Joining us today is tommy blake. tommy (he/they) takes bisexual disaster to a new level with his love for hyperpop, mid-2000s emo hits, and beachy indie pop. they wrote two collections similar to this title. they are after: transience, transference, transfusions, & transmutations, which is about the tenderness of queerness, and lacuna, which grapples with raw teen angst and queerness. his full length poetry collections are forthcoming in 2023: NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL HORROR! (Gutslut Press) and So, Who’s Courage? (Bullshit Lit.).
I write because I always have; it’s what I know. I’ve been writing since I can remember, and I was fascinated by storytelling and imagery at a young age. I loved to retell, or write fanfiction, of my favorite TV shows when I was in elementary school. In middle school, that turned into writing lyrics and occasionally musical accompaniment to the lyrics. However, in high school, I turned mostly to poetry. I tried writing prose on and off, but poetry stuck with me better. Ever since, I’ve been writing almost only poetry. At this point, the real reason is to make better sense of the world around me and process emotions and traumatic experiences. It’s therapeutic, at times.
What made you start writing?
For space cowboy on a little, uh, space exploration? (Bottlecap Press, 2023) specifically, I wanted to write it to better explore my transmasc side I used to repress in my early 20s. In a sense, it’s me rewriting my history and replacing what actually happened in my early 20s (i.e. repression) with what should have been. I applied a similar method as to when I wrote lacuna (Kith Books, 2022), in which I revisited an old manuscript I wrote as a teenager and mined it for parts. For lacuna, I lifted complete poems and made tweaks as I went along. There were only 2 poems that are completely unrecognizable. However, for space cowboy on a little, uh, space exploration?, I only took vibes and words from that older body of work. From there, I wrote a loose sequel for lacuna, which rewrites my late teens/early 20s.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
When I’m not writing, you’ll find me watching F tier shows with my partner, Theo, (only to be quickly followed with an episode of an A tier show). I play with my cats often, or take as many pictures as I can! I have four cats: Peanut, Cosmo, Mimi, and Skitty. My full length poetry collection, So, Who’s Courage?, follows Peanut and Cosmo as Courage from Courage the Cowardly Dog. That collection is set to debut this year with Bullshit Lit. Somehow, I got back to talking about writing! Anyway, other things I do outside of writing include: photography, playing the piano, music composition, and playing video games.
Describe your book in three words.
For space cowboy on a little, uh, space exploration?, I’d say: nebulous, dissociation, lassoing.
What are some of your favorite books and/or authors?
My favorite authors/poets are nat raum, charlie perseus, Theo Sebastian, ami j. sanghvi, [sarah] cavar, samantha fain, arden will, Melissa Martini, Aura Martin, jude rigor, Robin Kinzer, shyla jones, KB Brookins, and Taylor Byas.
What are you currently reading?
I’m currently reading MACHINATIONS by JP Seabright and Kinneson Lalor.
What is under your bed?
If it’s nighttime, my cats Skitty and Cosmo are probably there. Peanut likes to heckle Cosmo (they’re half-siblings, but not littermates) by running him out from under the bed, so there’s a slight chance she’s there, too. So, essentially, I do, in fact, have demons under my bed.
Are you a book hoarder or a book unhauler?
I’m a bit of both! I read almost every book I buy immediately after buying it. It’s 98% true for all poetry books I pick up. However, I take longer to read prose. One day, it would be a dream to have a basement that’s just a home library. Or a secret room that is a library. Both?
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