Five Minutes With: James Thomas Romano, Poet

On the second Monday of each month, members of the Performance Poets Association congregate at Starbucks in Little Neck Plaza to read their work. James Thomas Romano is one such poet. His voice is thick and mellifluous, and filled with the sort of worldliness that makes it easy to imagine him hanging in a smoke-filled room with the likes of Allen Ginsberg and Patti Smith.

On Monday night, he joined a handful of other poets to read a few of his writings, but not before we grabbed him and asked him a few questions.

 Little Neck Patch: How long have you been a poet?

James Thomas Romano:  I’ve been a poet since I was 13.

 LNP: What was the first poem you ever wrote?

JTR: The first poem I ever wrote was a variation on a Beatles’ song – Within You Without You.

LNP: In what way was it a variation?

JTR: Just the whole idea of being creative, changing words around, making a poem. Actually what got me into poetry was rock 'n' roll. You know, the Beatles, the Doors, Pink Floyd. Also, mythology, the Beat Generation. I wanted to be an architect, but then the Vietnam War came, and I was against the war, and I decided to become a poet.

LNP: Since your Beatles-inspired poem, what inspires your writing these days?

JTR: It all depends. I write about nature, I write some political stuff… I like to write from the subconscious. I’m also inspired by music. Music is a very important part of it. So is film.

LNP: How often do you pen a new poem?

JTR: In May I only wrote about five poems. This month I’ve written seven already. It depends on when the muse or the inspiration comes. My friend told me once that if you wait for inspiration, you’re not going to write a lot.

LNP: That’s true.

JTR: It comes down to discipline. Norman Mailer – I belonged to his society – said that if you say you’re going to sit down at a certain time before you go to sleep, your subconscious will be conjuring up thoughts. And when you sit down and either see the paper or the typewriter or the computer, those images will come out. I believe in that. I write a lot more between midnight and 5 a.m.

LNP: What’s the draw of reading something so personal – and it seems like poetry is innately very personal – in front of other people? Is it nerve-wracking? Is it something that comes naturally?

JTR: I think it comes naturally for me. I’m very confident about my writing. I’ve written all my life. I know that the craft of writing is always evolving, and fine-tuning. I mean, I could go back and look at some poems and say “Well, this line’s gotta come out,” or “I need to edit this word.” You know, I feel comfortable.

LNP: If someone wanted to start writing poetry, where would you recommend that they start? It can be kind of daunting to sit down and write a poem for the first time.

JTR: Pick your favorite word, and build around that. For example, ‘supernal’ is one of my favorite words – it means heavenly and celestial. I went through the dictionary looking for something, and I came across that word. It’s one of my favorites. Also, reading. Reading is very important. A lot of things that are taught in school are important, but it’s really the street that evolves poetry. I would tell them pick a word, or an emotion, and attend poetry readings. That’s how I feel.