INTERVIEW
Author David C McLean first wrote as a child. He, however, stopped writing in his early teens. ‘I did not write any more until 1994,’ the Englishman says, beginning his exclusive interaction with Literary Harbinger. ‘I then appeared in four print zines in the United Kingdom but stopped submitting, as I did not like paying international postage. Later, after writing less seriously for a few years, I began submitting electronically and appeared in more than 600 different online and print publications over the coming years,” the author, who lives in Somerset, the UK, shares.
On Goddess, Sexuality, Philosophy
The magazine Whistling Shade offered to do a book of poems after receiving one of the author’s submissions. Says the sexagenarian, who pursued his BA (History) from Oxford University and MA (Philosophy) from Stockholm, ‘I acquiesced to the offer, and over the next few years, there were three full-length works and many chapbooks that I no longer count. I regard my oeuvre as starting with the first book from Oneiros Books in 2013. After this, I stopped submitting over the coming years. The older online work I did is on my blog.’
David’s latest book is a collection of poetry. To be precise, it deals with the woman it was written for, Emma. ‘It also considers goddess, sexuality, and philosophy,’ states the author, adding that philosophy is a predominant influence on him. The book’s themes, nonetheless, are the conflict between intensity, sensory pleasures, and their incommensurability with representation. ‘I draw inspiration from both Lyotard and Deleuze for this work. There is a posthuman tendency in the writing, a more equitable system for evaluating the impact of human behavior on the planet as a whole,” he tells us. ‘But basically, it is about love, fire, and intensity. I want to express, or at least show how to hear what can only be conveyed by an inarticulate cry, a scream,” he adds.
Letting the ‘Plot’ Out
Having written three novels, the author, who also speaks Swedish fluently, convincingly says he would not consider himself a plotter. ‘My works are pretty much antinovels with no focus on plot. Long prose poems with aphorisms, diatribes, and ramblings. Apart from the many poetry books, I have written a Posthuman Poetry Manifesto, which is the closest to philosophy I have published.’
Asked if he favors any authors, David tells us that while he likes the works of Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Trakl, Larkin, and Auden, he has been hugely inspired by poet Tanya Rakh. ‘I often plunder her work for epigraphs,’ he states. So far as prose is concerned, Davis says the writings of Gertrude Stein, Artaud, Sterne, and Rabelais inspire him. ‘They are capacious; there is room in their writings,’ he says.
Deleuze and Guattari, Lyotard, Derrida, and Heidegger are philosophical writers that David mostly reads. ‘They write articles on posthumanism. I often also listen to popular music for inspiration. ‘Roky Erickson, The Sisters of Mercy, and The Gun Club are only a few of the many I adore,’ he lets us know.
‘Goddess Is Love; She Knows Best’
Relying on inspiration, David says he tends to write every day. ‘But not very long. I will often read something I use as an epigraph and then write a poem that is more or less connected to it,” he shares. Conceding that becoming an author was a conscious decision, he says he feels that the Goddess he believes in wants him to write certain things and to try to evolve and ascend. ‘I believe that it is not for me, or by my choice, that I write, but the Goddess is love, and She knows best,’ he quips.
And does he have any advice for authors who tend to lose motivation after a few of their works fail to garner an audience? ‘I doubt that literary success is measured by sales. Just say what you want to say as well as you can. Let that be enough,’ David says in response to the question.
Last but not least, if there is one thing that he would like to change in this world, what would that be? ‘Stopping humans from destroying the Earth should be a priority,’ says the writer. ‘Also, we had better be motivated by something other than profit,’ he pronounces, signing off.
PS: David C. McLean blogs at https://posthumouspoems.blogspot.com.
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