“Radical Self-Inclusion” - An Interview With Michael V. Smith

Season 5, Episode 66

Michael V. Smith is a deeply loving, insightful poet and performer – who uses intimacy and humour as tools to explore pain. In this interview, Linda chats with him about power dynamics and bullying, as they address his poetry collection, Queers Like Me (published by Book*hug in 2023). Here are some of the subjects they covered:  

• on the nature of creative writing and genre (6.15), poetic technique, poetic devices, and poetic voice (verbatim poems: 6.45, 8.00, 42.43), poetry and knowledge - the function of poetry (37.00)

• Facebook poem and writing about his father (9.35, 10.48, 27.50, 32.20)

• depictions of masculinity  (21.40 mistake with bike/book; 12.05, 21.25)

• Agnes Varda (12.12), Eloise Marseille (4.18)

• working across genres (16.25)

• Michael reads from “Grandma Cooper’s Corpse” (20.25)

• humour and contrast (22.42, 24.25)

• his chapbook (23.45), his memoir, My Body is Yours (40.38, published by Arsenal Pulp Press), The Floating Man (13.03, 27.10)

• dynamics of power and bullying (32, 32.40, 33.40)

• the importance of nuance (34.50)

• gay marriage (36.08)

• Bronwen Wallace (38.30), Lorna Crozier (39.20)

• radical inclusion (46.54)
  With thanks to the Community Digital Arts Hub for the studio space and support for this recording, in addition to Raphael Krux for the music, and Marco Timpano for editorial advice.