It’s a fresh year, a new day, a unique hour. Crack the Spine editors, readers and techies have again convened and come up with our pick for the first spotlighted writer of the new year.
Please meet our featured writer of January 2012:
David Spicer
Let’s get to know him, shall we?
Since I believe I’m a new person each day, I’m 15 hours old at this moment in time.
Location?
Memphis, home of the blues, barbeque, Elvis, Furry Lewis, Jerry Lawler the King, Dixie Carter, Isaac Hayes, Carroll Cloar, Shelby Foote, and others.
How long have you been writing?
45 years
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment as a writer?
I’ve remained true to my muse rather than succumb to the temptations of writing clone poetry, which I define as boring academic crap nobody reads except other boring academics, and sometimes they don’t even read it.
Why do you write?
It’s the only way I stay sane in an increasingly crazy world. I can control what comes out of my mind better than I can when I speak.
Tell us about your work published in Crack the Spine.
“I Flunked Trig Three Times” and “The Robert Johnson Blues.” I describe these poems as jazz riffs that guided me to an unknown destination that welcomed me when I was ready.
What inspired this work?
“I Flunked Trig Three Times” was a reaction to someone’s comment that was relayed back to me through a third party. I found the comment quite interesting, since serial killers look very “normal,” and most people have told me that my vessel looks anything but normal. “The Robert Johnson Blues” is a description of all my past lives I imagine I’ve had, which I hope are true.
Favorite Book?
Today my favorite books are The Sheep Look Up, The Lice, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Dancing on the Grave of a Sonofabitch, The Days Run Away Like Horses Over the Hills, The Happy Birthday of Death, and others I can’t think of right now.
Favorite Author?
Merwin, Bukowski, Wakoski, Corso, Dobyns, Bolano, James Tate, Peter Wild, D.H. Lawrence, and others I can’t think of right now.
If you could have dinner with one fictional character, who would it be?
Tralala from Last Exit to Brooklyn .
What is your favorite word?
Why.
You can check out David Spicer’s work in Issue Seven of Crack the Spine
Crack the spine is wonderful. By the way, I think this site can be helpful: favoritewords.com, I am new to it but I believe it has a great potential to move forward in the future as a new wave in social networking.