Guernica Talks to John Murillo About 'Mercy, Mercy Me'

John Murillo speaks with Ben Purkert of Guernica about Murillo's 2018 poem, "Mercy, Mercy Me," which "leaves behind a Los Angeles in flames." From their conversation:

Guernica: Do you read out loud when you revise?

Murillo: Absolutely. You pick up on things that way. It may be that a line needs an extra stressed syllable but you’re not sure exactly how to do that. You wait on it and the two-syllable word you need might come to you while you’re watching TV or washing dishes or taking a shower. Then, after some time, you come back to the poem. But that waiting is important. I think that’s something people miss out on when they’re rushing these books out. They don’t give their ear enough time. It’s about being patient with the poem, listening to what it requires.

Guernica: Is patience something you were taught?

Murillo: Well, for me, I don’t really have a choice, because the poems come slowly. But I think of someone like Robert Hayden. He said that he regretted publishing as early as he did. He calls those early poems his apprentice pieces. I always think about that. Once it’s out there, it’s out there. I have shitty poems online from back in the day. I have shitty readings. I have shitty interviews. I have shitty talks that are on the permanent record. The poems are one thing I can control. I can hold onto them, let them sit for a while in a drawer, even if I feel good about them. That’s the choice I make.

Guernica: Allow me to play devil’s advocate. What if you’re a poet who doesn’t have the luxury of that time? What if you want to write a poem about what’s happening right now on the news or outside your window, and you feel an urgent need to put it out into the world? Is that a misguided impulse?

Murillo: It depends. What’s the real impulse? Is it to be timely, or is it writing a good poem? [...]

Continue this read at Guernica.