An Interview With Poet
stephen pitters
T
hey also focus on developmental attitudes. This has provided
a clear direction for writing poems since the events follow logical
progressions.
My first book was Bridges of Visions in 2009. It contained a wide
range of topics from death in family, death of my dogs, sports
activities, and political issues. This was followed by Walks Through
the Mind in 2011. The poems regard living in the south and near-
death experiences. The third book was Currencies of Life … Enlisted
Behaviors in 2013.
From 2013 to 2017, I didn’t publish but wrote over 300 new pieces
and during that time I developed the new direction which led to the
seven new manuscripts that will go from 2017 to 2023.
The Eye of the Spirit is out now on Kindle and Amazon. I have had
six poems made into songs by Traci De Leon, a singer/songwriter
friend from California, from the fourth and fifth books, which
are on Sound Cloud.com as free downloads. There will be a jazz
composition from a poem in the The Eye of the Spirit. The poem is
entitled, “Hope, The Immigrant Story.”
What are the best ways for someone to engage with
writing or writers?
A simple request works for me. I believe in artistic collaborations
and have done so with local visual artists. Halle Kuhar-Pitters, my
daughter, did four covers including the most recent one for The Eye
of the Spirit. I have worked with Megan Perkins, Madison Throop,
Nicholas Sironka, and Tracy Poindexter-Canton. Jermaine Carlton
did a jazz piece for a poem in the The Eye of the Spirit. Currently,
I am doing a collaboration with sculptor James McLeod and
photographer Mike DeCesare. I worked with Gonzaga University’s
Suzanne Ostersmith on a musical dance interpretation of a poem
from Prerecorded. I have future collaborations planned with portrait
artist Art Jacobs.
What other interests do you have and does
this inform your work?
I like music and I use songs to inspire story lines. Songs
assist my life experiences in practically every poem I
have written.
Please frame how your teaching or other
involvements relate to what you write about?
Who are your favorites? My teachings relate to life and real experiences such
as sorrow, joy, anger, frustration, love found, love lost,
love given … moments in life which truly impacted
my feelings. I use poetry to explain who and what I
am, and why and how I cope — the philosophy I have
developed, the growth I have achieved, the maturity I
have come to know. Poetry is a tool to manage one’s
ability to function. It allows for the release of every
possible emotion in a productive, positive manner.
My favorite writers are from the Elizabethan period such as John
Donne. I like Maya Angelou. I met her and she inspired me to write a
poem which will be in a future manuscript. I like T.S. Eliot. I like the
novelist Walter Mosley due to the way he constructs his sentences.
The same is true for the novelist Alexander McCall-Smith. Pitters will be presenting at the South Hill Library
in Spokane on June 11 and will present at the Shadle
Library third Tuesdays at 6:30 pm in May, July,
September and November. Check their library
calendars for guest artists.
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ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE