James McCorkle – The Subtle Bodies

Late Night Conversation, hosted by Kristin Maffei

This week’s guest is James McCorkle, poet, Ph.D., and professor. James has been writing “basically forever,” and has interacted and worked with magnificent poets, writers, and artists along the way. He has a deep understanding of the artistic and human significance of poetry and unique insights into contemporary work through his long career.

Listen to the full episode – and hear more of James’ experiences and insights – here:

In the excerpt below, James describes the immersive process of writing about both poetry and art.

I think [art] really has to reside with me for a long time. Thinking about Joan Mitchell in particular, I saw her work years and years and years ago and I thought ‘That’s gorgeous,’ but really had no sense of how I would even approach it through a poem. It was more just a sense of deep appreciation for what her work was doing. I think it’s a lot like deciding to write about poetry, too. You have to really live with a poet – his or her work – for a while before you can even start thinking about writing critically about it. The same I think applies for approaching a painting, entering into a conversation with a painting….

GIVEAWAY: Tonight you can win a copy of The Subtle Bodies and Evidences by our guest, James McCorkle. Win by listening for Kristin’s question in the episode and being the first to email the correct answer to [email protected].

PURCHASE THE SUBTLE BODIES HERE

ABOUT OUR GUEST

JAMES MCCORKLE grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, received his M.F.A. (Iowa Writer’s Workshop) and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, and currently teaches in the Africana Studies and First Year Seminar Programs at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in upstate New York. He is the author of The Subtle Bodies, Evidences, and The Still Performance (a study of post-modern American poetry), as well as the editor of Conversant Essays: Contemporary Poets on Poetry, and an associate editor of The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Poets and Poetry.