books, as in longer items both the wife and I tend to miss common errors.
Do you have a favorite book on writing or creating that's been a helpful resource?
Actually, I do not read texts about the process or perfection of writing. I once met Allen Ginsberg and was telling him about our local just-begun MFA program and he noted that MFA programs were great for hiring writers, but would likely be the death of American literature. I was perplexed then, but in agreement now. Too much focus on the mechanics of writing, and less emphasis on the magic, is tending to turn our literature into a robotic and often overly academic pablum.
Where do you go when you need to work out a writing block?
The gym. Get out of the environment, get into something else you can throw yourself into. My wife is a competition power lifter, I lift for fun and health, and it is something we can devote our full attention to. It is a different world. She holds multiple world power lifting records, so it is not a trivial pursuit for us.
If your story was a cocktail, what would it be?
Rum and coke. With 101-proof spiced rum.
What are your long-term writing goals?
To make noise, and have a few sympathetic readers appreciate it and perhaps think it is a potentially insightful music.
Unpopular opinion, go:
MFA program are producing silos. Too many small presses primarily produce books by MFA graduates, which are read by the writer’s family and a few acolytes—but mostly are used as resume fillers to get a job as an instructor in another MFA program. It is an inbred process, and too many small presses participate. Stop making the MFA the gate guard for credibility. Break out of the cycle. You do not have to seek great popular acclaim (we’ve had enough fifty shades of anything), but you want to appeal to people outside of the academic fold. I am also tired of Zoom conferences, for a fee, and Zoom manuscript preparation seminars, for a fee, and all these yip-yip-ee Zoom programs fleecing wannabe writers.
Advice on creating that you’ve learned by trial and error?
Learn from others, but trust yourself. I liked T.S. Eliot when he was popular. When opinion turned and everyone decided he was trite, I still liked him. I like his work now. Trust your own opinion, lead your own riot, even if it is only a small riot. Take advice and criticism, but understand what you need to say and defy convention or trend to say it. That sounds trite and trendy itself, but it is more true than any of us should wish it were.
Ken’s nine collections of brief fiction and poetry can be found at most online booksellers. He spent thirty-three years in information systems, is married to a world-record-holding female power lifter, and has a family of several rescue cats and betta fish. Individual works have appeared in Café Irreal, Analog, The Cincinnati Review, and several dozen other places. Ken's website is www.kpoyner.com. Ken also has a bookselling site at www.barkingmoosepress.com.
Read the full Winter 2024 Issue here!