The Collaborative Poets— Bertolino and Boyle

The collaborative poetry that Jim and I have written for over two decades (really!) began in a crowded, noisy tavern. We were trying to talk, but to no avail. Couldn't get beyond the questions "Wha…?" and "Huh?" So I got out my journal, and we began to write our conversation instead of talking. Those lines turned magically into poems. Not sure why. You can learn more about James Bertolino on his website.

About Collaboration Between Poets

We continue to write collaboratively. The process of writing poetry in tandem with another brain produces uncommon results. There is no choice in that matter. Once one has been writing with a borrowed brain for some time, ones own solo writing is changed because that brain of yours is suddenly open to the nooks and crannies that were closed before. Now, if you see a crack in a door in a dark place of your brain where the light is streaming through, you go there, you open that door, and you start a conversation with whatever happens to be in there. Or not. You still have a brain to use, after all. So sometimes you might quietly shut that door and back away.

But the point is, writing collaboratively makes your brain more accessible and useful to you. We need as many accessible brains as possible these days. I would suggest that anyone can benefit from writing poetry collaborations. Save the world: write collaboratively.

This link will take you to a pdf interview from 2004 by Margaret Bikman who asks me about my connections to poetry, including collaborative. My answers are pretty much true even today.