The Wisdom of Poets

Nathan Hassall interviewing Pushcart Prize Winner and South Pasadena Poet Laureate, Ronald Koertge

On hosting Q&As with Great Poets

It’s amazing to think how much I’ve learned hosting poets at Caffeinated Verse (our monthly poetry series in Malibu) and getting to engage them in Q&As — which requires research beforehand but, more importantly, deep, active listening in the moment.

Although I think of general questions before the events, I aim to respond live to their readings and other things they say to keep the conversation organic.

“One of the core ideas of my Poet Laureate tenue has been the “ripple”—how what we do affects one another profoundly. ”

Part of that ethos is for me to be there, in the moment of the ripple, allowing poetry to emanate into and out of me like air in a breath.

I think of my questions as exploratory prompts. I find it funny when, at the end of my answers, I am asked, “Did I answer your question?”

I’m usually so enthralled with what our feature is saying that I don’t even know, or even mind, whether it was answered or not. (This is often met with deep belly laughter.)

I’ve noticed that our poetry features, whether from traditionally within or outside the community, always appear comfortable and willing to share themselves.

This allows us to get to the depths of being human, rather than a surface phenomenon: the ripple has both breadth and depth.

That’s a testament to our meetups’ openness and community togetherness, willingness to share and listen, and support for vulnerability.

Many of our features comment on how everyone gets into the room, hugs each other, greets warmly, and more.

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A Celebration!

To celebrate the first season (September 2023 - May 2024), the ever-wonderful Rachael (my wife) has edited two videos of selected answers from the Q&A sessions and posted them on my YouTube channel, Nathan Hassall Poetry.

Each interview is packed full of raw, emotional honesty, poetry craft techniques and wisdom, and authentic human engagement.

Click the links below to watch them. I guarantee you’ll improve your understanding of poetry, improve your skills as a poet, and be entertained and enthralled as a result.

Watch Part 1: Dr. Ann Buxie, Kareem Tayyar, and Elena Karina Byrne

Watch Part 2: Kim Dower, Ricardo Means Ybarra, Marsha de la O, and Mariano Zaro

Thank you all so much for your continued support.

Best always,

Nathan