Interview with Bob Lucky

Bob Lucky was one of the finalists with the following tanka. Here are some questions he answered about his poem and process:

sniffing
mimeographed tests
all I remember
is the smell
​and __________ . 

• What inspired the poem?

I enjoy reading writers who play with structure and format, who appropriate a form and use it where it’s not expected, in other words, genre-benders. Some examples include Padgett Powell’s The Interrogative Mood: A Novel?, a narrative of questions only; Alejandro Zambra’s Multiple Choice, a novel (prose poem?) in the form of the Chilean Academic Aptitude Test; and many of the short stories of Donald Barthelme. I occasionally attempt to do such things. This tanka is a nod in that direction.

• What was your process for writing it?

Well, it’s always a good idea to get a reader’s attention, and smell, certain smells, can trigger strong memories. I suspect only readers of a certain age will have memories of the smell of a freshly mimeographed test, but I’m a writer of a certain age. It’s also a good idea in general to end with a strong image, which is why I settled on an empty fill-in-the-blank, a pure image of sorts. It’s also an invitation to the reader to supply his or her own memory.

• What other forms, formats, or iterations did you consider, and why do you think the poem had to be written this way?

This tanka went through several revisions before I settled on that ending, but it was always a tanka. I like the immediacy of that form. The mimeography bit could’ve been used elsewhere and expanded on in a prose poem or a haibun, but that would mean losing that direct connection between the ‘test’ and ‘______ .’.

• How do you think the poem helps to push the boundaries of, or contributes to, the genre?

I don’t think about these things when I’m writing. If I write a decent tanka or even a half- decent tanka, I figure someone else can figure what it contributes to the genre, if anything. However, I do think about form. If you’re going to write a tanka or a sonnet or a ghazal, you have to think about form. Genres and literary forms are like muscles: they need to be exercised and stretched or they’ll atrophy.

• Is there anything else you want to share about the poem or writing practice?

I revise a lot. Inspiration, for me, is a matter of observing and listening, of paying attention. A lot of the craftwork is in revision. That’s where I get my kicks.