INTERVIEWS

Blair Martin

Do you have a space dedicated to creative work?

I type most of my poems at a wooden desk that faces the street and some landscaping. It is an area with a lot of natural light and birdsong. A good deal of the first drafts of my poems arrange themselves in my head, often in the most inconvenient times, so I sometimes have to scribble down snippets before I formalize the poem in my writing spot.

Tell us about your path to writing or creating artwork.

I fell in love with poetry as a teenager; Yeats was one of my first inspirations. I didn’t get back into writing until my 40’s. When I look back on the time in between, there are so many periods where I knew something significant was missing and I now realize it was creative expression. I’m really grateful to have found my way back to writing.

Are any movies, music, books or poetry collections (or any media at all, really) particularly inspiring to you? 

The lyrics and music of Phil Ochs has been a go-to of mine for a long time. In terms of poetry, I connect with the work of Ocean Vuong. With my background in psychology, I am fascinated by the creative process itself; a recent book that’s been fueling my creativity is “The Work of Art” by Adam Moss.

Blair Martin grew up on a small farm in Lancaster County, PA. They received their PhD in Clinical Psychology from Bowling Green State University and teach at Joliet Junior College as a professor of psychology. They are participating in the Lit!Commons community with the Loft Literary Center.

Read “Of All of Nature’s Leaves, Envious” and “Two Month Have Passed” in our first issue.

INTERVIEWS

Blair Martin

Do you have a space dedicated to creative work?

I type most of my poems at a wooden desk that faces the street and some landscaping. It is an area with a lot of natural light and birdsong. A good deal of the first drafts of my poems arrange themselves in my head, often in the most inconvenient times, so I sometimes have to scribble down snippets before I formalize the poem in my writing spot.

Tell us about your path to writing or creating artwork.

I fell in love with poetry as a teenager; Yeats was one of my first inspirations. I didn’t get back into writing until my 40’s. When I look back on the time in between, there are so many periods where I knew something significant was missing and I now realize it was creative expression. I’m really grateful to have found my way back to writing.

Are any movies, music, books or poetry collections (or any media at all, really) particularly inspiring to you? 

The lyrics and music of Phil Ochs has been a go-to of mine for a long time. In terms of poetry, I connect with the work of Ocean Vuong. With my background in psychology, I am fascinated by the creative process itself; a recent book that’s been fueling my creativity is “The Work of Art” by Adam Moss.

Blair Martin grew up on a small farm in Lancaster County, PA. They received their PhD in Clinical Psychology from Bowling Green State University and teach at Joliet Junior College as a professor of psychology. They are participating in the Lit!Commons community with the Loft Literary Center.

Read “Of All of Nature’s Leaves, Envious” and “Two Month Have Passed” in our first issue.

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