I realized when I was writing my first book, Inheritance and Other Stories, which also dealt a lot with Southern Missouri, that rural areas have an underbelly that I know all too well. I thought the best way to document that underbelly were snapshots, and to me, that’s essentially what poems are.

Jarod Powell – 23 May 2013

The Back Flap

With a passionate, sometimes deviant perception, Poor Man’s Imaginary Friend explores life’s gutters, as well as its cozy corners: teenage sex, moral ambiguity, black magick, family, and the occasional unexpected moment of clarity. Whether looking to the human experience with war and self-destruction on its mind, commentary on war itself, the psychological impact of selling sex, a play-by-play experience with meth use, or the simple but deep agony of living in a small town, these poems combine to form a biting, hateful, love note to the author’s place of birth, Southern Missouri.

About the book

What is the book about?

Poor Man’s Imaginary Friend is what I call, “my twisted little love note to Southern Missouri,” where I grew up. It’s a poetry collection, and it’s almost an industry requirement that poetry be exclusively personal. I’m primarily a fiction writer, so I’ve always hated that idea. There are personal poems in the book, but a lot of them are written in the voices of characters within that framework of living in rural America, and the characters themselves aren’t explicitly defined. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. They all have that common thread; they’re all from the same place, both in geographical and emotional terms.

At the same time, the characters’ experiences that are described here vary pretty wildly. In fact, I’ve organized the book into three parts, as much as it is possible to organize a book like this. Part one represents birth, and I don’t necessarily mean that literally. A spark of inspiration or an epiphany can mean birth, I think. Part two describes formative experiences, mainly specific to Southern Missouri, but not all of them. Meth use, teen prostitution, how traumatizing it is to be a teenager in and of itself, and sex, specifically sex involving teenagers–Hormones, I guess you could say. Part three is about aging and death. As we get older and reach adulthood, I think popular culture has taken its toll on us, programmed us in a way. Pop culture is another prevalent theme in the book. And then of course there’s death. Part three was primarily written when I was faced with the deaths of three people who were very close to me. All three happened almost simultaneously. I could have written a whole collection on that subject alone.

When did you start writing the book?

I never intended to be a poet, but I’d jot things down from time to time. It’s hard to say when I started writing it, because pieces of those little notes have turned up in this book a lot. I’d say 2009 is when I started jotting down these types of things, but I really didn’t get serious about organizing the pieces into a collection until about early 2012.

How long did it take you to write it?

All in all? Maybe a few months. Elaborating on what I said before, I wrote this book in the exact opposite way I usually write things. I like structure. There is no structure here. Let’s be generous, and say six months, maybe.

Where did you get the idea from?

I realized when I was writing my first book, Inheritance and Other Stories, which also dealt a lot with Southern Missouri, that rural areas have an underbelly that I know all too well. I thought the best way to document that underbelly were snapshots, and to me, that’s essentially what poems are. Poor Man’s Imaginary Friend is a hodgepodge of a bunch of different themes, subjects and even characters, but like I said, they all have that same common, geographical thread. You could say that these characters all know each other, and I’m including myself in that cast of characters.

Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?

Yes and no. Yes, in that there were subjects I wrote about that were emotionally dangerous for me to even think about, let alone get published for the world to see. I think that’s important, though. The saying is, “Write about people as if they are already dead.” So I treated every subject like it was a ghost. I had it in mind that if I was to write about these things, brutal honesty is the only way you can go to sleep at night, as a writer.

What came easy was the writing itself. I think if writing is not effortless for you, you either need to step away from the word processor for a few minutes and have a smoke, or you need to evaluate what you’re doing wrong.

What came easily?

The easiest parts of Poor Man’s Imaginary Friend were the poems about fond memories, and also the funny poems. The pop culture stuff was very easy to write, because that’s not something you need a Doctorate to understand. It’s useless information. But it also guides the population in ways most people wouldn’t believe.

I’ve worked in advertising as both a freelance copywriter and as a day job, as well as every other facet of media we consume today, and I can tell you, the mass media effects you, sometimes insidiously. Don’t believe for a second that it doesn’t. And not just advertising–music, television, and even literature. All of it’s subliminally influential. That concept excites me a lot, and I could go on for days, but I’ll spare you.

Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

The characters are technically fictitious, but, yeah, they’re real people. All of the prostitutes, lot lizards, drug addicts, psychotic teenagers that were written about? Those were my friends, once upon a time.

We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?

Without a doubt, William Faulkner is number one on the list. He writes very artfully about socio-economic issues, and his use of symbolism is the most impacting I’ve ever read, but done ever so delicately. I’d have to lump in Toni Morrison with Faulkner, too. They may seem like an odd pair, but trust me, they’re not so different.

Notes from Underground by Dostoyevsky was my introduction to the experimental novel, and that has stuck with me and my style since I read it almost ten years ago.

I also enjoy humor writers like David Sedaris. He writes how I speak, sometimes. He writes in a voice and manner that is accessible, but with strokes of genius.

I haven’t yet found a poet whose book I’ve opened and said, “This is it! This resonates!” I do enjoy Billy Collins, and a lot of the old Manic D Press poets.

I also write screenplays on assignment for a living, and so if you want the inside scoop on Hollywood, Joe Ezterhaus’s books are the ones you want to read. He names names. He doesn’t care. He’s a breath of fresh air.

I’ve been trying to ape Norman Mailer’s personal style and communication methods for ages, now, to no avail. He may have been petulant, but I just think he’s a badass. Same goes for Hunter S. Thompson.

Do you have a target reader?

For this book, no. If you’re a rural American, particularly in Missouri, you’ll identify with it right away. If you’re an urbanite or suburbanite, you’ll find it fascinating as sort of a sociological observation.

I will say two things about this. I guess you could call them disclaimers. I write pretty explicitly about sexual abuse, so if you’re a survivor, you may encounter “triggers” while reading it, so proceed with caution. Also, this book is not to be read as your child’s bedtime story.

About Writing

Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?

I’ve said this in other interviews, but I call it “Letting the steam rise to the top.” Think of a tea kettle or a pot of boiling water. That tea kettle has to squeal for me to write anything. Otherwise, I’m completely useless. The steam I’m referring to, is of course, inspiration. You have to have to energy to write. If you try to write without it, your writing will suffer tremendously.

In the meantime, I want to stress that you should be writing things down constantly. It can be scribbles; it doesn’t matter. Inspirational thoughts are a lot like dreams: Once you wake up, it’s often forgotten.

Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?

I usually outline, yes. But not for this book.

Let’s say I’m writing a novel. Outlining a novel is somewhat similar to writing a screenplay, at least in the beginning. You need a beginning, middle, and end. That’s elementary.

But within those three acts, you also need plot points. I use five: Inciting incident, which spurns the action toward the end of the first act; Lock-In, which gets your story on track for the much longer, second act; First Culmination, which is the beginning of your rising action; Main Culmination, which will lead you directly to your climax; and your Climax, which will lead you to your resolution. Once that’s done, I come up with an eight-sequence structure. This is the map to my novel. It’s up to you how long the sequences are, but they must cover your book from beginning to end.

Then you can start plotting your chapters. I never get hung up on length, or chapter numbers, or any of that, until it’s actually time to start writing. And unless you’re a super-genius, without that outline you’ll be lost within 20 pages.

Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?

I definitely have the Fran Lebowitz syndrome. I edit as I go, but that is a very, very bad thing to do. I’m trying to break that habit. It’s okay to have a junk first draft. That’s what revision is for. Editing while you’re writing is very tempting, but it’s a colossal waste of your time.

 Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?

Yes, I do. Oddly enough, I listen to a lot of hip-hop and top 40 pop while I’m writing. It’s like aerobics. Do you want to listen to Neutral Milk Hotel or Kate Bush while you’re running? Probably not.

Also, the danger of listening to musicians with really good lyrics while you’re writing is that you may inadvertently steal their lyrics. I was listening to Lil Wayne’s The Carter III a lot while writing Inheritance, and upon revision, discovered one of my story titles contained a phrase from one of his songs. It wasn’t enough to infringe upon a copyright, but it got me thinking, should I be listening to stuff with lyrics I like while I’m writing?

Anyway, while I’m writing I listen to a lot of Kendrick Lamar. A lot of Jay-Z and Kanye. I’ll even admit to listening to Lady GaGa and Britney Spears sometimes. I also listen to old jazz and blues, like Skip James, or “alt-country”–or whatever they’re calling that genre now–Hayes Carll, Wilco, Ryan Adams.

About Publishing

Did you submit your work to Agents?

Not for this book. I’ve had an agent in the past, and they do nothing for you that you can’t do for yourself, unless you’ve written the next Twilight. Same goes for film, really.

The problem with getting agents is most of the good ones won’t accept you without a referral. That’s not a problem for me, but it’s just a personal choice I’ve made. The cream rises to the top. If you’re going to do anything as an indie author, hire a marketing and PR team. Lack of exposure is the number one reason why books don’t sell. It may benefit you to get an agent, depending on what you’ve written. I wish you luck with that. It’s a mountain to climb.

What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?

The process has been very complicated, so I’ll try to make this brief. I turned down three–yes, three–offers from small publishing houses. I didn’t like their terms. I don’t really like to answer to anyone. And I certainly don’t like my work modified.

Myself and a friend, who was a professor at a university and was interested in getting involved in the publishing industry, contacted me about going into business as partners on a small publishing imprint that focuses on experimental books. However, before we filed the paperwork, he suddenly passed away.

So our imprint, Arcana Press, is now solely mine, and I have three books by other authors coming out this year.

Not a day goes by that I don’t think of him, but life must proceed.

Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?

A wonderful Graphic Designer by the name of Erica Carmack collaborated with me on the cover. It’s probably my favorite part of the book.

Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?

Oh, you have to have a marketing plan! Even if it’s just, “I’ll put an ad in this publication once I get this review,” or, “I’ll schedule this event around the time of the ad,” or “I have X amount of dollars to spend on a Facebook sponsored post campaign.” You have to have a plan. There are 300,000 books published each year. It’s a waste of your time to publish something no one will ever know about. If you can afford it, hire a marketing team. If not, buy some books on the subject. Even if you’ve been published by an indie publishing house, they probably aren’t going to do much at all to market your book. It’s pretty much up to you, and you alone.

Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?

Oh, man. where do you want to start? Feedback is important. Yes, you may want to become a writer, but you may not be at the level to where you’re publishable, just yet. Be extremely hard on yourself. But use that in a positive way, not a self-defeating way. Get the mind of an athlete. Map your plan of attack. Plan your “brand” as an author, and make it seem effortless. Learn how to speak publicly, because readings are important, and learn how to conduct yourself in interviews.

Learn everything you can about marketing and advertising, and that may even involve reading Psychology research papers.

And when it’s time to write, it’s time to write. Don’t resist the impulse, and harness that energy and blast it all over the page.

About You

Where did you grow up?

I grew up on a farm in Benton, Mo., which is a small town 2 hours south of Saint Louis, Mo.

Where do you live now?

After traveling pretty much all over the West Coast working in film, I decided to live in Saint Louis, Mo. There aren’t enough artists here, and there won’t be if we all keep leaving.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I would like my readers to stay tuned, because big things are about to start happening, and not just in the literary aspect of my career.

What are you working on now?

Right now I’m working on my directorial debut, the feature film Hypnos, with Sweetsnake Productions. We expect it to be ready for distribution some time in 2014.

End of Interview:

For more, visit Jarod’s website or you could try friending him on Facebook.

You can get your copy of Poor Man’s Imaginary Friend (paper only) from Amazon US or Amazon UK.