Interview with Adam Gary

Hello Poetry Lovers

Welcome back to the Talk Show studio (audience cheer rapturously)

Today, our special guest is prolific and talented poet Adam Gary (standing ovation)

Dobby! Let him in!

(Eventually) our esteemed guest glides elegantly down the lighted stairs. (Rapturous applause)

Hi! Thank you so much for letting me take part in this!

No problem, Dobby just demanded Dreamies. Luckily, I had a packet on me!

My first creative passion was performing arts which is what I had started pursuing first from 12yrs old right up until about 26.

I’m a proud alumnus of the National Youth Theatre and have found myself on some pretty exciting sets over the years.

25 was when I began transitioning into poetry, and my exploits with that include a YouTube channel (Adam Gary Poetry) where I make videos of all styles, but always centred around poetry.

I also have a company called The Poetry Cove, where I’m trying to create the most extensive poetry community available.

From a community forum, magazine, online school, we even had a 24hr poetry radio station at one point, which I hope to get back to when things are more financially suitable.

I’m also now at the forefront of a new county Laureateship programme, which aims to bring more poetry events across the whole of Surrey, which I’m very passionate about.

My journey with poetry has been an ironic one. When the poetry module came round in year 10 or 11, I survived just one class. The rest I used to truant and bunk off over on the heath that backed on to my school, Feltham Community College; I think it’s rebranded now to an academy.

Funny to think that, when I’ve now wound-up teaching basic poetry writing to mayors! I don’t blame the teacher; it just never sparked my teenage, rebellious side.

Then when I was 18, I wrote my first poem for the first love of my life and electricity raced through my veins. It felt like an actual physical thing happening inside of me. The best way I can describe it is the moment Harry Potter gets his wand. I never felt that with acting.

After that, my poetry writing went dormant for about 3 years – but the sensation always stuck with me. Then, on the underground to work, I was reading an autobiography by Ray Manzarek, ‘My Life with The Doors’ and discovered Jim Morrison was an avid poet and poetry appreciator.

Once I found out that The Lizard King himself found poetry worthwhile, I fully accepted my inner poet and haven’t looked back since!

Coming from a performance background, and growing up in England, Shakespeare has been inescapable. He is my biggest influence. His technique and word choice and influence he’s had is admirable and definitely something I look up to.

On the other side of that, the other biggest influence on me has been Jack Kerouac, of the beat generation. Two very different voices and styles, which I like to think somehow fuse together in my own work.

Just the other day I started work on an anthology I will be publishing through The Poetry Cove. It will collect poetry from the 1600s right up to 1920s.

I’m also slowly putting together my next limited-edition Chapbook. I started making DIY chapbooks – my first being Fungal Matter, which came out in April and is themed on mental health.

They are handmade and each one I try to make individual with a slight tweak on the cover somewhere and are numbered on the inside like a collector’s item type thing.

Gosh! That’s really difficult. Every time I visit an open mic night for the first time, I truly leave elevated. I love being in new surroundings and enjoying new poets.

Each open mic night has its regulars and it may sound odd, but I enjoy observing each different friend group and witnessing the bond they’ve forged through their poetry.

Open mics always recharge me, and I get up the next morning feeling like I’ve had a night on the town, less the hangover.

The worst night? Actually, a couple of weeks ago I was at a night and I thought I’d gotten there early. I hadn’t, I was right on time but I was the first POET to arrive.

The organisers had set up and were enjoying a cold brew before the festivities kicked off, but centre stage was a gentleman rather off his rocker. It was only 7pm and the night hadn’t even begun and there was this guy barely able to sit up straight in his seat.

For clarity, he clearly wasn’t there for the poetry… he had been day drinking in another part of the venue and had wandered through to our bar.

Anyway, as you can imagine he didn’t sober up as the night went on, rather the opposite, until eventually he was asked to leave by the landlord. Of course, he didn’t go quietly and didn’t leave until he’d slammed a few doors and called our host a few names I shan’t repeat here.

He was very appreciative of the live music (it was a mixed night), getting up and giving it full air guitar, but less so with the poetry. It was difficult to get through my set but thankfully I’ve managed to build a thick skin from the inevitable hate comments one receives when putting yourself out there on platforms like YouTube. All in good fun, eh?

Well, I’ve got some Dreamies left to bribe Dobby to take me to an exclusive open mic

(A standing ovation as the plucky and talented poet ascends the lighted stairs)

Wasn’t Adam a wonderful guest?! So full of insight. Do look at Adam’s website, it’s brilliant. http://www.adamgary.co.uk

Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back with more poetry action real soon…..