Isabella Wang: What were some of the lessons and wisdoms you took from the writing and publication of Deepfake Serenade? How does it feel now that it’s out? Chris Banks: I wrote this book through the first six months of the Pandemic. We live in such a fast-paced society—fast food, binging TV shows, overnight deliveries-- so it was weird to see society slow to a crawl. I would say my book reflects that “ever-faster” drive in society – more images, more word-play, just more! I want to pack it all in! And yes, it is wonderful to share it now with people. Isabella: In love, rhyme, serenades, or the seasons, how do you find the music of your poetry? Chris: I find now I am much more interested in the element of surprise as I write. If I know too much about what I am writing about, I get blocked rather quickly. I like to follow a poem into the darkened woods with nothing but my pen and a pocket full of bread crumbs to see where the trail leads…. Isabella: Deepfake Serenade features an incredible selection of poems written in the form of these free-verse long stanzas, without stanza breaks; yet, you convey so many kaleidoscopic worlds from the spiritual, personal, the city, and small openings of the everyday. What has been your experience working with this form? How has it worked for you? Chris: I used to write more in couplets or tercets or quatrains, but I find the kind of “quick energy” I am trying to muster in my recent poems requires the rivering long stanzas I am now using. Stanza breaks create pauses, and I do not want too many pauses in my poems. I want it to be a roller-coaster ride right until the very end. "All Your Power", from Chris Banks's Deepfake Serenade (Nightwood Editions 2021). Read by Isabella.
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