The Dan O'Brien Project: A Moment with Robert Balun

Dan: Tell us a little about what you have going on?

Robert: I don't have a book or anything yet, but I just won Empirical Magazine's Poetry Contest, which is awesome, so that poem is coming out in their September issue, as well as being included in the Latitude on 2nd Poetry Anthology, and I have two poems coming out in August in Big City Lit, and two poems coming out sometime this summer in a zine from Wisconsin called Sleeping in a Torn Quilt / Dreaming of Gold. Torn Quilt is great because a lot of musicians contribute their written work to it and it sort of brings together music and literature on some level. It's also a really pretty, hand-made art object that only puts out runs of 100 copies or something, and it's something nice to have around your bookshelf. There might be a chapbook in the works too. I'm also working on a larger manuscript that may end up being my thesis for City College, but I would actually like to put that out before I finish there. Anyway, that's what's going on, as well as my pro-zine rant.

Dan: Are you reading anything right now, or have you read anything recently that is worth mentioning?

Robert: I just finished The Pale King, which was really great and works even though it wasn't finished.

Dan: Does music inspire or motivate you to write? If so, what kind of music?

Robert: Yes absolutely. Ever since high school I've been pretty into music, to the point of being a nerd about it, and it (music) has been a big influence on my style and interests as a writer. I was exposed to that creative DIY/independent/underground music scene, and, although I don't think I really realized it at the time, that started shaping an internal dialogue and world view for me. More recently, bands like Beach House, Tame Impala, and The Strokes have influenced me on a more aesthetic level. I don't know, there are too many to list. There's basically an evolving flow of music, among other things, pushing my style. The connection between music and writing for me is one reason I was happy to find out about Sleeping in a Torn Quilt / Dreaming of Gold and be a part of it. I think that music is something that provides common ground to a diverse array of creative individuals, and creates a sense of community where everyone can produce what they want and have a supportive audience of peers-- small releases shared between everyone contributing to that community. Right now that seems like an important part of building a career, it's a foundation and motivation to keep working. It feels like, or maybe I'm just more aware of it, or just optimistic, but it feels like we're at an exciting time in our culture, where a lot of talented people are producing great work all over our country, and there are these bubbles of community everywhere putting out work. Maybe this is just how everyone who is 25 feels.

Dan: Who are some of your favorite authors? Favorite novels?

Robert: John Fante, David Foster Wallace, Rimbaud, Marilyn Hacker, Robert Creeley, David Berman, William Carlos Williams, there are lots.

Dan: Are you one of those people who don’t own a TV? Do you have any favorite TV Shows? Favorite movies?

Robert: I don't have a TV, but I do have netflix and a computer. Some of my favorites are Carl Sagan's Cosmos, pretty much most shows about space, the Simpsons (seasons 3-9), Twin Peaks, 30 Rock, Louie. Movie-wise: Dr. Strangelove, The Fifth Element, High Fidelity (I probably watched this movie too many times in high school), The Big Lebowski (of course), Three Kings (or I Heart Huckabees).

Dan: At what point in your life did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

Robert: I started writing in high school and started my undergrad work in a creative writing BFA, but switched to US History because I was more interested in playing soccer and drinking beer (that seems funny to think about now). After college I moved to Colorado with my girlfriend, and I was just working at a rock climbing gym and basically being a climbing-bum in a beautiful place. Anyway, she and I split up (but are still good friends actually), and then I read 1984 and started reading a lot and decided to go back to writing and decided that's what I wanted to do with my life. That's pretty embryonic, but the basic gist of it.

Dan: Tell us about your writing process.

Robert: I tend to just walk around and look at things and then write that down. Sometimes there's moments of inspiration where a whole poem will come out of nowhere. It's great when that happens, otherwise I just spend a lot of time editing, loving and hating the things I write. I feel like most people who write feel this way. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Dan: How do you define success as a writer? Have you been successful?

Robert: Being able to live a life where you actually have time to write and travel. And don't wind up hating the things you do in order to live that life. I'm working on it.

Dan: Do you have words of wisdom about writing that you want to pass on to novelists and writers out there who are starting out?

Robert: It's probably best to take everything I say with a grain of salt, because I don't know very much, and have not achieved very much, and am just starting out myself, but I would say: 1) don't get stuck in an ideology, 2) collect experience, see a lot.

Dan: What should readers walk away from your work knowing? How should they feel?

Robert: Since I don't have any books yet, I think in general you should walk away feeling like you've been through something. You should see the world a little differently.

Dan: What is your End of the World Playlist?

Robert: Oh jeez, here's an attempt, most of this is just what I've been listening to lately:

CCR - The Night Time is the Right Time (or Green River, since Night Time is a cover)

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Thursday, July 12, 2012

A Moment with Robert Balun

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