10 Questions for C.Dale Young

- By Edward Clifford

Cover of Prometeo by C.Dale Young

It is easy to believe there are no flowers
growing in the folds of sand stretching before us.
Night has erased them. And the Blue Moon
does little to illuminate anything but the sand:
—from "Blue Moon," Volume 63, Issue 1 (Spring 2022)

Tell us about one of the first pieces you wrote.
One of the first poems I wrote in college was based on the story of Abraham and Isaac, likely because I had seen a painting based on the biblical story. I was deeply disturbed by the idea God would ask as proof of faith that a man kill his own son. And I was more disturbed Abraham was willing to go through with it. In many ways, the poem I wrote was an invective against Abraham.

What writer(s) or works have influenced the way you write now?
There are so many. I always return to Donne, but I also love the way writers stand on the shoulders of all who came before them. I stand among books and feel their presence, and I can always pick up one up and find myself in “conversation” with them. I have always been interested in how works partially reveal the thinking mind of the author.

What other professions have you worked in?
Besides being a poet and writer, I work full-time as a Radiation Oncologist treating patients who have cancer with radiation therapy. I also work part-time as faculty in the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers where I help guide younger writers in learning the craft behind poems. In the not-too-distant past, I also worked for nineteen years as the poetry editor of the New England Review.

What did you want to be when you were young?
I wanted to be an artist and then wanted to be a doctor. I ended up, in some ways, being both.

What inspired you to write this piece?
I was standing outside one night and became aware that many things seen in the daylight vanish at night or become obscured. I kept thinking about this and then began to think about it metaphorically. When you know a place or thing, you continue seeing it even when it is obscured; you know it is there. I played this out in my mind in terms of landscapes and then pushed it further toward the realm of people and relationships. I did not imagine the poem as it is when I started it. It surprised me.

Is there a city or place, real or imagined, that influences your writing?
I would have to guess that where I live, San Francisco, affects my writing. It is difficult to live somewhere for a long time and not have scenes show up in your work.

Is there any specific music that aids you through the writing or editing process?
Not really. I typically write in silence. I sometimes become obsessed with a song and listen to it many times in a row. That is often a sign I am about to write a poem. That obsessive listening is a marker for me. The song often bears no relation to the poem I write, but I have grown to recognize my habits.

Do you have any rituals or traditions that you do in order to write?
I tend to write when I feel the urge to do so. I never force myself to write poems. As a result, no rituals or traditions to report.

Who typically gets the first read of your work?
Me! I rarely show a poem to someone unless finished, often when published. I do share various drafts occasionally with Tomas Q. Morin and/or Isaias Fanlo.

What are you reading right now?
I am currently reading Then the War and Selected Poems by Carl Phillips. Truly a stunning volume.

C.DALE YOUNG is the author of a novel, The Affliction, as well as five collections of poetry, the most recent being Prometeo. A recipient of fellowships from the NEA, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation, he practices medicine full-time and lives in San Francisco.