Meet the Poets: Joshua Jones

Joshua talks to us about his Issue Two poem, "Being Beautiful Is Not Enough", his writing practice, the poets he loves, and the poem he wishes he'd written.

Listen to Josh read his Issue Two poem “Being Beautiful Is Not Enough”

What can you tell us about this poem?

I wrote this when I was going through a period of not particularly liking myself, during a summer heatwave where I felt overbearingly aware of my body — sweat, clothes sticking — and also the city in the heat, hot concrete. I was struggling to sleep in the evenings due to the heat and how early the sun rises in summer and floods the house. I was also grieving the end of a friendship and not communicating with anyone about how I was feeling. The poem especially the considers the space between disconnect and hyperawareness.

What poets and poems are you in dialogue with?

Dean Young, Richard Scott, Richard Siken, (Meanwhile), Dennis Cooper (After School, Street Football, Eighth Grade).

What is your writing practice? Where and when do you write? By hand, laptop, phone notes…?

With poetry, I usually start off with writing observations, thoughts, scraps of text in my phone Notes. It isn't until I have the bones of a poem that I transfer it to my laptop, which gives more space to the poem and helps with understanding the formatting of the text.

What poem do you wish you’d written?

Romanticism 101 by Dean Young.

Do you write in other forms? If so, how do you toggle between them?

I write mainly short fiction, but also mess around with collage and film cameras. My approach is visual and instinctual — I prefer to allow the idea to pull me along and see where it goes rather than plan. But also, poetry feels more reflexive — I'm responding to the world and my own thoughts & feelings in real time, while I actually sit down and work at prose. I'm not saying prose is more considered, but I sit down at my desk to write prose, while, like photography, I'm out in the world writing poetry.

What’s on your bedside table?

The new Catherine Lacey book, Issue 2 of Left Cultures, a lime & eucalyptus candle, a lamp with a bendy neck, a Praktica TL58 film camera.

What song helps us get to know you better?