Poetry has long been a way to explore the spaces between experience and expression, transforming personal reflection, observation, and emotion into something that can connect with others. For poet William May, writing is a lifelong practice of examining the human experience, capturing moments of vulnerability, discovery, and insight through carefully crafted language.
In his collection Blaze Without Burning, May presents a thoughtful exploration of identity, relationships, nature, spirituality, and the complexities of everyday life. The poems invite readers to pause and consider the deeper meaning within ordinary moments, revealing the beauty, tension, and wonder found in both personal and shared experiences.
With a voice shaped by curiosity and contemplation, May approaches poetry as a means of understanding the world and engaging with questions that have resonated across generations. His work reflects a commitment to observation and reflection, offering readers a space to consider their own memories, emotions, and connections.
In this Weekly Minds interview, William May discusses his creative process, the inspiration behind Blaze Without Burning, the role poetry plays in making sense of life’s experiences, and how language can illuminate the moments that often go unnoticed.
You describe yourself as a “Neurodiverse Language Wizard.” How has neurodiversity shaped the way you approach writing poetry?
In many ways, it is impossible for me to really know the extent to which my neurology impacts my experience of language and the ways that I write, as my experiences are all filtered through that same lens. At the same time, I can be certain that a great deal of what drove me to love reading and, ultimately, writing, is intimately connected to the difficulties I had learning to read as a child. When a skill comes easily, it can be easy to take it for granted; so too, what is hard-won often is valued intrinsically. I had a keen awareness of the challenge that reading presented me, even to the point that I believed I would never attain literacy for myself, so when I reached the point where I could read proficiently, I was immediately hooked, and I know that love of the written word is the fundament of my writing.
Blaze without Burning has received significant attention since its release. What central themes or emotions were you exploring in this collection?
The poems that became Blaze without Burning were written shortly after my father had passed away, and at a time when Melissa, my partner, and I were involved in end of life care for her mother. A lot of the poems in the book are connected to those themes of grief, and with the changes that come along with those kinds of profound losses.
Your poem “Gone” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Can you walk us through the inspiration and process behind that piece?
A number of years ago I took a workshop with the poet Tim Seibles that focused on aubades, poems that focus on the arrival of dawn or dusk. “Gone” is one of a number of poems that began life in that class. Dawn (and dusk as well) is a very potent symbol, I think, and can be a powerful metaphor for so many things. In traditional aubades, the poet was often lamenting the end of night, when they would have to leave their lover, for instance. This poem, though, is yearning for the arrival of day. I often find myself waking quite early in the morning, sometimes with a keen awareness that I won’t be able to get back to sleep, and I think it is that feeling of being awake and alone before the day has truly begun that permeates this poem.
You started writing poetry at age nine at The Stephen Gaynor School. How did your early experiences there influence your voice and style?
I was very fortunate that when I was nine, I had a teacher, Virginia Melnick, who was a true lover of poetry and made certain to teach it to all of her students. I’m not certain that I can explain just why, but poetry just clicked for me, both as a reader and as a writer. Stephen Gaynor was and remains an exceptional school and the support they provided me as a learning disabled child was immense. I know that, in large regard, the Stephen Gaynor School shaped me, providing me the confidence and skills I needed to enter mainstream academia, but I have to credit Mrs. Melnick for introducing me to poetry and encouraging me in my own journey as a poet.
Your poetry is often noted for its precision, wit, and emotional depth. How do you balance these elements in your work?
I think that these elements exist on different plains in the work. Precision is an approach, but does not dictate what is presented. One can be precise in describing most anything, and can bring precision, therefore, as a tool whatever the intentions behind what is being communicated. If I am honest, wit is not even something that I control. It is just a thing that happens, in some sense. Many elements in poetry, for me, are like that: they percolate up into the work whether I intend them or not. As to emotion, it is not quite the same, but it is a reflection of who I am. Anyone who knows me well can tell you that I am an emotional (perhaps I should, instead, say “passionate,” to lend the attribute a better stature) person, and it is impossible for that to not come through in my work.
How did attending a competitive school like Collegiate shape your development as a writer?
My feelings about Collegiate are quite complicated, to be honest. It was incredibly meaningful to me that I was able to attend that school. As a student who came from a special education background, Collegiate was a bit of a stretch, and the fact that it was the school my father had attended meant a great deal to me personally. I also recognize that Collegiate gave me an incredible education, and provided me experiences that I would never have had access to at other institutions; I am very privileged to have attended the institution and gained a great deal from being there. At the same time, it was not the warmest of environments at times, and I know that there are many ways that, at least back then, I felt reprobation for just being myself.
The digital success of Blaze without Burning is impressive, particularly its direct online sales. How has technology changed the way you connect with readers?
I think that the most significant aspect of the internet, and not only from my own perspective, is the potential to make direct connections with people. While not all the communications I engage in online are symmetrically bi-directional, they all allow some form of immediate contact with another person. The fact that I can share what I am working on and doing directly with those who are interested and create a direct line for communicating meaningfully with my audience is an incredible opportunity that didn’t really exist even a few decades ago.
Many of your poems blend formal innovation with accessibility. How do you decide when to experiment with form versus keeping the language straightforward?
There is a very famous quote from the poet Robert Frost where he describes free-verse poetry as, “playing tennis without a net.” Many people will hear this and think that it is just a dig, but if you consider it carefully, the point being made is far subtler. Even when the net is removed, the game is still tennis, and the players might have new options, but they still need to be aware of the same rules. They still need to remember where the net is. Form provides a poet with many of the elements that a poem requires in order for it to work, and the most successful forms connect the musicality to a certain type of logic. A sonnet is not simply about the 16 lines of rhyming iambic pentameter, but is also about building a certain kind of argument with a turn at the end that is punctuated by the final couplet. I don’t often write formal verse, at least not for publication, but knowing how form works is essential for me to do my work, and it is always the musicality following and supporting the poems intentions, though it often feels quite cohesive to me at this point, as if both operations are one and the same.
Which poets, past or present, have influenced your work the most, and why?
There are a great many poets who I can name here, but I think that I should begin by being honest and saying that I am greatly influenced by the poetry I read as a child, including A. A. Milne’s wonderful verses (many of which connect with the beloved Winnie-The-Pooh stories for which he is most remembered), as well as a variety of 19th century children’s verse such as that of Robert Louis Stevenson. Of course, I would be remiss not to mention more modern children’s books like those of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) and Shel Silverstein. I can’t help but be honest that these are a foundational influence. I recall, back when I was first learning about serious poetry, reading Langston Hughes, whose work is still echoing in my mind. Terrence Hayes’s poetry has often inspired me to reconsider many assumptions I’ve made in my work. At the moment, I have been reading a good deal of David Baker’s work, as well as Gabrielle Calvocoressi, both of whose work I cherish deeply.
What challenges do you encounter when translating intense personal emotions into poetic form, and how do you navigate them?
I think that the most difficult part of putting strong feelings on paper is the hesitancy that can rise up trying to unleash those emotions. First, there can be a sense of embarrassment as if it is shameful to acknowledge what I am feeling, and then there can be a sense of uncertainty about how to really express the exact feeling. The ultimate answer, for me, is relaxing and just allowing whatever comes out to come out. I know that I have the power to revise and change the language, but whatever has impassioned me in that moment is not something I can necessarily conjure back up, so I prioritize allowing that to come out. Cleaning that up is where it often becomes the poem it will ultimately be.
If you could give one piece of advice to young poets, especially those who are neurodiverse, what would it be?
I would actually offer two bits of advice, both of which are quite obvious and quite simple, which is not to say they are always easy. They are this: read and write, every single day. I think this is something that is especially important for those who might have the challenges that I’ve had, as a dyslexic. When I was in school, I had a lot of support to keep me going with my work, but when I graduated and was left to my own devices, I spent a very long time not writing at all, and very little time reading anything of much merit. It was very hard, some of the time, to even get myself to sit down to write, and that was true even if I felt like I had something to write. It wasn’t until I made the choice to commit to a daily practice that things changed for me. By making it a real routine, I haven’t just built a body of work, but have given myself the chance to develop in my craft. For me, I can’t think of any way to learn how to write the poems that you long to write aside from beginning to write them, while reading the poets whose work you seek to emulate alongside.
Looking ahead, are there any new directions, projects, or collaborations you’re excited to explore in your writing?
At the moment, I do have a number of projects that I’m working on. I have a new poetry manuscript that I’ve been working on recently for a full length collection, and I am very excited about that, though I know it will be a while before that is anything more than a file on my desk. I am also in the process of revising the manuscript for a novel that I’ve been working on for more than a decade at this point. I’ve had a lot of good feedback about it, and I feel very excited about where I am with it right now. Beyond that, I am always working on new poetry. I very rarely have a day go by that I haven’t drafted at least one new poem, even if it turns out to be something that is only for myself.
Thank you for your interest in my work, and for the thoughtful questions.
William May
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