Michael Meyerhofer, On Reading

"Like a lot of writers, I read both for entertainment and inspiration. While I primarily draw from daily life, there's nothing like a great line or a solid image from another writer to kick-start the creative process, even inspire a little healthy competition ('Hey, I wonder if I can write a better poem/story than what I just read!'). I'm primarily drawn to writers who blend accessible narrative and what feels like sincere, resonating emotion with a little humor and/or a feeling of emotional objectivity or a hint of (dare I say it?) wisdom. Some examples: Stephen Dobyns, Dorianne Laux, George Bilgere, Tony Hoagland, Djelloul Marbrook, Sharon Olds, Beth Ann Fennelly, Mary Biddinger, and Jeannine Hall Gailey. I also like to dip my heels in prose from time to time with the likes of J.D. Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, Tobias Wolff, Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, George Orwell, and Kurt Vonnegut. I spend a lot of time reading lit journals--not just to get a good mix of contemporary poetry and prose, but to look for trends and aesthetics on behalf of editors today. Otherwise, I'm a total dork and spend untold hours on Wikipedia and various science websites or listening to Alan Watts lectures."


{Michael Meyerhofer’s second book, Blue Collar Eulogies, was published by Steel Toe Books. His first, Leaving Iowa, won the Liam Rector First Book Award. He has also won the Marjorie J. Wilson Best Poem Contest, the James Wright Poetry Award, the Laureate Prize, the Annie Finch Prize for Poetry, and four chapbook prizes. His work has appeared in Ploughshares, North American Review, Arts & Letters, River Styx, Quick Fiction and other journals, and can be read online at his website here and at his blog here.}