Poetic Justice Featuring: Cyrus Parker

Posted May 7, 2019 by Amber in Interviews, Poetic Justice / 1115 Comments

Hi everyone. Today I have Cyrus Parker on my blog. They were on my blog last year as well for Poetic Justice with a guest post. This time they did a lovely interview which I really enjoyed reading.

Poetic Justice is a month long event, beginning April 1st to April 30th in honor of National Poetry Month. Throughout April there will be interviews, guest posts, excerpts and other poetic posts. I hope you will follow along. To read the introductory post, you can find out more here

1. How and when did you begin writing poetry?

I’ve dabbled in poetry since my teenage years, though I didn’t start writing it seriously until the spring of 2016. It was around this time I had first picked up and read poetry collections by modern day poets, milk and honey by Rupi Kaur and The Dogs I Have Kissed by Trista Mateer being two of the first. It was reading these books that helped me realize what poetry could be, and that it didn’t necessarily have to conform to any certain set of rules.

At this point, I was also about halfway through the semester of my first creative writing class at Brookdale Community College, and during that second half of it, we focused exclusively on writing free verse poetry. That was when I first fell in love with writing it. This was when my wife, Amanda Lovelace, told me she was writing a poetry collection of her own called the princess saves herself in this one. Watching someone so close to me not only write a book, but go on to self-publish it, and then subsequently get picked up by a publisher, was super inspiring to me, so that’s when I made the decision to start working towards writing a poetry collection of my own.

2. How do you go about creating a poetry collection? Example: Do you set out to write about a certain theme or topic, do you examine your previous work and see patterns?, etc.

For me, the title is almost always the first thing I start with. With the title comes the theme of the collection. From there, I start writing poems, usually in my journal, and if something I write fits in with the overall theme of the collection, I’ll transfer it into the word document that’ll with any luck, become a book!

3. Where do you gather inspiration to write?

Most of my writing is very personal, so my life is my biggest source of inspiration. However, inspiration is everywhere if you can shut out all the noise and listen.

4. Do you ever deal with writer’s block and if so, how do you deal with it?

I feel like I suffer from writer’s block more often than not, but in reality, I think I get distracted way too easily. Piggybacking off my last answer, shutting out the noise, whether it be the tv, social media (this is a big one for me), and other distractions, is a good way to combat writers block. I’m also a believer in taking a break and recharging your batteries. There are times where the words still won’t come even when you cut out the distractions, and that’s okay. Sometimes that means forcing the words out and writing anything just to get something down on paper, but sometimes that means going for a walk, reading a book, or doing anything else to recharge yourself creatively. Only you know what works best for you.

5. What advice would you give to someone trying to build up their platform on social media?

We’re at a strange time where it’s becoming increasingly difficult to build a platform on social media. Places like Instagram are becoming environments that encourage creatives to pay to play, in a sense. It’s getting increasingly difficult to reach even your own followers, let alone new ones, without paying to promote your posts. Rather than people dictating whose posts they want to see by clicking the follow button, an algorithm is deciding what content someone wants to see for them. What once was a place that allowed people from all walks of like toshare their work and reach new people organically, is now stifling people’s voices unless they’re willing to shell out the cash. So, I don’t really have a whole lot of advice on building a platform these days when it’s become nearly impossible to do so, but I do want to stress that no matter how hard it may become to make your work reach people, always write honestly, and never sacrifice your own voice.

6. Do you have any advice for someone struggling to write poetry?

I think it’s super important to read poetry if you’re going to write poetry. That goes for any genre, as well—for example, if you want to write YA fantasy, then you need to read YA fantasy. You have to see how it’s done, learn what works and what doesn’t, and have a passion for what your writing in order to do it with any degree of success.

I think it’s also important to keep in mind when writing, poetry or not, that your first draft doesn’t have to be good. It’s not only okay to write something that sucks, it’s expected! So write that poem, even if it’s bad, because at least then you have something to work with. Revising and editing is where you take something rough and polish it into something nice and clean.

7. Some writers have to write with complete silence, others with music, some need a special beverage or go to their favorite spot to write. What is your writing space or writing process like?

I don’t really have a specific writing space at the moment. Amanda and I have recently moved from an apartment to our very first house, and I’m still in search of that magic spot. Coffee is my go-to writing drink during the day, and whiskey is my (occasional) go-to during the night. Music is a must, although sometimes, silence is golden.

8. What has been your favorite writing related moment yet?

My favorite writing related moment would absolutely have to be last summer at BookCon when I was fortunate enough to speak on a poetry panel along side Amanda, Trista Mateer, Iain S. Thomas, K.Y. Robinson, and Nikita Gill. During the panel, we were asked about what was next for each of us in terms of upcoming releases and what we were working on, and I had talked a bit about my second poetry collection, masquerade, which deals a bit about genderidentity, and the fact that I am non-binary.

After the panel was over, I was stopped by two different people, one before we left the convention center, and the second outside of it as I was about the cross the street. Both of them were also non-binary poets, and they wanted to thank me for talking about being non-binary on stage, and how inspiring it was to see another non-binary person find some level of success as a poet. These two moments are exactly why I had decided to write about gender in masquerade. I realize I have been fortunate enough to have this platform which allows my voice to be heard, and I want people to know that they’re not alone, and that it’s okay for them to be their truest self. Once upon a time, there was a kid named Cyrus who needed to hear these things. If my words can help someone going through something similar, then I’d be doing a disservice to them not to try.

9. What works are you currently writing?

I’m sort of in between projects, right now. My second collection, masquerade, is out on May 7th, and I’m not currently under a deadline for my next. I’m still writing poetry with the intent of compiling another collection, and I’ve toying around concepts for what that third book could be, but I don’t have anything concrete just yet!

About The Poet:

Cyrus Parker is a pro-wrestler-turned-poet hailing from a small town in New Jersey alongside wife and poetess Amanda Lovelace and their two ragdoll cats, Macchiato and Rosé. A self-described “big goth kid,” Cyrus has an affinity for dark eyeshadow, dark clothes, enamel pins, and dropkicking the gender binary.