At least twice a day, on any given day, I receive an email notification that a site I’m subscribed to has released a new post. The vast majority of these posts are simply poems. Though I wouldn’t call any of the poems simple, by any definition.
Mike’s Manic Word Depot is the online home of one Mike Ennenbach — an author and poet who seems to exist in an alternate dimension where (apparently) he breathes poetry. I mean, how else do you account for a blog that currently boasts over 3700 posts over the past 3 years? Some months had as many as 235 posts! I just… holy cow.
I am rather awestruck, I cannot lie.
It goes without saying, there is much on his site I haven’t had an opportunity to check out, thus far. It is an impressive catalogue of creativity. You are looking at the lady who struggles to make more than a couple posts in a month’s time, so to stumble across such an impressive trove of poetry is basically the wordsy equivalent of the end of the rainbow.
Recently, his second collection of poetry, (un)fettered, was released for purchase. So I spent some time talking to Mike, and it went a little something like this…
1. I’ve noticed you post an impressive amount of poetry on your blog. Are these the poems you gather into published collections, or are those poems written specifically for your blog?
I gather from my daily poetry for the bulk of collections, but I also have quite a back lot of stuff that hasn’t been on my blog. I never imagined anyone would read any of it. I certainly never considered them making it to print. Once I found my voice after a while of just screaming until my throat was bloody, people in the community began to notice. I owe a great deal to Tara and River, two established bloggers with immense talent that took it on themselves to champion my writing. Patrick C Harrison as well. It feels like a dream, honestly.
2. Your poetry resonates with me because it reminds me of a personal favorite, e.e. cummings…even though you have mentioned never having read him. So, who would you consider your biggest influence?
It’s embarrassing, but I honestly was never a fan of poetry. I’ve since discovered a few poets that speak to me. Bukowski, my favorite and personal totem. Richard Brautigan, who is more well known for his novels. Loading Mercury With A Pitchfork is ridiculously brilliant. Celan and Nerudo wrote beautiful lines. But none of them were influences on my style. I would say Sage Francis, Aesop Rock, Joey Ramone, Hank Williams and a thousand other rappers and singers made me who I became. Then about three thousand poems of trial and error.
3. Do you find it helpful to listen to music as you write? If so, what are your musical go-tos?
I always have music playing when writing. Ryo Fukui, a Japanese jazz pianist is a common play. Bill Evans Trio. For the last year I’ve been addicted to IDLES – Joy as an act of Resistance. A lot of punk rock, outlaw country, and Minneapolis hip hop. If the words mean something or the music takes me somewhere, I will listen to it.
4. Current events seem to present themselves often in your work. Are the poems a way for you to cope with these precariously changing times, or do you find them to simply be fruitful fodder for creativity?
It’s funny, because I see it after the fact. Nine times out of ten, a poem begins with an image. I see it and the blank page and begin to describe it. There is no intent. I don’t think about anything and let the words do all of the work. It’s like when you stand in the shower and let the water run down your hands to the tub. I may be a conduit but I don’t try and control it. I’d say the world around me heavily influences that subconscious flow for sure.
5. What creates the most ideal environment when you sit down to write? What would one find in your favorite space?
I write most everything on my phone so there is no necessary designated space. Most of it is written in parking lots between service calls for my non-writing gig. I get inspired while driving around, looking at the things that fill this crazy world. The rest is laying in bed in the darkness staring up at the ceiling.
6. Do you think owning your own personal wombat would impact the style of your poetry? Is it true wombats love a good limerick?
I don’t know if I would feel the need to ever write again if I could cuddle my own wombat. But to any wombats out there reading this:
There once lived a wombat on the stoop,
He loved to eat berries and leaves but not soup,
The poor little guy was really quite blind,
But he had a most wonderfully special behind,
So he found his way home by square poop
M Ennenbach is a poet from Illinois that has found himself in love with Texas. He has two perfect children. He is one third of Cerberus, a writing collective that has plans for World Domination. His debut novel, Hunger on the Chisholm Trail is out now from Death’s Head Press. He has two poetry collections, (un)poetic, out now and (un)fettered out August 11th from Potter’s Grove Press.
You can find him on the internet at mennenbach.com. Purchase his poetry collections by clicking the covers.
Memoirs of a Midnight Masochist 