Magazine Interview
Discover U, Volume 2 Issue 7, 12/9/03
Discover U: How long have you written poetry?
Kuypers: I wrote my first poem in 1979, so it has been almost 25 years since I first wrote a poem. Ten years later, by about 1989, I found issues that I wanted to talk about and share with others - I think that is when I found my voice, nearly 1990. That is also when I started writing short stories and prose. I read a prose poem that made me realize that there were other avenues for expressing ideas. Only in the past 5 to 10 years have I learned that performance art as a vehicle for broadcasting writing is a valuable tool for expression, because then you can utilize audio (with your vocals and with sounds effects) as well as video (artwork to coincide with and emphasize the writing).
Discover U: Which poets have inspired you the most?
Kuypers: No one. I know that sounds strange, but I don’t read other people’s writings and then idolize them for it. Usually when I write, I write off of my own ideas. I may read one thing by one author (like the prose poem “The Colonel” by Carolyn Forsche, or Ai’s poem “The Good Shepherd: Atlanta, 1981”, or any of the writings of Ayn Rand, which are not poetry), and it will drive me to think of things in a certain way and therefore write about things in a certain way. As an editor I read other people’s writings regularly, and something may come up that drives me to write something, but otherwise no poets have “inspired” me.
Discover U: You’ve traveled to Europe. Can you tell me about Europe?
Kuypers: When you visit, try to soak in as much as you can. The sights (natural and man-made), sounds (listening to others speak a different language can be fascinating), and feelings (the ambience of places are different even across the United States; learning different cultures and behaviors are memories you can keep with you) you experience in countries in Europe are different from what you’re used to. So take pictures, but remember how people viewed their land, so you can keep more than snapshots from your travels.
Learn the culture of where you are visiting. Do your best to fit in when you’re also witnessing things you can’t see in the United States. This is also more helpful when needing to ask for assistance in a foreign country. You at least show that you’re doing your best to fit in and otherwise not be in anyone’s way.
People are more relaxed there. Meals are different. Stores are not always open and will close for a break during the day. People don’t have cars everywhere like we do in America (European governments don’t give gas and oil price breaks the way the U.S. government does, so you’ll see tons of scooters and bicycles for travel). People can even use the trains or airplanes to commute from one country to another weekly for the jobs. Try to learn and understand the way people there live when you visit, and adjust yourself to this new way of living when in Europe.
Discover U: You are currently compiling a collection of poetry. Can you tell me a little about these projects?
Kuypers: Six poetry books (“Hope Chest in the Attic,” “The Window,” “Close Cover Before Striking,” “(Woman.),” “Contents Under Pressure,” and “The Average Guy’s Guide (to Feminism)”), a novel in letter form (“Autumn Reason”), a journal book or travel through the United States (“Changing Gears”), and one epic novel (“The Key To Believing”) have been published containing parts of my writing. In 1998, I was in a near-fatal car accident, and after starting to recover I noticed that many of my writings have only been published under pen names, and there was no real organization to all of my writings. This was when the idea started (in 1998) to compile my writings into a collection book. “Oeuvre” collects the best writings from past published books (collection books was in as well as my own books), and also includes unpublished poetry (including that first poem ever written in 1979) from 1979 to 2004.
Discover U: Tell me about your web site.
Kuypers: I have my own web site (http://www.janetkuypers.com), and it is a center for getting any information about my work. These is a complete archive of my writing (individual pages, as well as links to published books and chapbooks), and there is a listing of past music with the acoustic bands (Mom’s Favorite Vase, Weeds and Flowers, and The Second Axing) I have been in since 1993 (radio interviews, mp3 files, live concert tracks at shows in Alaska, recordings form the weekly open mic I ran for poetry and music, and video, and clips some from live shows). These is a full listing of art and photography, and there are performance art show links I have done (first recorded show, 1997; more recent shows also have links to photography used, CD versions of the shows, some video, and mp3 files). There are a few personal link pages too - so there’s a lot of information there to read from.
Discover U: You are a writer, photographer, artist, traveler, editor, wife, woman, friend. How do you do it all? What do you do to relax?
Kuypers: I don’t know HOW; I just do it. And no, I don’t relax. I don’t think I know how. I think my brain is always processing and wants to work. If there is something I could be doing, I might as well just start doing it. I’ve never been a procrastinator, and when there is something I see I want to accomplish, well, I work until I get the job done. So when I get a lot of ideas, I start on a lot of projects. I think I always see my life as having a goal line that I can see in the distance, so I keep pushing myself toward getting to that goal line. Because I do many things, I can get to a goal line for one project, but there is always something new that I keep striving for.
It allows me to keep pushing myself, and keep moving forward. I think striving for something keeps me strong, and keeps me alive.
Discover U: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Kuypers: I think I just want to be someone that makes people think.
U.S. Government Copyright
Chicago poet Janet Kuypers
on all art and all writings on this site completed
before 6/6/04. All rights reserved. No material
may be reprinted without express permission.
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