John Maradik is my favorite poet without a full-length collection. The surrealist and absurdist first caught my attention with his poem “My Therapist” in an issue of Bennington Review. Following that, I discovered some of his poems in jubilat as well as a micro chapbook called They Found the Python. Featuring only four poems, it includes the title piece, which is perhaps my favorite poem. Ever.
With a full-length on the way (!!!), as well as a novel in the works, I reached out to Maradik to talk process, obscurity, absurdity, music, MFA programs, being married to a fellow writer, writing as a joyful act, and much more.
You released the chapbook They Found the Python in 2020 and it's incredibly small - only four poems. How did you narrow it down to these four and how do you see them working together?
I worked with James Haug at Scram Press to figure out which four poems to use for the chapbook. Haug has a great aesthetic sense and he narrowed it down. I’ve played a lot of poker with Haug and his nickname is The Buzzsaw. It’s best to just do what he says.
You don't have much of a social media / online presence so I often find myself Googling your name to see if you've released any new poems. Have you always preferred to be off the grid?
I love being off the grid. It makes me feel mystical. Although I do have Instagram. I love the internet a little too much and it overwhelms me. I think about starting a website to share my collages and paintings and writing but then something always stops me. Maybe I’m afraid of being judged. I think it’s cool you’ve created neonpajamas—your passion to share and connect is an inspiration.
With numerous poems (and a few stories) online but no book in the public, can I ask what you are currently working on?
I have a half-finished collection of short stories and a half-finished novel. Most of my energy is with the novel for now. I have a full-time job and holy hell is it hard to write after working all day. For now I try to work on the weekends. I should stop making excuses.
I don't want to give any spoilers away to the readers, but when we talked briefly a few years back, the working title for your manuscript was The Cloth. Is this still the case?
My poetry manuscript is now called “Surprises & Pleasures.” It is done! It will be coming out with Scram Press. I promise that you will be one of the first people to receive a copy when it comes out!
via jubilat
Your poems so often mix comedy with elements of surrealism. How do you see these two elements/styles interacting?
I felt giddy and elated when I read my first James Tate poems. I couldn’t believe how happy I felt taking twists and turns with him on those meandering surrealist prose poems of his. Everything I’ve written has been inspired by that feeling. I just want to create that feeling for someone else. That and I love making people laugh. Based on what I’ve read of your work and the poets and artists you like I think you feel the same way?
Absolutely! The more surprising the better. With your persona poems and many that take on new worlds, one could almost say your poems are little short stories or microfictions. Are you actively writing anything in prose form?
If I had just one year left to live, I would only write prose poems. I have the most fun creating these outrageous situations and then ending them quickly. But I’m working on a novel right now which is satisfying for a different reason—although less fun to write. With the novel I want to push myself out of my comfort zone and stick with a narrative I can’t escape so easily. The novel is about a group of depressed people who meet at a meditation retreat and decide to live together. It is a love story.
With your wife Rachel B. Glaser being a novelist and poet, how do you two bounce off of each other in regards to writing? Is it a shared and collaborative experience or more personal and reserved/divided?
I’m in awe of Rachel. The first story I ever read of hers was “The Monkey Handler” in her book Pee on Water. I set the story down and decided that I was obsessed with Rachel and that I needed to date her immediately. It ended up working out!
Having one of my favorite living writers in the house is very convenient. She is the first person I show my work to and I deeply trust her editing eye. She is also super encouraging. Too encouraging. She wants me to be writing all the time.
We used to collaborate and you can find one of our stories here.
For now we are working on separate projects but I wouldn’t be surprised if we collaborate again someday. Rachel has like six pots on the stove—I can’t even keep track of all her projects.
We have similar tastes in art and writing so we are always sharing inspiration with each other. We read aloud to each other a lot too. Right now we are reading Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles. A funny book!
via Screaming into a Horse’s Mouth (w. Chris Cheney)
I found your submitted thesis online, full of tiny stories and fictions. Can you talk about assembling that collection? Was this your first time collecting and compiling your work? Anything in particular you remember learning from that experience?
Haha oh that’s embarrassing. I have a few stories in that thesis I am proud of but I was 22 or 23 when I wrote most of that and yeah I don’t think the thesis is that great. I stopped having fun writing in the MFA and started having fun again once I was out of school. I'm so relieved I was able to pivot out of that angst and turn writing into a joyful act again.
Did you have trouble reading/writing during the pandemic, or were you able to use that isolation time to your advantage?
Rachel and I were in quarantine together and all we did was read, write, walk, cook and watch old movies. I must have read 50 books and I worked on my novel everyday. How do I get back to living like that? It was like a dream. I had so much space and time to dream and be imaginative. How did you fare?
It feels like one lengthy blur, but I was certainly able to work on old poems/drafts nearly every day. Outside of your own art and writing, what albums/artists/plays/films have captivated you in recent months?
Have you seen the movie Everything Everywhere All at Once yet? I loved that.
The Vermont Plays by Annie Baker.
The Art of Learning by Joshua Waitzkin.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s films.
If you can, provide a photo of your workspace. What are some essentials while you create?
I only write in the morning and I’m always super caffeinated.
For this ongoing author interview series, I'm asking for everyone to present a writing prompt. It can be as abstract or as concrete as you choose.
I used this prompt back when I taught writing. I think I found this years ago in a book called “Teaching as a Subversive Activity” but I can’t remember. Anyways, the students always loved it. You ask them these ten questions and they can answer in incomplete or complete sentences. Then when you go around and share their responses to these questions without pausing or indicating which question they are answering. It’s usually a ready-made poem.
1. What do you hear if you are in a car and it is raining outside?
2. What do you feel if you are standing outside?
3. Describe the odor of gasoline.
4. What sounds do you hear if you are walking with heavy boots in deep snow? (do not use the word “crunch”)
5. Describe the texture of skin.
6. Describe fear.
7. Describe the odor of freshly cut grass.
8. What does your hand feel like?
9. What does someone else’s hand feel like?
10. Describe the flight of a seagull.
In closing, do you have any advice for fellow writers? Or rather, what's something you would have liked to have known when you first started writing seriously?
I wish someone would have told me earlier that I didn’t have to be good at it, I just had to keep going.
Any final thoughts / words of wisdom / shout-outs?
Shout outs to Rachel Glaser, James Haug, and Chris Cheney. These three poets believe in me, encourage me, and I love them all. Also a shout out to you, Ben! My poetry is pretty obscure and thanks for finding me and digging it!
