C MICHAEL MILLER

OUR POETRY ARCHIVE FEATURED

POET OF THE MONTH

C MICHAEL MILLER 

NOVEMBER 2018

ALICJA KUBERSKA: What does poetry mean to you?

MICHAEL MILLER: A means to expressing the subjects of ones heart

ALICJA KUBERSKA: What’s according to you the meaning of poetry in the contemporary world?

MICHAEL MILLER: That is a difficult subject to be objective about since technology is so prevalent that many do not even pursue reading of any sort. Modern education seems content to lend itself to fields that will only intensify areas that do not further inner reflection and character. Poetry is as much a view into ones heart as it is a stimulus for further inspection into every field of exploration.

ALICJA KUBERSKA:   Can you describe your creative process while writing a new poem?

MICHAEL MILLER: I do not fabricate or create myself, I have always written when driven by the lens of love. I neither craft nor research, I write down what is given to me, then I reflect and edit. 

ALICJA KUBERSKA: Did it happen to you that a poem was just your dream?

MICHAEL MILLER: I wish, my night dreams are rarely good or comfortable. My own thoughts awake are like wild horses which are difficult to keep a bridle on. A friend calls it “channeling” and I am always surprised by the subject matter taken by the pen.

ALICJA KUBERSKA: Tell us about your inspiration. What’re the most important subjects to you?

MICHAEL MILLER: The character of mankind and the religions that influence the thoughts and activities of those governed by them. The study of empires and history is a great revealing of how religion has impacted the formation of societies and how human avarice has been greatly increased by the prevailing beliefs. Don’t ask me how they enter into the writing part, I have no cogent explanation  for how the subjects enter into the “art of poetry” since my primary studies are in science , history , and theology. I don’t know how inspiration works or why I just sit down and “write it” .

MARIA MIRAGLIA:   Which were the emotions that inspired your first verses?

MICHAEL MILLER: Always the lens of Love, from the perspective of the how humans were designed to exist and yet do not excel even in our own highest ideals. At least that is where I tend consider life in my preview.

MARIA MIRAGLIA:  Was your aspiration to become a poet or did all happen by chance?

MICHAEL MILLER: No, I’ve never pursued it as many do, so yes by chance and always only when “driven”.

MARIA MIRAGLIA:   Who is the first person you read your poems to and why?

MICHAEL MILLER: Only to my children, and rarely even then. It has always been a very private subject. I only started sharing them when pushed by my children to join facebook and share them. Otherwise they would still only be in a personal journal.

MARIA MIRAGLIA:   Have you published any poetic anthology, if so what did you feel the first time you got it in your hands?

MICHAEL MILLER: I did have the majority copyrighted and had some offers from record companies , but no I have not pursued that since I am not looking for income or adulation of any kind , as I mentioned I would not have shared except under pressure from my progeny.

MARIA MIRAGLIA:   Who are the poets you prefer reading? Do you get inspiration from them?

MICHAEL MILLER: My preference in poetry reading is quite for the ancients and while I have read works from Ovid to Rumi and Khayyam. I rarely pursue that sort of reading. A major portion of my time is given to history, science and theology and I tend to explore fields for a time then bounce on to the next subject to learn about. The last three years have been given to taking a multitude of history courses and archeology. When I am done with that, it will be on to something new to explore. So I am unsure if I will continue to write since I am now onto new explorations.

APRILIA ZANK: How important is accessibility of meaning to you? Do you challenge the readers to work hard to decipher your poems, or do you prefer transparency of meaning?

MICHAEL MILLER:  It has been apparent that those who have read what comes off the pen find them very clear as to subject when they have taken the time to comment. This said, Christian theology is filled with symbolism and I think some of that has infiltrated many of the pieces. I do not spend time analyzing them that would be for those who read since I otherwise would not have made them for public view except with the pressure from my children.  

APRILIA ZANK:  What kind of poems do you write mostly? Do you have recurring themes, or are all your poems unique?

MICHAEL MILLER: I have taken the time to gather them into particular collections and yes there are definite themes, mostly based on our human character and our beliefs and how they are expressed in our day to day lives. I feel mostly that it has been for my own learning about who I am and how I think, about my past, our past, and our future selves. The formation of character and the examination of human traits and how they affect our relationships in their entirety.   

APRILIA ZANK:   Do you think your poetry is typically feminine / masculine? If yes, in what way?

MICHAEL MILLER: No , human character is strictly neutral as to gender and subjects such as love , loyalty , justice, understanding wisdom, knowledge , compassion , mercy and forgiveness should be inclusive into both genders and taught starting from the point of the ability to speak (subjects that should be instilled from the earliest age to understand)  There are a few pieces that are very personal but applied to human experience would cover either gender as we all have been affected by the actions of others or our own upon others . Some of us learn from them, since we all repeatedly make many faux pas in the course of life lessons.

APRILIA ZANK:   Do you write mostly about yourself, or do you also have an open eye /ear for the issues of the world?

MICHAEL MILLER:  It would be difficult to separate self , from the same source that affects the issues of mankind , so any examination of character would apply equally to myself as it would to anyone else , providing our “belief” that the above subjects should apply to every single human being .

APRILIA ZANK:   In what way is your poetry different from that of other poets?

MICHAEL MILLER: I do not think so much that it is. I have spent very little time examining modern works though. Much of the poetry in ages past have much the same themes of daily life though the expression might be couched in other words, unless you separate the theological works.

LEYLA IŞIK:  What are the main factors to make poetry real poetry?

MICHAEL MILLER: That might be better left to those who feel they are qualified to be a critic. I personally do not , nor would I feel qualified to teach on the subject since it has not been a “lifetime” pursuit . Those of us who regularly meddle with or explore subjects outside of the tradition left to us by institutions would rarely be of interest to those who consider themselves so erudite.

LEYLA IŞIK: Do you think imagery is important in poetry? Where does the importance of imagery begin in a poem, where does it end?

MICHAEL MILLER: Human understanding is thought to start with pictures. From the external to the internal, from  vision to mind , from fact to symbolism , yes . Even science wants to express itself by images to aid our understanding , molecular biology is frequently “pictured”with diagrams along with the discussion of  how it works to better aid our understanding . Does a cell actually look like the picture in the book, yes imagery is very important to human understanding. I do believe this would apply to poetry as well as every other subject explored. 

LEYLA IŞIK:   What are the most used types of poetry in your country?

MICHAEL MILLER: Same as most places I think. Poets tend to be expressive of all the human considerations and tend to be sensitive to them. But that may be my own personal thoughts. Having been connected to your publication for a few years now and it having a very international involvement I have found many tend to consider the same subjects we all do regarding life and its lessons or resistance to its lessons.

LEYLA IŞIK:   What’s important to be a good poet? To write good poems!

MICHAEL MILLER: Ahhh, I do not know that answer . I only know what I have enjoyed and what I have not.

LEYLA IŞIK:  Who are the most important poets and their main properties nowadays?

MICHAEL MILLER: Since I do not spend much time in modernity, except by way of  existence, that would be difficult to express. My considerations have much to do with the whole of history and mankind and since we cannot study the future except in a theological sense to extrapolate what humans tend to do I tend to spend my time studying the past. I have had no relative interest in “modern poetry” per se.

DEBORAH  BROOKS  LANGFORD:   Understanding poetry begins with visualizing the central images in the poem. What do you see, taste, smell, hear, and feel? What is the imagery of your poetry?

MICHAEL MILLER: Human understanding and character, or the lack of it seems to run the threads of those pieces. If so, then my internal vision has a mind of its own since I daily fail even my highest ideals. They seem pretty idealistic in the face of my daily realities.

DEBORAH  BROOKS  LANGFORD:   What is the mood of your poetry? (Or How does it make you feel?)

MICHAEL MILLER: Generally it makes me pretty self introspective by comparison to the themes of what is written. Makes me aware of my flaws and the need to seek a great deal more understanding and apply it more actively. 

DEBORAH  BROOKS  LANGFORD:   In your poetry who is the speaker of the poem? Are you speaking to yourself or to others?

MICHAEL MILLER: Understanding is the speaker.  I feel that it is to me it is speaking. If it speaks to others I can only say by those who have made comments in the past , so at the least many “see” what the work sees. 

DEBORAH  BROOKS  LANGFORD:   What is the message of your poetry?  What messages do your poetry convey?

MICHAEL MILLER: That seems pretty extensive. Our failures to live up to what we idealize and how that affects each other and the need for continued pursuit to incorporate them into our very own natures.    

 

DEBORAH  BROOKS  LANGFORD:    Does the internet and social media contribute to the success of your poetry? Is this the reason you write for?

MICHAEL MILLER: Your publication increased the reading by the thousands last year on G+ . I do not know if its successful or meaningful to others , as stated previously I have never written “for the public” nor do I intend to start doing so. No one saw them for thirty something years except my children, I am not likely to change that though I have shared them by request.

NILAVRONILL SHOOVRO:  Thank you so much dear poet for the interview. We would like to know your personal experience with OPA as a literary web journal. Would you like to share anything more with our readers?

MICHAEL MILLER:: OPA has been a wonderful journal of international contributors. It has been a means to see so many of us think upon the same subjects.