In John Yamrus’s twentieth
book BARK, he collects twenty-three of
his dog related poems. The poems are characteristically written in Yamrus’s pared
down, first person/ conversational, free verse style. The poems are often
sparked by an ordinary event- a visit to the vet, watching his dog sleep on the
couch next to him or attending a dog obedience class. The book is dedicated to ‘all
the great dogs’ he has known and loved over the years, including four of his
own, Abby, Mika, Phoebe and Ito. In the interview with Yamrus which follows, he
says that the book has exposed his writing to a ‘whole
bunch of new readers...people who might not normally read poetry.
especially the type of half-ass'd poetry that i write’.
The
front cover features a water colour of a dog by the Swedish painter and poet Henry
Denander. The dog is alert and inquisitive and watchful of its master. The title
BARK is a reference to the opening
poem ‘my dogs’ who bark at everyone and everything and ‘when they’re not
barking,/ they’re sitting there/ waiting for something/ to bark at’.
Yamrus
is protective of and shows great affection for his dogs. In ‘okay, Mr Death,
you win…’ the very presence of his dog brings contentment and a feeling of
completeness to him. In ‘she said…’ he sees his bond with his animal as an
undefineable pleasure ‘sometimes,/ without it/ even being/ said’. In ‘it’s
always something…’ he saves his dog Abbey in his underwear after she falls ‘screaming’
in the swimming pool. He concludes he ‘owed her one’ ‘because that dog/ with
her great, grey eyes/ and her absolutely/ crazy way// manages to/ save my/
life//every/ single//day.’ In ‘perfect’ he reads Doctor Zhivago in his sun room and later closes the novel and sees his
reflection and that of his dog in the glass. He sums up the image, ‘perfect’.
Yamrus
loves his dogs and says bluntly in the accompanying interview, ‘i think i like
dogs more than i like people. there's no bullshit about them. no
pretense. they are what they are, and you don't have to waste your time
trying to figure them out. beyond that, they shit in your yard, not in
your soul’. In ‘my dog doesn’t care much’ he likes how his dog has no worldly
concerns and does not ask for much: ‘all she wants/ is to have/ her bowl/
filled// her/ head/ scratched// and/ to be/ let out/ when it’s/ time to/ shit.’
In ‘it’s raining now…’ he returns from the groomer’s and is impressed how ‘she
knows/ exactly/ how to shake off// what’s bothering her.’ In ‘i just now’ Yamrus
tersely tells an interviewer that he writes a lot about dogs because they teach
him ‘joy,/ perseverance/ and acceptance,’ ‘total concentration/ on a single
task’ and ‘the great secret’ of life that ‘there isn’t any.’
Yamrus
is careful not to sketch overly sentimental portraits of dogs or to treat them
like pseudo children or to anthropomorphise them. Yet he provides his dogs with just enough credible,
original detail to create unique, sympathetic personalities. In ‘my old dog’s
gone deaf’ he writes that he sometimes forgets that his dog can’t hear him, but
humorously quips, ‘actually,/ she never really/ listened to me, anyway.’ ‘In
dog obedience class…’ his dog Abbey finally ‘paid attention/ and sat and stayed’
like the other dogs, and the rebellious streak in Yamrus raucously concludes, ‘I hated
that’.
There
are flashes of sentiment in the book but it is a raw, real emotion and never
overplayed. In ‘I was just now’ Yamrus finds one of his deceased dog’s balls
and as he threw it ‘watching that ball/ come to a stop/ nearly broke/ my heart’.
Similarly, in ‘silly me’ his heart sinks when he spots a vet appointment card ‘from
a dog/ that died/ two years ago.’
The
writing is sparklingly clear and the book can be leisurely read a couple of
times within an hour. As I read through the book I thought about the important
dogs in my own life- Waldo, Leo, Maggie, Terra and Sugar. The walks, the bike
rides, the sagging bags of dog turds and their poignant individual deaths. This collection will stroke
the hearts of dog-lovers every where and provoke readers to recall their own companion
dog narratives.
INTERVIEW WITH JOHN YAMRUS 18 April
2013
You
sometimes use the metaphor that life is a card game. What sort of hand have you
been dealt thus far?
Three jacks backed with a bottle of tequila. i guess i've been lucky so far. i'm 62, but still waiting to see what happens with the draw.
Your
latest book BARK collects twenty-three of your dog related poems. Can
you explain what happened behind the scenes that lead to the publication of the
book through Epic Rites Press? Who initiated the idea for the book? etc
Well, my readers, (all 9 of them) have been
asking me to put out a book of my best poems about dogs for years. Until
now, i never had a publisher who was warm to the idea. i'm really happy
with this book, as it's exposed my writing to a whole new audience...a whole
bunch of new readers...people who might not normally read poetry.
especially the type of half-ass'd poetry that i write.
The
cover water colour illustration is by Henry Denander and I notice on your
website that he has drawn some postcards as well: http://www.johnyamrus.com/ What sort of brief, if any, did you give Denander for BARK?
Denander's one of the greatest artists
around. i wouldn't presume to give someone like him instructions or
directions. i'm just happy and proud to be able to call him my
friend. he included me in his book POETRAITS, which is a collection of
his paintings of the faces of modern poetry. i'm still trying to figure
out why he included me.
As
you imply in your poem ‘i just now’ the obvious question is: why do you write a
lot about dogs?
i think i like dogs more than i like
people. there's no bullshit about them. no pretense. they are
what they are, and you don't have to waste your time trying to figure them
out. beyond that, they shit in your yard, not in your soul.
Moving on to your writing style, you mention that your
writing has gotten simpler the older you get. How do you go about saying more
with less? That is, can you briefly outline the mechanics of your writing? Do
you have a set routine? Where do the poems come from? Do you do much editing?
When do you know when you have cut to the bone?
i try and write every day, but it doesn't
always happen, and the poems come from what's happening around me. i
don't make stuff up. i'm not that smart. i see things...i write
them down...and move on. i'm not one of those guys who thinks that being
a writer is a big deal. the guy who installed my new generator last week
is a big deal. he gets stuff done. all i do is hold up a mirror and
hope.
In
stripping back a poem to its bare essentials did you ever fear that you were
dumbing down the language and robbing it of its beauty and complexity of
meaning?
not in the least. what i'm doing...what
i'm trying to do...is give the poem back to the reader. i want to get
THEM involved in the process. like i said...i'm not very smart. i
want their input, so i leave holes in my poems...holes that they can fill with
their own ideas.
You
refer to Bukowski often in your writing. What do you admire about his writing?
Charles Bukowski is personally liable for
pretty much all that's good and all that's bad about "modern"
poetry. people read him and think "i can do that"...not
understanding the talent and technique that's behind what he does. it's
very very hard to make it look easy. Jack Kerouac once said "walking
on water wasn't built in a day".
Your
poems often depict flawed people trying to understand the complexities and
ambiguities of life. They discover a few clues to some possible answers- but
ultimately, they don’t seem to get it in the end. What have you ‘got’ as a
writer and man that you have passed on to your readers?
when i figure that out, you'll be the first
to know.
Do
you have other books in the loop for future publication? If so, what are you
working on?
i've got a children's book (a first for me)
and a book of new poems in the pipe. i'm really a lucky guy. i've got a
great wife...enough money to buy a good bottle of tequila every now and
then...and the time and the inclination to write. it doesn't get any
better than that.
Thanks
John
thanks! i
appreciate the help and support.
