Z.M. Wise, Author

Z.M. Wise is a poet and poetry activist who has been writing since his first steps as a child. He has been a written-word poet for almost two decades and a spoken-word poet for three years. He is also an Assistant Editor of Harbinger Asylum, a Houston-based, but internationally known poetry magazine. He is also co-owns Transcendent Zero Press, an independent publishing house, with his dear friend and founder Dustin Pickering.

In addition to that, he hosts a weekly reading at San Jacinto College, as well as hosting at Coffee Oasis monthly. The motto that keeps him going consists of two simple, but powerful words: POETRY LIVES! Mr. Wise will make sure to spread that message and the love of poetry, making sure it remains vibrant for the rest of his days and beyond.

What was the title of your very first poem?

I wrote my first poem Being Born in 1995. It is in my first notebook of first and early poems that I compiled not too long ago after finding several scattered papers containing poems that I wrote from ’95-early 2010. I suppose the piece is a six year old’s personal perspective about the beginning of life.

What/where is Kingswood Clock?

The title of my book is derived from Kingswood Lane, a street I grew up in when I was a small lad until the age of eleven. It is located in a small neighborhood in Wheeling, Illinois. Though I moved to Houston, Texas in 2001, Illinois will always be my home sweet home. My heart belongs to the North eternally.

What is your favorite form of poetry?

I love all forms and try to write in almost every one of them. Exploration is the key word, here. The word ‘limit’ does not exist in my vocabulary, you see. Poetry is a journey, like every day of one’s life.

Do you have a favorite poet? A favorite poem?

Give me a few millennia and I will be able to give you a concrete answer.

When thoughts come, how do you capture them?

It has become quite habitual to carry two things with me wherever I go: my digital voice recorder and the latest book of poetry I am working on. If I record something, I start out with the words ‘Poem Idea: (insert working title and then the words following).’ Let’s just say I have recorded enough material for six books. Goddess bless the AAA battery.

What/who is your favorite muse?

Love. Though it may sound cliché, love is my absolute favorite topic of poetry to write about. I do not speak of Hallmark love. Nay, for I speak of love to its very core, and everything in between. Love, like poetry, is unlimited. This could be the old fashioned, hopeless romantic speaking, but there is so much to the subject, whether you are speaking of first love, forbidden love, lost love, love for nature/your home, undying love, love and marriage, making love (not sex…there is a difference between the two), proclaiming your love, and much more. Other than that, the muse/inspiration is like a beast in a cage: never tame what is meant to be wild.

Where do you like to write?

Anywhere but home, really. Home is quite boring and distracting. I can be at a coffee shop, writing on my lunch break at work, somewhere downtown, on a bus, or even a bar. Yes, I said a bar. Other than writing poetry, I do nothing else at a bar, really. I do not drink, other than a celebratory glass of wine after writing drafts/typing/editing final drafts of a book of poetry. You can people watch, and if you tune out the constant noise and the lewd behavior, you can write a few surreal pieces.

What are you currently writing?

I am working on multiple projects at once. I am typing up and editing the final drafts of the notebook of compiled poems mentioned earlier. I am currently writing my thirtieth book of poetry. I am listening to all of the recorded drafts, putting them to paper, and eventually typing them. I am also an Assistant Editor for Harbinger Asylum, a Houston based but internationally known poetry magazine, as well as being the co-owner of Transcendent Zero Press, an independent publishing house.

Please share a favorite poem of your own...

This was published not too long ago. I will let the piece explain itself.

I Am What to You?

I am

what

to

you?

I am nightshade,

a shadow of ebony whispers.

I am the winter that

blesses you with three months of

Antarctic bliss.

I am a dunce for

loving someone like you.

I am your rebirth,

providing a second chance

at this game you call 'life.'

I am nirvana:

my state beats your other fifty hands down.

I am the electricity that

is placed in every

meaningful kiss.

I am a creation

for poets and poetesses alike.

I am your alter ego,

viewing the world

through your eyes and spirit.

I am time,

ticking away and running out every waking moment.

I am the decoy

that the government's plot holes sent

to keep you sane and arranged.

I am a garden,

one of several compliments from Mama Terra.

I am your doppelganger,

thought I am quite befuddled

in the haunting process while you are still alive.

I am space:

infinite, gaseous, and peaceful.

I am the erect member that

penetrates the moist counterpart softly and

forms a spiritual connection with her blushing face.

I am a romantic,

hopelessly in love with everything heart-shaped.

I am your scythe,

your only grim means of protection and

parking spot in Tartarus.

I am bliss,

for if you caress me, rainbow visions await you ahead.

I am the Omnipresent One,

taking up collective places,

seeing all and being everywhere.

I am a corridor:

lonesome, Dylanesque, and limited.

I am your subway system,

passing through with a modern version of

Charon, the ferryman.

I am poetry,

defining the senses of self-induced words.

I am the peace,

upside down mirror reflection of

violence and profane chaos.

I am a page,

turning life and exhaling numb attempts.

I am your only hope,

your only conclusion and

your emancipation to contentment.

I...

am...

you!

April 1, 2012

Copyright © Z.M. Wise 2012

What does poetry mean to you?

Everything. It is what I live for every day of my life. I cannot wait to wake up the next day to see what poetry has in store for me. I am proud to call myself a poet. I also want to take the time to spread the word of my motto, which I strongly encourage people to live by as well: POETRY LIVES! Make it your mantra. Make it your guardian angel. Make it your reason to live as well.

Connect with Z.M….

http://about.me/ZMWisethePoet www.youtube.com/ZMthePoet https://www.facebook.com/TakeMeBackKingswoodClock https://www.facebook.com/pages/ZM-Wise-Poet/ http://www.amazon.com/Take-Me-Back-Kingswood-Clock/dp/1937705234

Take Me Back, Kingswood Clock