Q&A with Nick

ES: Which poets are you most influenced and inspired by?
N: Sylvia Plath is the one poet I’ve always most admired, for the sheer intensity of her poems and power of her imagery. I also like e e cummings, DH Lawrence, Tennyson and some of the romantics – Keats, Shelley and Wordsworth. And of course the master of gothic Edgar Allan Poe!

ES: What have you learnt from poets who have gone before you?
N: Learning how to play around with form and structure and getting the sense of rhythm right, honing the poems down to their sharpest points of imagery – making sure there’s not a single word in there that shouldn’t be in there – these are things I feel I’ve learnt (and am still learning as I go)

ES: What do you hope to achieve with your poetry?
N: My main aim initially was to find a publisher for my first collection of poems – I saw this as a doorway through which I could achieve what I really wanted, which was to touch other people deeply with my words, make people feel the “aliveness” that I felt when reading really good poetry. I would love to someday be known as one of the great South African poets! I also think any poet should strive to improve with each poem and publication and not simply carry on churning out the same stuff. I hope to continue learning all the time but mostly I hope to contribute something unique to the world in general.

ES: What motivates you to keep working on your art, when things become difficult and challenging?
N: It’s when things are really difficult that I find myself most productive. It seems then that my poems develop their real “meat” and they do become my way of coping with intense and troubling emotions and situations. I find that I become a bit lazy and complacent when all is going smoothly!

ES: If there’s one boundary or misconception you could knock down about being a poet, what would it be?
N: I would like to break down the misconception that poetry is somehow difficult, boring and accessible only to a small group of aloof academics! People often say, “Oh I don’t understand poetry so I never read it.”
To me poetry is like music, it’s just a matter of finding those special songs that touch you deeply. I don’t think you necessarily have to understand exactly what the poet is saying as long as it resonates with you in some way. It’s all a matter of interpretation.