Guy Thorvaldsen's poetry has appeared in Alembic, Alligator Juniper, Forge, Gulfstream, Zone 3, Poet Lore, and Verse Wisconsin. His first book of poetry, Going to Miss Myself When I'm Gone, came out in October 2017 from Aldrich Press. Guy teaches writing at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin, and is also a journeyman carpenter, husband, father, and contributing poet/essayist for public radio.
We spoke to Guy about writing, teaching, staying true to your art, and the books and words that have mattered in his life.
ALL: How did your writing life begin? Do you have an origin story?
GT: My writing life—or meager, closeted attempts at writing—began at around 18 years old, inspired by the lofty philosophical and ecstatic writers: Herman Hesse, Kerouac, Melville, Walt Whitman, and Gibran, who seemed to have the same questions and wanderlust as did I. Still it took me another 20 years to actually take writing seriously. My writing process involves many short visits to the same piece, as opposed to long hours slaving away. But sometimes a small visit becomes an extended visit and hours pass productively and peacefully. My friends think I'm patient in those times. I tell them I don't have to be patient because I'm happy, a beagle running free, nose to the ground, tracking a deer. I've burned a lot of things on the stove during these runs.
ALL: You teach at Madison College as well as write. How does that work inform your art? What is your favorite part of being an educator?
GT: On a good day there is little separation between my teaching and writing life. On a hard day, there is too much separation between the two. As I say to my students at Madison College, it's all creative writing and it's all about audience. Being a writer feeds me, and has solidified my confidence as a teacher, helping me understand that academic writing works best when you realize that you are telling someone a story, and that the story you are telling needs to include your voice and thoughts. I wonder sometimes how my colleagues maintain their energy for teaching when they themselves are not writing. Then again, teaching five writing classes a semester is brutal.
ALL: Do you have an all time favorite poem or short story? If so, what is it?
GT: One of my favorite poems (from one of my favorite poets) is Mary Oliver's "Sleeping in the Forest," how it captures the magic and transformative aspects of losing oneself in nature, yet stays grounded and generous. The first time I read Oliver, I felt I had arrived home. Her language is pure, simple, and deceptively profound in its spiritual underpinnings. Finding a good teacher is key. Vijay Seshadri (The Long Meadow) has been my wise and excellent writing guru. And a few fiction books I return to periodically, just for the language: Moby Dick, All the Pretty Horses (McCarthy), In the Skin of a Lion (Ondaatje), The All of It (Haien).
ALL: What's the worst piece of writing advice you've ever received?
GT: My worst writing advice was to write for the current market. Unless your writing fits naturally with the current market, this activity can be soul-sucking, leave a writer hip-deep in the swamps far from home.