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CAMBRIDGE'S FIRST POET POPULIST PETER PAYACK What brought you to Cambridge in 1972? Peter Payack: I thought that Cambridge was an intellectual place for artists and writers. It was an idea-driven place where you would have a support group. When did you start considering yourself a poet? Peter: In college, I studied Philosophy, and would write long, dry ponderous stories. I’d get insight, and would write it into short poems. I had my first poems published in the Christian Science Monitor in 1973. Then I sent other ones to the Village Voice, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times, and they bought them. I started to consider myself a poet because people started treating me like a poet. But when I am coaching, I think of myself only as a coach. With all your activities, how do you have time in the day to even think, let alone write poetry? When do you write poetry? Peter: I leave myself open to the muse. I always use running and biking as a sort of meditation. I mediate on my feet. Ideas come to me in a whole package, and then I write the whole thing down. Poet and wrestling coach seem like worlds apart. Does the team know you are a poet? Peter: They are completely surprised. When we go to long tournaments, I bring puzzle books with facts, scrabble, chess, checkers, dominos and one or two of my poetry books. Sometimes they’ll read a few lines and laugh. I “mock myself out” a lot in my work, and use humor as my voice. It’s part of my “Jersey humor” thing. Some kids also tell me they write poems too. And it goes on from there. How will you get more people to stop and enjoy poetry? Peter: Poetry can and should be relevant to everyday. I put poetry on an airplane or cookie to get it outside, so you see it. I try to make it accessible to all people. What’s your advice to a budding poet? Peter: You have to be open to the muse of creativity, and find time for that. Everyday life blocks it, but you can also find inspiration from things around you. Vice Mayor Brian Murphy launched the Poet Populist program to inspire the creation and appreciation of poetry throughout the city. This informal office is sponsored by the City of Cambridge, the Cambridge Arts Council, and the Cambridge Public Library. For information e-mail poetpopulist@cambridgema.gov or call the Cambridge Arts Council at 617-349-4380. Back for general Poet Populist Information.
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