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You are involved in so many endeavors — publishing with Ibbetson Street Press and The Somerville Times, teaching at Endicott College, hosting readings for the New England Poetry Club, interviewing others, and writing yourself — how do you balance it all? If I look at the bigger picture — I might get overwhelmed — but I try to take on one project at a time. I have been doing this for a long time, so I am used to it. I have many people who help me with my work. At Ibbetson Street for instance — Harris Gardner is my poetry editor, Steve Glines is our designer, Lawrence Kessenich is our managing editor. I used to host readings for the New England Poetry Club as co-president with Denise Provost, but now I am a board member — so my responsibilities are fewer. But I have cut down — for instance I retired from being the director of the Newton Free Library Series, and my cable TV show Poet to Poet is on a hiatus. How do you see all your endeavors intersecting? Well, The Boston Globe once described me as the "Johnny Appleseed" of New England Poetry." So, I plant poetry seeds all around town through these various activities. With my hundreds of interviews with poets and writers — I think I sprinkled the literary landscape with poetry. Some of my videotaped interviews are archived at Harvard University, and elsewhere. "The Doug Holder Paper Collection" at the University at Buffalo has many of my papers and some interviews — not to mention a lot of my stuff is at UMass Boston in their special collections. How has living in Somerville influenced your writing and community? I moved to Somerville from Cambridge when I was 39, that was 31 years ago. My late wife and I lived at 33 Ibbetson Street in Somerville. Later we moved to 25 School Street in Somerville. I have to say I really flourished in Somerville. The city is a nurturer of the arts. I started my own press in the town and landed a gig at The Somerville Times as an arts/editor. I also started with Harris Gardner and Steve Glines the Bagel Bard Literary group that met for years at the now defunct Au Bon Pain in Davis Square, Somerville. It is now at the Cafe Zing in Porter Square. Somerville is flush with poets and artists, so I really found my milieu here. Unfortunately — due to rising rents and gentrification, I may have to leave Somerville in the near future. Do you have any advice for someone starting a small press? Get people together who you know in the poetry community, and create a staff of sorts, it's hard to do it alone. Throw a party for the literary community — put an ad in Poets & Writers, create a blog, have a strong social media presence, attend readings and spread the word — learn how to use print-on-demand technology — this the most efficient way to run a small press — I recommend lulu.com — that's who we use. But most of all have fun! Do you have any recommendations for those interested in exploring the Boston poetry scene more? Well, the Newton Free Library has a great reading series and an open mic, the First and Last Word Poetry series hosted by Gloria Mindock and Harris Gardner is another one. Of course, Stone Soup Poetry which has been around 54 years — hosted by Chad Parenteau is another one that comes to mind. And we must remember the venerable New England Poetry Club has a great series at the Longfellow House in Cambridge — Steven Ratiner, David Miller, Joy Matin, Linda Conte and other board members make sure it runs smoothly. How do you create community and stay connected with other poets? Well I am on social media a lot of the time — I have a blog, the Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene, and of course through my newspaper columns in The Somerville Times. What is your writing process? So, I am always ready for action, with a mini notebook in my back pocket. So, if a sight, a conversation, etc... tickles my imagination...I write down some impressions and go back to it later. I start by writing it on paper, then I transfer to online, where I edit the work. There are times when no poetry flows through me, but I am always alerted to pick something up. There is really not a day when I am not speculating about a possible poem. How do you know when a poem is done? Well, the poem is never really done. In an interview I had with the poet Robert Creeley, he told me he doesn't revise, if the poems don't work on his first try — he trashed it. So, I guess when he didn't trash a poem — he was done. I guess I run by my instinct — that developed over the years. But many times, even when the poem is published, I say "damn" — I should have done this or that. Do you have any advice for young writers? Read, Read, Read everything, especially poetry. Form your own poetry groups, attend a workshop, go to as many readings as you can. The more you are exposed to other poets and their writings — you can eventually develop your own voice, and be part of the milieu. What are you working on now? I am working on a chapbook that will be published by the Wilderness House Press titled, I Ain't Gonna Wait for Godot No More. The title reflects on two major poets and writers, Bob Dylan and Samuel Beckett — they greatly influenced me. That is a terrific title. How did Bob Dylan and Samuel Beckett influence you? I think Beckett and Dylan examine ontological questions in their work. The meaning or non-meaning of life. They have always been the enemies of convention, and as the great poets of our time do, they get down to the marrow of our existence. I first remember hearing Dylan's " Blowin' in the Wind" when it first came out, in the back of my mother's car, when I was 7 years old. Even then, I sensed it was something different, something vital about it — something alien to the broad lawns and narrow minds of my suburban childhood. I was introduced to Beckett in grad school when I was in my 40s. I just loved the course, and Beckett's absurdist, vaudevillian, humorous and searing approach to the world. He challenged popular notions, cliches, and brought them to this huge literary garbage heap. It was almost like he was saving you from a mound of bullshit — he would brutally cut to the chase. Both Dylan and Beckett were reportedly great admirers of each other's work. Who are some of your literary and other influences? Well, I will say there were / are people in my life who influenced me and my career. Professor Dan Sklar, got me a position at Endicott College — where I really learned to teach the art. Robert K. Johnson was very helpful in the beginning stages of the magazine. It would have not lasted without him. A long list of people including Steve Glines, Lloyd Schwartz, Gloria Mindock my late wife Dianne Robitaille, Denise Provost — the Bagel Bards, the list is too long to reproduce. Actually, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac opened me up to poetry. I was very excited with the possibilities of writing when I first read On the Road by Kerouac and Howl by Ginsberg.
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