ABP- Thank you for taking this interview, Chris. Earlier in the summer, ABP was fortunate to publish The Book of IP: Idle Poems. For those who have not read the collection, can you give us a quick little synopsis?
CCM- Thank you so much for having me and for believing in my writing! This chapbook is, simply put, a cathartic exhale after holding my breath for Hollywood to give me “permission” to do certain things as an artist. I’ve been writing since I was a child and winning awards for that writing since then. So, I’ve accepted that I know what I’m doing enough to deserve an audience, without dodging multiple tiers of gatekeepers in between. The official synopsis is:
THE BOOK OF I.P. (Idle Poems) is a hybrid poetry and essay collection that is ‘ironic in concept, sincere in content’ as it deconstructs prescribed best-practices for getting ideas greenlit as a screenwriter and what it means to possess a producible story.
ABP– Can you share a poem from the book with us here?
CCM- American Juju; (&You Thought You Knew)
There are no words for
The hoodoo that you do
But it will be heard, yes
The hoodoo you done
I see the bird and he
Tells me what you do
His corpse on the stoop, O, now
What have you done?
A smell in the air
The dank of the boneyard
A lock of my hair, I
Provided you one
You
Sat there and stared at
My innocent trusting
Await just a moment, I
Rise and you run
The dead of your eyes
‘Gainst the white of your garment, I
Watch there, alarmed
Any harm, I did none
Upon the day that I met you
The spirits were calling
For your mind, it was made
A fresh enemy won
I’ve suffered the pains of
The hoodoo that you do
No evidence remains of
The hoodoo you done
Relinquish the reins as
Sound karma, as you knew
Comes whirling your way
Now the cycle is done
Forged in the fire of
Twisted machinations
Fear I might die of
Untraceable hands
Prayer I might die of
Self-determination
Before I succumb to
The deeds you command
Blessed and free of
The hoodoo that you do
Stood beside me are the
Souls you beseech
The Night, it will see that
The hoodoo you done, it
Sneaks in from the cold, it
Finds you in its reach
ABP- For those who have read Idle Poems and would like to read more, would you like to share a poem from outside of that collection?
CCM-
The Lovecrafts
Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Must have wondered what
His White Supremacy
Did for him.
For his pappy.
For his mammy.
For his maiden aunts.
For his soiled pants.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Must have looked in the mirror
And felt as affirmed in his art
As his favored fellow brown-eyed ‘Aryan’
Begged the question?
Learned the lesson.
Sonia Haft Greene Lovecraft Davis
Most certainly pondered
Frowned on his pallid face with pity
Questioned why he clung to
The taunting of the city
“What do you need, Howie?”
“Another wild screed, Howie?”
“And if we breed, Howie?”
“Sure of – your – creed, Howie?”
ABP- Do you have any works in progress that you’d like to mention?
CCM- Right now, I’m compiling my next collection which has a working title of Slam Poems for My Bathroom Mirror. It will be full length. I’m also focusing on my original film and TV projects, three of which are in various stages of pre-production. I just had some wonderful producers start shopping my magnum opus script PRODIGAL, which is a cerebro-scandalous tragedy. I am also in the process of financing my Horror/Comedy feature CHARCUTERIE, which has some awesome actors attached as leads. Some familiar faces, for sure.
ABP- Who is your favorite writer? What is your favorite book?
CCM- My favorite author is Toni Morrison and my favorite book by her is Song of Solomon. I read it in school and I hope it’ll be adapted into a limited series or something one day.
ABP– Thank you again for taking this interview, Chris. If there is anything else that you would like to mention, share, or announce, please do.
CCM- I just want to thank all of the beautiful folks who supported the book with a purchase and/or a review. Below are some of my favorite editorial pull-quotes, which still give me chills to read.
“Here’s verse to echo Dickinson, Brooks, and Blake. And Martin’s spiritual grasp can perhaps match theirs…This is fun, prophetic stuff.”
-Nicholas Michael Ravnikar for New Pages Blog
“Martin’s writing is fresh and burning with significance…Martin has much to give with these works. These poems and essays have the edge in what Martin calls ‘breaking the rules’ and that makes them all the more necessary to experience.”
-LB Sedlacek for The Poetry Market
“…But we all as humans need to heed the message Martin offers, that in a world where conformity is legion, carving your own path is a form of resistance, a small, quiet rebellion that undermines all that is wrong with our society. And if you are to pursue that revolution inside yourself, let The Book of I.P. serve as a very worthy, crucial manifesto.”
-Anthony Palma for Mad Poets Society
Alien Buddha Press 