B M S: So tell us about a typical day in the life of
Richard Zola...
RZ: You want to know about that? A typical day? OK.
On a day when I don't have work the next day, I lock
the doors of the house where I work - at around 9:00pm
- and walk home. I have a bag over my shoulder which
contains 2 diaries, an umbrella, and a small pharmacy
of cold cures, migraine capsules, indigestion powders,
paper handkerchiefs and pens. So I walk home through
suburban streets, past lighted windows, beneath
branches, across junctions... breathing more heavily
up the sloping road to the apartment. I curse the key that
I can't find, find it, open the lower door to the communal
stairway - climb 2 flights... open the apartment door. The
sound of voices - live and recorded - yellow light, music...
I trip over shoes and coats, answer yells and grunts of
greeting. I head for the kitchen, dump my bag, curse for a
while about the state of the sink... cook a stir-fry and
rice. Talk to and at Elisabeth. Curse the neighbours.
Elisabeth goes to bed. At about 11:00 or later, I search for
and find my pen and paper... put a disc in the player,
usually Miles Davis or Yoko Ono, some music that is
apparently formless so my mind is occupied, and
wait.... tune into the voice.... wait... write...
wait.... coffee... write... doors slam.. open...
shouts outside... sirens......wait.... curse...wait,
write... pee... but not out the window, oh no, not
since that time when...
I write until 7.00am... go to bed, get up at
12:30 pm... sit in the kitchen, bathe in the
bathroom... read what was written in the night... .sit
... sit ... sit... curse... the day passes.... 1.30
am and sleep... with luck...
B M S: All of this begs the question - how much time
do you actually devote to the writing of poetry?
RZ: Physically, about 14 hours a week, but I believe it happens all the time, continuously...
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Billy Marshall Stoneking's Performance Poetry topic, please visit the Discussions page.