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Today, Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures.com, is excited to have as our guest, Harry E. Gilleland Jr., author of Poetic Musings of an Old Fat Man.

Harry is a retired professor of microbiology from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Good day, Harry, and thanks for participating in our interview. 

Norm:

It is sometimes said that people in times of need turn to poetry. Is this true, and if so, why? 

Harry: 

I believe this is probably true. It is because in time of need people want comforting and to get in touch with their emotions. Poetry is capable of offering insight into situations from a point of view that the person had not considered previously. It makes them focus, examine their emotions, and think about what is important in their lives. Reading poetry can also be soothing and relaxing. It can take their mind off their problems for a while. Poetry has much to offer to its readers. 

Norm:

When and why did you begin to write poetry? As a follow up, what do you enjoy most about writing poetry?

Harry:

I began writing poetry late in my career as a Professor of Microbiology. One day in August, 2001, while I was working at my desk, I stopped for my brown bag lunch and thought I would surf the Internet. When my connection loaded, a pop-up ad for a poetry site contest appeared. It said write a poem within the space provided and win a prize.  

On a whim, I wrote a poem on the spur of the moment. I was hooked on writing poetry immediately. It offered me the chance to be creative and imaginative in my writing, something that my scientific writings did not do. I was a polished scientific writer by then, but this type of writing was completely foreign to me. I loved being able to write whatever I could imagine. I could take flights of fantasy. I could use emotions in the writing. It was liberating from the strict objectivity necessary in scientific writings, and I loved it. What I enjoy most about writing poetry is still that it allows me to be creative, to use humor or fantasy, to express my emotions openly, and to make someone see things differently than ever before. 

Norm:

Would you say you get clarity about a subject from writing a poem about it? If so, please elaborate.

Harry:

Definitely so! If I don't have a clear idea about the subject of my poem, then how could I convey to the reader the exact meaning I intended him/her to get from reading it? In writing a poem, I mull it over in my mind for several days before actually writing it down. I analyze what my feelings and thoughts on the subject are and what message I hope to convey. Writing a poem about a subject makes me crystallize my own beliefs and feelings regarding that issue. 

Norm: 

How would you define a good poem?

Harry:

A good poem is one that connects with its readers. Regardless of the form – rhyming or free verse, short or long, etc.—any poem that touches the mind and emotions of the readers so that they take away something from the poem is a good poem. A good poem will linger in the readers' minds and makes them consider their own feelings and beliefs anew. 

Norm: 

What is your philosophy of life?

Harry:

Wow! My philosophy of life? I guess I'd have to say to try to be the best person that you can be. Try to live so that your parents, your spouse, your children are proud of the person you are.  

Put family first; they will be there for you at all the critical points of your life and will be truer to you than any friends you have. Then, try to see the big picture in life and don't let the small, everyday stuff stress you out. Save the stress for the real problems that will arise in your life, not the waiting in line at the grocery store, sitting in traffic, etc.

Meet your obligations well, but try to have fun while doing so. Live so that at the end of your life you will be proud of all that you did. Fill your heart with love, kindness, compassion, and tolerance and the world will seem a better place to live. 

Norm: 

Do you feel that there are some subjects that are more important than others to write poetry about? How do you come up with ideas for what you write?

Harry:

While I do write on any number of fluff issues or humorous situations, yes, I do think some subjects are more important than others to write poetry about. I believe that it is important to address the atrocities of the world – wars, genocide, hatred, racial prejudice, mistreatment of animals, adultery – and make the readers examine their views and maybe rethink their beliefs and actions in this regard. The poet has the responsibility to challenge the wrong he sees in the world. 

As to how I come up with ideas for my poetry, I get ideas from everything around me, including what I see, news stories on television or in the newspaper, overheard conversations, items in Nature, something my wife or relatives do, how my Corgi, Rusty, reacts to his surroundings, politics, stray thoughts that come to me late at night while walking Rusty,…literally anything is fair game for one of my poems. Just observe the world around you and poems will need writing. 

Norm:

How do you feel as to the way language and words are used today? 

Harry:

It is terrible how language and words are mistreated in today's society. In medical school we had to dumb down test questions because some medical students had never heard commonplace words, and remember these are the supposedly the best and brightest of college graduates.

Spelling and grammar seem to be a lost art among today's students and young workers. I am appalled at the poor quality of writing one encounters on the Internet. Today's young people seem to think they have no need to be able to speak and write well and correctly. After all, doesn't the computer have a spell-check and grammar-check?   

Should I correct my own grown children when they mangle some word usage, they simply shrug and say, "Whatever!"  Such is the sorry state of language, grammar, and spelling in the modern high-tech world. 

Norm:

What makes poetry come alive in a classroom? How can teachers foster a love of poetry, rather than a fear of it, in their students?

Harry:

Making reading poetry fun instead of just a dull assignment makes poetry come alive for a student. This means letting each student find a poet or poem that speaks to them. I remember way back when I was a student having everyone in the class memorize a particular poem was the height of boredom. Hopefully, teachers have stopped doing that nowadays. With all the poetry available on Internet, I'd say teachers could foster a love of poetry by letting each student decide what poetry they enjoy and would willingly read to the class. 

Norm: 

Has the World Wide Web changed the way poetry reaches people?

Harry:

Of course. Very much so. There is more poetry available to Internet users than ever before in history. Famous poems, renown poets, as well as amateur poets by the thousands are all just a click away.

Norm: 

How do you want to be remembered?

Harry:

If you mean at Christmastime, cash will do nicely. J  If you mean after I am dead, then I'd hope to be remembered as a kind-hearted, highly intelligent man who was a good son, a good husband to my wife Linda, a good father and grandfather, and a man of high integrity and honor who valued the truth and tried to leave the world a better place.  

I would hope people who knew me personally would say I was successful at life and people who knew me through my work would say I was a good scientist and a noteworthy poet/author. At this point in my life at age 63, I would hope to be remembered for being a good poet/author that distinguished himself through his writings and left a legacy of note for future generations to read.

Norm:

Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us? (We would love to hear all about them!)

Harry:

I always have new storoems (story-poems) and poems in the works. Plus I have a new fictional novel that I am working on at present. It is the story of a warrior who is the right-hand and friend of a king trying to unify a nation from scattered tribes in the 700 A.D. period in a region of middle Europe. It deals with war, politics, betrayal, loss of faith, love, redemption, lost love, and new love. It follows the course of our hero's life over a period of about five years during these turbulent events of nation building. Hopefully, when completed, it will make for a great read. My tentative title is "Aldrich and Anneliese", Aldrich being the hero of the tale. 

Norm: 

How can our readers find out more about you, and is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Harry

Readers can check out my personal website called Gilleland Poetry at www.gillelands.com/poetry/ to see all my books and to read a sample of my past poetry.

All I would add is a plea to the readers to help out an old, fat, retired microbiologist by buying my book(s). Hopefully, they would find the read quite enjoyable.

I'd also would like to add my thanks to you for this interview with its challenging questions, which I enjoyed answering. 

Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future

endeavors.

Click Here To Read Norm's Review of Poetic Musings of an Old Fat Man