What, Why, How: Hiram Larew

What?

What’s my poetry? Well, it’s slanted. It’s made of roundabout and surprise. And, it’s surely implied rather than outright.

I’ve always relished, even worshipped, the unexpected in poetry. In fact, I want words, lines or hops in poems to launch me into some skyward place I never knew existed. Yes, poetry is my passport.

Such an all-askew point of view depends upon a life of guessing and imagining. Straightforward isn’t how my poems dance. Images are also a key tool. So are cracked inflexions and mashed grammar.

Most of all, I love pencils. If I have a pencil in hand that wonders and wanders, I feel pure gold.

Finally, so many things that captivate others mean little to me. And flipped around, my eyes and ears live for what is of no consequence to others. All said, my What? is about enjoying winks, being bewitched by backlighting or even imagining the life of those fine, fine ditchy weeds.

Why?

Why do I write? Because to hear a poem’s voice echoing in my inner ear is holy. To feel how a poem’s glow mesmerizes the page is heaven. Mostly, to find a poem that has no map and, instead, rambles or asks the way is, for me, sacred. Back on earth, if my poems misbehave or are truants, never mind and so be it.

In terms of timely relevance, yes I want my poems to swim alongside today’s readers. But I really want each piece to huff puff up to that high ledge so that they join future readers who will be waiting to take the plunge.

Lately, acknowledging privilege, I’ve also harnessed the power of poetry for social causes like hunger prevention or dealing with the pervasive legacy of slavery. For example, in founding Poetry X Hunger, I decided to bring the world of poetry to the anti-hunger cause. And goodness, poets and many, many others have responded! And, in forming the Voices of Woodlawn group, I’ve tapped poets, musicians and artists to tell the largely untold story of slavery at historic plantations in America. The program has spurred countless needed conversations.

How?

How do I write? Fragments of poems often arrive as I’m falling asleep. Or, when I’m scraping mud off of shoes after a meander. Or, when glimpsing someone’s profile in a café. Or maybe most of all, whenever a word or phrase – often a colloquial — buzzes up from out of nowhere, lands in my ear and won’t be shooed away.

Revision is also a favorite friend. What I find tricky, however, is the tendency to over-smooth the line. Like with this sentence, the ongoing tug between wanting what’s fresh but needing what’s clear is what keeps me going – on the slant.

Here’s the final stanza from a love poem, Hats or Trees, which first appeared in Reflections and then in my collection, Patchy Ways.

And so my love
+++these ohs that blend –
+++++++how mornings know
+++++++or evenings hum
+++++++as all the gathers breathe
– Hiram Larew

Bio:

Larew’s poems have received the Louisiana Literature Prize, the Washington Review Poetry Blue Ribbon, and have been nominated for four Pushcarts. His work has also appeared in recent issues of Poetry South, Iowa Review, Contemporary American Voices, Honest Ulsterman, Amsterdam Quarterly and Best Poetry Online. He’s received grants from Arts Councils as well as the United Nations for his Poetry X Hunger anti-hunger initiative. And, he used a writing residency at an historic plantation in Virginia to found the Voices of Woodlawn. Baltimore’s (MD) WBJC Classical Radio (91.5 FM) consults with him on poetry programming, and he holds adjunct faculty positions at five U. S. universities where he lectures on food, agriculture, hunger…and poetry. His latest collection, Patchy Ways, was released in 2023 by CyberWit Press. He lives in Maryland, USA.

Links:

Email HLAREW@gmail.com
Hiram Larew Poetry: includes information on collections
Poetry X Hunger: ​using the power of poetry to alleviate hunger
Hiram on Facebook 
Poetry X Hunger on Facebook
Voices of Woodlawn Video Performance: using poetry, artwork and music to tell the tragic story of America’s slave-holding past.

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Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her multi-award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her latest poetry chapbook, Sleepwalker

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