“I realized then, that if you are an artist, no matter what form you pick up, you can make it your own and express yourself through that form.”

July 20, 2008

This month I interviewed Michael James/*MSJames, known as something of a haiku expert around here. Besides writing haiku and organising Haikuwrimo, he is also a photographer.

Mike has been on deviantART since October 2005 and has a special place in the literature community. For me, this was an extra special interview, because I have admired Mike for a long time. I hope you enjoy this interview, in which Mike talks about his interest in Japanese poetry (specifically, haiku) and photography.

^lovetodeviate: Tell us about how you started writing. How have you changed as a writer?

MSJ: Well I actually started writing, if you can call it that, by playing in online role-playing games, where you play in a forum type setting. My wonderful girlfriend suggested that I try to write something real, like a story or something, based on what she had read. So that’s how I got started, but I wanted to do more, mainly for her, so I started trying my hand at poetry. Now I have never written a poem in my life until then, but she was so encouraging, that I couldn’t help myself. I stumbled upon the haiku form, and of course, I tried to do it by the ‘standard method’ of 5-7-5 and what ever you wanted to write about, but after I came here, I learned that there was more to haiku than meets the eye. At that point, I started taking my poetry more seriously. I did keep writing sci-fi and fantasy short stories, but I fell in love with poetry, not just haiku, but open poetry as well.

As I was researching and learning more about haiku, I discovered the tanka form, which was perfect for putting into words, the feelings that I felt for my love. From there I went on to discover so much more.

It seemed for a while that the more I wrote, the more I wanted to write. It got to where I kept a journal with me all the time, plus I started reading poets that were suggested to me. I have a few favorites; Basho and Issa for haiku, Ono No Komachi for tanka and Cummings for open poetry.

LTD: Do you have a favorite poem online that we can read? Tell us about it and how it came to be.

MSJ: Yeah, in fact I do, it’s called She Lays in the Stillness and the woman that makes my life complete inspired it. It was inspired by the shear beauty that can come from just looking, not only with the eyes, but also with all the senses and it is a tribute, not only to how I feel about her, but how she makes me feel.



LTD: How did you become interested in Japanese concepts of poetry?

MSJ: Well, as a young man, I had always been interested in the Japanese culture, so when I started writing, I stumbled upon the haiku form and knew it was for me. Not only was it simple (or so I thought at the time), but also it was a part of that culture that I always admired. Little did I know that that little poetic form would propel me to do all I have, not only here at DA, but in my own personal life as well.

As I began to learn more about the haiku form and its history, I realized that there was so much going on around us in our daily lives, that all you really had to do was stop and look. That, in and of itself, was the main thing (even though I didn’t know it at the time) that attracted me to the Japanese forms of poetry.

LTD: On deviantART, you are known as the creator of Haikuwrimo. Can you tell us how you came up with the idea?

MSJ: Well, at the time, I was headlong into haiku at that point, being that I had just recently learned how to write haiku ‘ properly’ (if that can even be said). The NaPoWriMo was almost at an end and I had wanted to participate, but I was too late, so it was then, the following month, in fact, was when I came up with the idea. So it wasn’t too original, but it was something I felt strongly about at the time. Since I had just been educated about haiku, I figured I would share what I had learned, in a fun way.

It has been a great success and this time ‘round, we have over 60 deviants participating!



Special guest question: What are the pros and cons of adding titles to traditionally untitle-able literary forms (i.e., Haiku, Senryu, etc.)? -- *batousaijin

MSJ: Well, to be honest, I don’t think there is a Pro to this question. The way I see it, the haiku, senryu, etc, should speak for itself, allowing the reader a certain freedom of interpretation. A title always leads the reader in a certain direction, which is quite fine in most forms, but with Japanese style poetry, the ‘vagueness’, if I may call it that, is really not there. However, there is still room for an interpretation by the reader, in that, if the poem is written well, it will have many layers to unravel to get the full effect.

LTD: You are one of those rare people with four Daily Deviations* in four altogether different forms/genres. Do you find that varied artistic interests contribute to the overall growth of a craftsman?

MSJ: Oh man, where do I begin here? First off, I will say I am humbled by just that fact, I mean it has been overwhelming at some points and I guess I can’t deny I have a little talent, based just on that fact…

But yes I will say that having a varied interest in things will make you a better artist. For the longest time, all I was really good at was playing the guitar, it wasn’t until after I had put the guitar down for several years, that the ‘art’ in me was just about to explode. So when writing came along, I was full of ideas and thoughts and emotions that had been building up inside me, that I had all the inspiration I needed. I realized then, that if you are an artist, no matter what form you pick up, you can make it your own and express yourself through that form.

_{*One of the DDs is at ~Wudang-mountain, a Japanese poetry resource account.}

Special guest question: Have you ever considered a haiku/senryu series the pictures you’re now taking? – ^GeneratingHype

MSJ: It’s funny this question came up, because the first few serious pictures I started posting here on DA got comments of just this sort. So I guess, in the beginning of my photographic journey, I was still thinking in a ‘haiku’ mode, which is not all bad. I find that there can be beauty and wonder in the simplest of things in our daily lives, if we just stop and look around sometimes, which is essentially what haiku is.



LTD: Who do like you reading, on deviantART and otherwise?

MSJ: Oh man, what a question! I love reading so many people here, that it’s astounding! But since you asked, I feel I must name a few. I like reading: `AbCat *Esin ^GeneratingHype `PoeticWar ~panika *Laurence55 *Bogbrush ~moyanII and *salshep, but there are many others here, who’s work I enjoy reading.

Here’s another guest question from ^GeneratingHype, which was so cheeky I couldn’t resist asking it!

Special guest question: Why did you stop writing? -- ^GeneratingHype

MSJ: Ok, not really a fair question, but I guess a pertinent one…

Mostly it was because I was/am just getting into my photography, which, as many probably don’t know, new things tend to preoccupy me to the nth degree (shiny!) That, coupled with the fact that I had just gotten my guitar into playing condition again, pretty much took up most of my time. There we some other factors too, some personal issues I have been dealing with, but hopefully all that will work itself out and I can find time to do all the things I love.



Finally, I asked Mike what his plans for the future were.

MSJ: Now that is a really tricky question (the best laid plans of mice and men), but I’ll give it a shot.

Before my computer crashed and I lost my only feature length script that I had been working on for close to a year I had planned to finish that up. But I’m not sure where I will go with my writing as of yet.

I also intend to try to get some more work as a still photographer on independent films in the area. I got to work on one earlier this year and it was a lot of fun, and a great learning experience as well. I want to get a good looking website up first, someplace to put my portfolio, then I will try to start getting that kind of work.

And finally, I want to start practicing/playing my guitar more, to maybe get back into the form I used to be in many years ago. Not really for any other reason than I miss playing, even if it’s just in my living room!

That all sounds like a lot and I probably won’t go as well as I want it too, but I’ll get to where I want to be eventually.

And finally…

Thanks to ^lovetodeviate, for this opportunity to explore the reason why I do what I do. A lot of times I don’t think I even know myself.

Thank you, rather! Good luck for your plans, Mike.

Helpful links

MSJames’s deviantART gallery
A word about haiku by Michael James
Write #2: Why haiku? -- resources on haiku and other Japanese concepts in poetry
Resource Central

Up next

I have almost settled on whom to interview next, but as it is not definite, I will not mention any names yet. I will mention it in my journal when it’s set in stone, so that you can send in guest questions, if you like.

Cheers all!

-- ^lovetodeviate