To Be Born Everyday: In Conversation with Rus Khomutoff

Radia

DCW: Your latest chapbook, Radia, was released earlier this year, in June; I am hoping you could break down portions of the book, for a prospective reader. What has the reception been like?

RK: It has been a delight!....Placing the emphasis on the elusive, tangential and abstract, the poems in Radia came from a place mystic Osho called the ‘no mind’, a kaleidoscopic collage so to speak. Most of the poems in Radia were written at night-they are seeped in nocturnal stillness. The earliest poem in the book was written in January, it was the dedication to Scott Weiland. I even thought about another project centered on this poem with Kristopher Biernatsky of Dink Press. Undertow was another early poem that set the tone of Radia. I posted it to my blog at Authors database, and it got a healthy reaction. At the time I was reading a lot of experimental writing, and one day I discovered Louis Armand’s Menudo, this book breathed new life into me-especially the fragmentary nature of its narrative. I dedicated a poem to Armand! Jackson Pollock was a huge influence in writing Radia, my words are applied in the same way Pollock painted. Another poem I am really proud of is Imminent connoisseur of heaven & abysses. It is dedicated to French filmmaker Jean Luc Godard, whose latest film Image Book startled me! Another special poem for me is my collaboration with the late Felino A. Soriano, who you also knew.  The influence of poets like Ric Carfagna, Jukka- Pekka Kervinen and Peter Ganick on me is immeasurable. The book has been very well received by people. I have people who live in France and Australia who have bought Radia

DCW: What brings you to poetry?

RK: It’s been quite a journey really! I only started thinking about poetry in 2015. I had a near death experience earlier that year, it was when I returned home from the hospital a voice urged me to write!

DCW: So far, you’ve released 2 books of poetry in as many years. What do you do to stay motivated, to keep writing, to keep working? What inspires you these days?

RK: I’ve been blessed….I never expected to be an author! Immaculate Days was first published as an ebook on Smashwords. I discovered Alien Buddha Press from Felino A. Soriano! Radia was a tad easier. I published several poems in Void Front Press’s zine Explaining death to children, after that James Harris the head of Void Front Press asked if I was interested in putting together a chapbook, naturally I said yes. Many things inspire me: Art, music, news, a beautiful concoction of everything. I draw inspiration from the askew, occult and paranormal- a kind of unauthorized reality

DCW: Do you believe in the muse? What are your ideas of the muse?

RK: Strongly!

Oftentimes there’s a charge propelling my words that’s hard to explain. That’s when the writing is raw and palpable. I love this Osho quote:

The really creative person is not interested in dominating anybody. He is so utterly rejoicing in life — he wants to create, he wants to participate with God. Creativity is prayer. And whenever you create something, in those moments you are with God, you walk with God, you live in God. The more creative you are the more divine you are. To me, creativity is religion. Art is just the entrance to the temple of religion.

I have a line in one of my poems “I forced myself to be born everyday.” This is basically my motto.

Rus Khomutoff is an experimental language poet based in Brooklyn, NY. Poetry has appeared in San Francisco Review of Books, Proprose Magazine, Mojave Heart Review and Hypnopomp. In 2018, Immaculate Days (Alien Buddha Press) was published. In 2019, Radia was published by Void Front Press.