Bryant’s History, Literature, and the Arts Lecturer Eric Paul recently celebrated the launch of his latest poetry book, Providence. Published by Heartworm Press, this new work – which has already sold out of its first printing – brings together a variety of hard-hitting and playful pieces. Paul, who’s been traveling between the East and West Coast for book readings, sat down with Bryant News to discuss his most recent publication:
Providence is the fourth book of poetry that you’ve published. Can you share a little bit about the main themes and what’s in store for readers?
Eric Paul: When I was writing Providence, I wasn't paying too much attention to common themes throughout the book but, as it grew, I realized there were three distinct threads. One was about my son and navigating the complexities of his diagnoses. He is on the autism spectrum and is non-speaking, so a lot of the poems are about understanding unique ways to communicate with him and express love; but, more than that, how much this experience has taught me about communicating with other people beyond traditional ways. The second thread is about fatherhood. As my son gets older each year, I’ve started reflecting on my childhood from being a dad and seeing him hit certain milestones.
The third one theme is about experiencing things and navigating the world around me as a Rhode Islander. When I sent the publisher the first draft of the book, I had a different title and, when the publisher sent it back, he was saying that the poetry was so much about Rhode Island and Providence, and the lens in which I write has a Rhode Island and New England uniqueness.
Tell us about your creative process and what it looks like.
Paul: I go in and out of writing mode. There are times where I'm accumulating ideas, and it's almost like I'm hyper focused on what's happening around me all the time. It's almost analogous to a comedian, like I need to write a comedy set and what funny observations am I making? When I do have an observation, I will send myself emails on my phone because it’s quick to do and number them ‘Idea x.'
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I also carve out dedicated writing time in my schedule — usually three hours a couple of times a week where that's all I do. Sometimes I'll come in and I'll be like, ‘That was really good.’ Then sometimes I'm like, ‘That was a waste of time, and I got nothing done,’ but you have to have that discipline.
Do you have a favorite poem, or poems, from the book?
Paul: There's one that I wrote about my son called “Acceptance,” and it seems to be resonating with a lot of people. It was about me observing my son playing in the backyard and the unique behavior he demonstrates from living with autism but also his ability to see things that I feel like a lot of people, including myself, cannot see, and just the joy that he experiences because of the things he sees.
I also wrote a poem about the first couple of dates with my wife. It's this fictitious story of us having all these other past lives and this one particular life where we meet each other in New England. It's a poem about falling in love in Providence, and I've been sharing that at readings, and it seems to be resonating with people.
Then, there are some of the more humorous ones that are entertaining and fun. I had so much fun writing the one about the guy I saw selling wood carvings on Route 7. I made up this whole narrative that he's building wood carvings of all the founding fathers, and no one's buying them, and then he accidentally cuts his arm off and disappears for a while. When he comes back, he starts carving the founding fathers again, but all of them only have one arm. Suddenly, everyone loves his wood carvings because it has a narrative and a marketing angle to it. So, it's a little bit of a critique on the marketing of America in some ways.
What do you hope readers take away from your book?
Paul: A lot of the feedback I've been getting is that Providence is among my most honest and most vulnerable work. There were a lot of poems that I was terrified to publish because I feel like I'm somebody who's very open with people but, in a lot of ways, I also keep things deeply guarded inside.
There have been other poems and work of other people in a similar vein that have impacted me positively, and I wanted to participate in that and share some poems about more troubling things that have occurred in my life. I feel like it's resonating with people, and it seems like people are picking up on the right things, which is a big win.