Eric Schmaltz

Feb. 22

This is a painting by my late grandmother, who was a wonderful recreational landscape painter. When she died and the farm was sold, this painting –– along with two old jugs I found in the cellar –– was all I wanted. It hangs on the wall in front of my desk, where I write to you now.

What do you feel is your best piece of work?

I try not to think of my work in terms of “best.” Every one of my poems is singular and the same. In other words, my work has conceptual and aesthetic coherence, but each poem, book, and project have their own purposes and places in their own little worlds. I have, however, recently put together a full draft of my second collection of multimedia poetry that I hope readers will find compelling. The book engages the intersection of surveillance, digital technology, and identity with what feels like a major development in my poetics.

What music have you been listening to lately?

I’ve been listening to a lot of music that would likely get categorized as ambient or New Age, like Alice Damon, William Eaton, Laraaji, Michael Masley, and others (a lot of what’s been released on Morning Trips Records, really). It’s music that turns me inward rather than outward. I work hard to cultivate serenity in my days. This music helps.

Who is the last character you related to and why?

The last character I sincerely, deeply related to was Klara from Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun. I won’t say why I so closely identify with an “Artificial Friend” sold in a department store in a dystopian world. That’s for therapy. I haven’t wept so hard at a book’s conclusion since I was in Grade 8.

Have you ever failed at something you care about?

Yes, all the time. I try to learn from every failure and hope that it’ll help me fail better next time.

How much vitamin D do you take?

At a minimum, I take 30 mcg of Vitamin D a day.

What drives you?

My life and work have been enabled by kind and generous mentors who’ve invested their time and energy in me. I don’t know if any of them know how profoundly their support and guidance changed my life. I live and work every day to pay that generosity forward –– that motivation is in my writing, my teaching, my thinking, my everyday.

Do you like to write in the morning or at night?

Neither and both. My time is so often fragmented across many projects and responsibilities that the writing happens when it can (and sometimes when it can’t). After long gestation periods, I tend to reach a point in my projects where I must absolutely dedicate every hour to it until completion. This isn’t necessarily an anxiety to produce, but the outflow of a project that’s finally ready.

Where is the best place?

I don’t know about “best,” but I have three places in the world where I feel totally at home. The first place is Toronto, Ontario, the second place is St. Catharines, Ontario, and the third place is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. My feelings for these places are less to do with the places themselves and more to do with the people there.

Latest book you’ve read or favourite book ever?

The last book I read is Slash by Jeanette Armstrong, which I’m studying with my students right now. I’ve been teaching a course on twentieth-century Canadian literature and subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) steering my group toward discussions of protest, collective action, and futurity. I’m very eager to see what they do with this one.

Anything you’d like to promote?

I have two major books coming out this fall –– an edited collection by a poet whose work is dear to my heart and an academic monograph. I’m not ready to share the links yet, but they’re coming. In the meantime, I’d like to promote the work of my dear friend Kate Siklosi, who has an incredible new book coming out with Invisible. It’s called Selvage and everyone should order it.