seth elkins

what is your name?
my name is seth elkins.

how would you describe what you do?
probably not very well. i write as it seems to pour out of my head. i try to maintain my thoughts on paper, though this isn’t always possible. most of my work is more stream of consciousness, than anything else. i don’t edit much of my work. because i don’t want to alter the thoughts and emotions i am trying to express. their inability to translate properly, is kind of something i aim for.

what are you currently working on?
i have a few different publications i am working on, and awaiting the final word on. killpoet press, based out of los angeles, CA, has an anthology coming out in the coming months that i contributed artwork as well as poetry to. black monster, based out of portland, OR is publishing it’s first chapbook consisting of artwork and words by myself, and owner zach hamilton. right now we are editing the rough draft. it should be available to readers in february. also, i am working on editing a 90-100 page manuscript, for possible publication. i am about to take on the task of printing a few chapbooks myself, as well. no real plan in mind for it, except that the first will be a double, and it will consist of work by myself and chris groah, someone i am very much looking forward to working with, as he has been a large influence of mine.

what has had the greatest influence on your work?
i am influenced by so many things. i would have to say it has been my own trials and tribulations that have influenced me the most. like i said, my work is much more of an outlet for emotion than anything i would call “art”. it’s for me, and selfishly, at that. it just so happens there are a few out there that seem to enjoy it enough to want to publish it. i am always flattered and a bit confused, but i wouldn’t tell anyone they were wrong.

what is the greatest misconception about you or your work?
ha ha! i am not sure i am known enough in the public eye to have experienced “misconception”. but for the sake of conversation, i would say that i think a lot of people misinterpret my work, but to no fault of their own. i like to keep the metaphors vague, while still epressing some emotion that a reader could pick up on. but i also like to write it out so that no one can quite put their finger on my actual thoughts. i would prefer my work be open to interpretations. interpretations that could vary from day to day. but to be honest, i think most people interpret my work as being quite a bit darker than i intend, but really, i kind of prefer to be misinterpreted. i enjoy the different perspective that is necessary to be misinterpreted.

what do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of the medium you work in?
that’s a good question. and i don’t really have an answer for it. the list would go on and on in either direction, i think. art -in any medium- is filled with a flaw for every strength it has. it seems that it would have to have as many flaws/strengths as the man, woman, or child, that was using it to express themselves.

how has technology impacted upon the work you do?
it has allowed me to obtain/maintain contact with other writers and artists that i would otherwise not have read, or ever even heard of for that matter. with the help of the internet, i have developed relationships with some amazing writers, many of which i have met up with at poetry readings across the nation. none of this would have happened without the internet.

what’s the greatest piece of advice you would like to pass on?
don’t take advice from me.

where can we find you online?
you can find my poetry, photography, and my apprentice grade tattooing, at www.myspace.com/known_felon

what are you reading at the moment?
nothing at the moment. i just finished blood meridian, by cormac mcarthy. that book literally floored me. that man can write like nobody’s business. a truly master story-teller.

what are you listening to at the moment?
oh, a little of this, a little of that. i like about everything. from heavy metal to hip-hop, and early blues to drum and bass, and beethoven to synth-pop.

anything else we should know?
look me up, and buy my books and chapbooks and photography. i need to eat.