--Marc Di Saverio reading "Orphaestus" at his book launch at the Black Swan in December
DESK SPACE: Who (a one-liner or a bio)?
MARC DI SAVERIO: Hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, I'm a McMaster English-History student, poet, essayist, translator (of English, French and Japanese poetry) and the author of the Manifesto of Mortarism, which partially appeared in Maisonneuve (Innovation/Progress Issue). My translations, poems, art, and theory-related work have appeared in Maisonneuve, The Dalhousie Review, Toronto Quarterly, Modern Haiku, Misunderstandings Magazine (wherein an interview is forthcoming), Magnapoets, Frog Pond (haiku journal), and Moonset (where I was featured poet). I am also the language editor of the great Serbian haijin Slavko Sedlar’s SUCHNESS 2 and SUCHNESS 3, an extraordinary honor because I have always admired and adored his haiku. In December, 2010, I launched my chapbook Sanatorium Songs with Cactus Press. The book will be reviewed by Jacob McArthur Mooney in the Northern Poetry Review, and Michael Lista will be publishing an article on my work in the "Afterword" of the National Post.
Moreover, I am a Psychiatry-enthusiast, mental health activist, chronic thinker, amateur composer of classical music, and an aesthete.
I also consider myself an inventor. I have invented a new form of poetry/photography, and also a method enabling one to read objects as musical notes. The new form of poetry is called Verso D’Oggetti, or Verse of Objects, or objectverse, which involves reading syllables as objects. For instance, a haiku of objects would involve 17 objects. See for yourself below.
You may want to see these two prior interviews, one with Curtis Dunlap of Tobacco Road, and the other with Robert B. Wilson of Simply Haiku.
DS: When did you start writing or publish your first book (or when are you publishing your next)?
MdS: I started writing Sanatorium Songs, my first chapbook, while in hospital, around 2006.
DS Where do you write (at your desk/outside/in bed)?
MdS: I write in many different places, but my two favorite places are my writing shed (complete with skylight, couch, desk, library, and heating and air conditioning). I also love working at my girlfriend Diane’s house, where she has a lovely writing table in her dining room.
I also enjoy working at the Mountain Brow, especially at the the top of Princess Falls, aka “the waterfall”, which is just off of the Bruce Trails, on Scenic Drive.
DS Why do you work where you do (at your desk because it is a quiet space/outside b/c it helps you think/in the park b/c you can smoke, etc)?
MdS Where I work depends on how I am feeling. If I am in a manic state I prefer composing along on my walking tours through the city, or in the parks and the forests. When I am in a depressive state I prefer writing in the shed, where I feel most comfortable and relaxed.
DS What was the last book you read?
MdS The last book I read was The Selected Poetry of Robinson Jeffers. I learned a lotabout free verse and the long line from Jeffers, an extraordinary, expansive poet.
DS what are you working on now?
MdS Now I am working on Orphaestus, my debut full-length book of poetry, and the Daughter of God, my first novel. I am also working with Cassandra Cronenberg and Ryan Preston on feature film projects.
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