AD:\u00a0 You grew up in a household heavily laced with music and athletics.\u00a0 How do you think this has affected your outlook on the world as a child and as an adult?\u00a0 Do you think these things influence your writing and if they do, in what way?<\/p>\n
![\"Dan](\"http:\/\/fullofcrow.com\/prate\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/danprovost-150x150.jpg\" "\\"Dan")
DP: Being exposed to such a variety of music gave me an opportunity to experience different genres.\u00a0 My grandfather and father were both jazz drummers; they introduced me to George Shearing, Buddy Rich, and Gene Krupa.\u00a0 My brothers, Chip and Tim, were influenced by rock and blues, while my sister Judi, who played the organ and piano–played everything from classical to the Allman Brothers.\u00a0 For me, the lyric content was always the most fascinating and relevant.\u00a0 What was the writer of the lyrics trying to portray and how did he say it?\u00a0 Was he indignant, sly, and boastful?\u00a0 I always admired those who could sing in a way that could relate to the theme of the song.\u00a0 Even today, great lyricists heavily influence my writing.\u00a0 Pete Townsend–who wrote songs on so many different levels, about subjects like growing up, isolation, and fame, is one of my favorites.\u00a0 Ronnie Van Zant, who very quietly, but honestly, sang about gun control, the environment, and the frustration of a stereotyped south that lingers to this day.<\/p>\n
Athletics was and still is a huge part of my life.\u00a0 My family is very competitive and sports give all of us a venue to play, work, and achieve.\u00a0 Football was my sport and I still think there is nothing on the face of the earth that will tell you more about yourself than football (except if you join the military).\u00a0 Think about it, you play the game with 15-20 pounds of equipment on, games take place in any type of weather, (believe me it is not fun to be out there in 100 degree heat or -15 degree wind chill), the practices are long and somewhat tedious–and you have that one day where you have the opportunity to see if all that practice time was worth it…the game on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.\u00a0 I think I took from the game two important values that I try to live by: one is to never quit; the easiest thing in life is to give up and go lie in the sand somewhere …that accomplishes nothing.\u00a0 The second is to let the ability do the talking for you.\u00a0 I admire individuals like Barry Sanders, Bill Russell, and Michael Jordan… who simply let their playing speak for themselves.\u00a0 I have tried to incorporate this attitude in writing poetry, letting the words speak. I realize that this na\u00efve, but it is something I believe in.<\/p>\n
AD:\u00a0 You talk about letting the work speak for itself, but why do you think that is naive?\u00a0 There is an underlying theme of covert observation of the human public and often raw emotional reactions to other people that sometimes become self-inflicted wounds.\u00a0 What do you find so fascinating about these people in the periphery of the world’s eyes?<\/p>\n
The naive part I was referring to is the project of marketing the work.\u00a0 Telling the “in-crowd” that you have a new blog up, or a new chapbook out by so and so.\u00a0 I know this is necessary in order to get recognized, but for me personally, I really have to go outside myself to do this.\u00a0 Let’s face it; poetry is not the most popular art out there.\u00a0 So the ability to reach an audience that might be able to relate to what you are saying has to be found by spreading the word.\u00a0 Poets are very observant people.\u00a0 They see emotions from the loner, the guilty, the poor and the forgotten that many others just pass on by daily.\u00a0 The tears of a barfly father who has not seen his son in ten years, the wife whose husband left five years ago and she cannot get over the loss.\u00a0 People who have given up for some reason or another–they feel, they desire, they want…but they express it in such destructive ways sometimes the non-writer has to turn away.\u00a0 Sometimes, my work tries to understand the pain of the lonesome and the isolated.\u00a0 I try to emphasize this because my life has been filled with self-isolation and pain trying to come out nine ways sideward.\u00a0 I guess in some warped way, I can identify with the loner.<\/p>\n
AD:\u00a0 What kind of work touches you the most?\u00a0 What poets, both famous and not, really reach out to you when you read them and change the way you perceive society and the universe as a whole?<\/p>\n
Work that is real…when you read it you can tell it’s been written from the soul.\u00a0 John Sweet is one of my favorites.\u00a0 He takes the reader to places he does not want to go…he makes you think about subjects that many refuse to talk about; the certainty of evil, man’s violent nature.\u00a0 Jacob Johanson is another great writer who writes blunt, but can be taken on so many levels.\u00a0 I can relate to him when he talks about the gains and losses in his life.\u00a0 Jason Hardung and John Dorsey are two more I really like.\u00a0 Jason describes his daily battles with force and urgency while John takes characters and elements of today’s society and intertwines them with his own search for discovery.<\/p>\n
AD:\u00a0 I find that Dan Provost the man and Dan Provost the writer tend to be juxtaposed.\u00a0 As a man, you seem easygoing and even jovial, but your writing leans towards this dark and sometimes menacing shadow of a man.\u00a0 Why do you think this schism exists?\u00a0 Do you channel these fits of rage into words, instead of into something physically harmful?<\/p>\n
DP:\u00a0 I think everyone has a dark side inside them that they either refuse to acknowledge or let out.\u00a0 I choose to do this through my words.\u00a0 I admit, I was a bit of a red-neck in my younger days, hung out in places I should not have been; been in a few scuffles.\u00a0 These were places where violence and hatred were celebrated and necessary.\u00a0 Football is a great, yet physical game where if you cannot match the intensity and aggressiveness of your opponent–you’re going to get kicked around the field.\u00a0 I’ve also suffered severe bouts of depression…something I would not wish on my worst enemy.\u00a0 To put these emotions into words sometimes helps the healing process or at least recognize the dankness I am feeling.<\/p>\n
AD:\u00a0 It just so happens that you and I will be book mates this year when our 69 Flipbook is released from Tainted Coffee Press.\u00a0 Your collection is called “A Quiet Learning Curve”.\u00a0 Can you tell me a little bit about the underlying theme of this collection and how it came to be?<\/p>\n
DP: Many of the poems are about observations of myself; the strengths, weaknesses, and the core beliefs I possess.\u00a0 They came to me very quietly and gently, by just looking outside myself and seeing how I relate to people and events.\u00a0 I found that a series of poems I wrote in the same time period were very reflective and revealing.\u00a0 It’s an honor to be published with such a talented writer as you!<\/p>\n
AD:\u00a0 Thank you, you are too kind to say so.\u00a0 Do you think these types of poems will surprise your regular readers?\u00a0 Are they very different from what most us are used to seeing from you?<\/p>\n
DP:\u00a0 I think they may be a bit more reflective and positive than what I’ve done in the past.\u00a0 Like I mentioned earlier, I’m getting older; I’m much more mellow than I use to be!\u00a0 LOL<\/p>\n
AD: I often contemplate, to myself, the effects of environment and region on a writer’s work.\u00a0 Do you think a writer’s surroundings influences how and what they write, even on a subconscious level?\u00a0 Do you find living in a larger city gives your poems a predilection to urban experience?<\/p>\n
DP:\u00a0 I do believe that the environment affects the body of a writer’s work.\u00a0 If it’s territory that the writer is not accustomed to, he\/she will comment about the adjustment he\/she is trying to make, or the loneliness of being away from familiar surroundings. Fortunately, this can work in a positive way as well.\u00a0 If you live somewhere that you love, many times the words will reflect this. Describing beautiful nature or the sunset over a city skyline…described in many styles by wonderful authors.\u00a0 As far as my writing, the city of Worcester has provided me the opportunity to witness many lifestyles, both good and bad.\u00a0 My latest chapbook “Fallen Empathy” tells of some of the seedier parts of the city and my reaction to encountering the individuals who lived there.<\/p>\n
AD:\u00a0 Lastly, what is your favorite song lyric and why?<\/p>\n
DP: Great, but tough question.\u00a0 So many to choose from!!!!\u00a0 I guess it would be a line from the song “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd: “All that you need, is in your soul.”\u00a0 Individuals who put their soul into anything are usually successful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dan Provost is a writer and coach from Worcester, MA. He could very well be one of the nicest men you will ever meet. He is a man unafraid to wear the rawest parts of himself on his sleeve for everyone to see, touch, and experience. He is no stranger to the darkness in himself […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[24,25,45],"class_list":["post-49","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poets","tag-dan-provost","tag-east-coast","tag-poetry"],"yoast_head":"\n