Guest host and poet Marco Melfi (author of Routine Maintenance) joins poet and professor Chris Hutchinson to explore the intricacies of Chris’s latest poetry collection, Lost Signal. Marco and Chris have a thoughtful discussion about the intersections of creativity, technology, and culture in contemporary poetry. They reflect on the enduring power of poetry to connect people across differences, create moments of shared understanding, and inspire both joy and critical thought.
The poets unpack the origins of Lost Signal, with Chris sharing the inspirations and experiences that shaped the collection. He discusses how the rapid evolution of technology and the omnipresence of digital culture have influenced not only the themes of his poems but also his approach to language and form.
The conversation explores the role of place and personal experience in Chris’s poetry. He describes how his sense of identity is shaped by the landscapes he’s inhabited, from urban environments to more rural settings, and how these places inform the emotional and imagistic texture of his poems. Chris emphasizes the importance of observation and presence, explaining how paying close attention to the world around him fuels his creative process and helps him capture moments of beauty, uncertainty, and transformation.
Chris reads several poems from Lost Signal, offering listeners a glimpse into his poetic voice and sensibility. Each reading is accompanied by a discussion of the poem’s origins, themes, and craft. Chris shares insights into his writing process, highlighting his use of intuition in writing first drafts and the necessity of revision in refining his work. He talks about the challenges of balancing spontaneity with careful editing, and how he strives to keep the energy of an initial idea while shaping it into a finished poem.
Marco and Chris delve into broader questions about the function of poetry in society. Chris believes in poetry’s unique ability to critique cultural norms, question dominant narratives, and foster empathy among readers. He discusses the pleasure he finds in the musicality and playfulness of language, as well as his commitment to engaging with social and political issues through his art. The conversation touches on the responsibilities of the poet in an era of rapid change and uncertainty, and how poetry can serve as both a mirror and a catalyst for personal and collective reflection.
Chris offers advice to aspiring poets and writers, encouraging them to trust their instincts, embrace revision, and remain open to the world’s complexities.
He explains: "My process as very intuitive. I honestly haven't had an idea for a poem or a book. Other people have ideas and schemes, and I admire that . . . you know, you travel to museums or do interviews and compile all this information and you kind of know where you're going. I think that's a very mature and sophisticated kind of creative process that I envy. And unfortunately, or maybe for better or for worse, I just don't. I've never been able to. Or maybe I haven't even bothered to try to do anything quite like that.
"I love sitting down and having no expectations and not really knowing what a poem is. If I have preconceived ideas or assumptions about what am I going to do, then I won't make any discoveries. It's no surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader, as Robert Frost once said.
"I like the idea of clearing one's mind and turning off one's internal editor, self-criticism, and doubts, in order to just allow language to kind of gurgle up from your unconscious or wherever it comes from and spontaneously spill out onto the page."
Thanks to Marco Melfi for hosting this episode, and to Chris for his time as a guest!