The Festschrift Interview

Q:16. In Dominic Rivron's review of "The Last Almanac", he says " Bob Beagrie has talked about the influence of the Deep Image Poets on his work and has quoted the poet Jerome Rothenberg's observation that 'the poem is the record of the movement from perception to vision." Please could you elaborate on this influence and Rothenberg's observation.

I am interested in the deep image poets of the 60s and their development Lorca's poetic influence, their adoption of Spanish Surrealism and play with archetypal symbolism. Robert Bly differentiated their approach to that of the earlier Imagists by stating that Pound and Eliot and HD and Amy Lowell were 'Picturists' because they dealt with objective materials, hard edged images plucked from the real world, reflecting the Modernist spirit. But working in the traditional of Lorca they adopted a practice that was based on 'archetypal imagination', of delving into the subconscious and 'the rational manipulation of irrational materials'. It requires an open, intuitive approach to composing a poem, allowing for surprising associations. Like Lorca's Cante Jonda (deep song), the poems of Galway Kinnell, James Wright, Jean Valentine and Bly all dive beneath the surface of rationality and conscious thought to express something deeper and more difficult to put your finger on

Q:16.1 Can you take a passage from your published poetry and show how using the deep image process influenced the finished piece?

There are a lot of examples of what Bly terms 'leaps' from the rational conscious mind into the unconscious and archetypal and back into the recognisable rational reality. Because 'And Then We Saw The Daughter of the Minotaur' was written as a way of processing trauma, and is also an ekphrastic meditation of Leonora Carrington's surrealist painting, it does this a lot, but so does 'My Grandmother's Ghost' and several from Remnants, which is probably expected with it being based on apocalyptic visions. There are moments within The Seer Sung Husband, Leasungspell and Eftwyrd too. In Civil Insolencies I think 'The Reaping' particularly exhibits this approach as it is an attempt to explore Thomas Fairfax's repressed feelings that led him to have his gardens at Appleton House landscaped to resemble The Battle of Marsden Moor. 'Carrion Song For Major Tom' is another example from Civil Insolencies of working through archetypal symbolism and millenarian inspired prophetic visions. I expect a careful read of any of these poems would illustrate the different ways I have applied this approach.

Q:17. How does your work in the community influence your poetry?

The work in community settings has given me the chance to work closely with people from many different backgrounds and circumstances, and to share in their stories. I think this has given my poetry a firm foundation of social grounding. Even in the imaginative Epic poem set in different periods of history there is a strong social awareness that makes the characters identifiable and relatable.