Contributor Spotlight: George Kalamaras
George Kalamaras’s poem “Thoreau’s Death Mask” is part of Issue 76 of Bellingham Review. Subscribe or purchase a single issue through our Submittable page here.
What would you like to share with our readers about the work you contributed to the Bellingham Review?
This poem is part of a manuscript of poems I am writing on one of my greatest passions—hound dogs. This poem brings together my love of hound dogs with my love of Thoreau, nature, and the relevance of history.
Tell us about your writing life.
I’ve been writing seriously for more than forty years. Probably, my biggest obsession is an exploration of how all things in the cosmos interact. Animals are a huge part of that, as are the inner lives of plants and animals.
Which non-writing aspect(s) of your life most influences your writing?
The largest influence has been the Eastern wisdom traditions, particularly my long-time practice of Hindu-yogic meditation.
What is your favorite book (or essay, poem, short story)? Favorite writer(s)?
My favorite book of all time is Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi. My very favorite poet is César Vallejo, and my all-time favorite poem is one of his, an untitled poem beginning, “For Several Days, I Have Felt an Exuberant, Political Need/ to Love…” I’m particularly drawn to Surrealist poets of Spain and Latin America. I am also deeply indebted to the Chinese poets of the T’ang Dynasty, especially Wang Wei. My very favorite quote about poetry comes from a poet in this country, Gary Snyder, from his remarkable book, The Real Work: Interviews & Talks 1964-1979: “[as a poet I] hold the most archaic values on earth…the fertility of the soil, the magic of animals, the power-vision in solitude, the terrifying initiation and rebirth, the love and ecstasy of the dance, the common work of the tribe.”
What project(s) are you working on now, or next?
I’m deeply involved in writing poems directly or indirectly influenced by my love of hound dogs (beagles, bluetick coonhounds, redbone coonhounds, and others).
Anything else our readers might want to know about you?
My wife and I live with the most adorable little beagle-hound, Bootsie (that’s who’s pictured in the photo with me!).
Where can our readers connect with you online?
GEORGE KALAMARAS, former Poet Laureate of Indiana (2014-2016), is the author of fifteen books of poetry, eight of which are full-length, including Kingdom of Throat-Stuck Luck (2011), winner of the Elixir Press Prize, and The Theory and Function of Mangoes (2000), winner of the Four Way Books Intro Series. He is Professor of English at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, where he has taught since 1990.
Featured Image: “Diesel at Bore” by Steffen Morris