World of Writing - Author Interview
Constantine Dhonau reached out to me in mid July earlier this year with a query to appear on our blog for a featured interview. I was excited because Constantine is a poet and we don't often get the opportunity to feature other poets. Let us tell you a little about him - he was born and raised in St. Petersburg (Florida, USA) and is currently loving his mountain life in Durango (Colorado, USA). He enjoys tea and watching TV shows that do not exceed 30 episodes. His favorite word is "phenomena", and his book is titled Collateral Intentions (June 2021). This is, according to Constantine, "a hybrid poetry book/memoir" that covers over a decade of "poetry, letters, journal entries, and more, followed by a one-page synopsis of what my life was like to give the work context. It follows my development as a human and a writer from 17 to 28 years-old. It begins with the raw beauty, contemplation and the cringe of being a misunderstood teen, and finds its footing through the trials of becoming an adult".
Some of you may also recall that we published a few poetry excerpts from his book on: August 12, Sept 20 and Nov 14th. Feel free to check them out when you get a chance. In the meantime feel free to visit his 2 links below:
https://constantinedhonau.com
https://linkedin.com/in/cdhonau
A: It stared for me in school - English classes when we had to do poetry assignments or have discussions about Robert Frost or whatever. Those were fun but over time I started to see what was possible and it really opened-up for me. Saul Williams was a HUGE influence for me. Seeing videos of him performing his spoken word at slams with such passion and eloquence…it lit me up. I started biting his style in some of my writing and found more of my own voice and style as a result.
Q: Do you still have the first piece you wrote?
A: All the way back to fifth grade haha. Those first pieces are cute, and perhaps cringe-worthy, the type of endearment you’d expect from a 10 year-old.
Q: Are you happy and satisfied with your publishing experience?...Did you self-publish?
A: I did self-publish and It’s been a tough journey for me to be honest. I went with Amazon and—in hindsight—I wish I went with Ingram to have access to more platforms. I may still do that and re-publish at some point. Overall, I’m still exceedingly happy I started even though my book launch has been far from ideal. I think that’s the hardest part, just starting and pulling the trigger. I’m learning a lot and I’m hopeful that I’ll do much better with my future projects. It’s incredible to be able to hold a physical copy of my book and so far I’ve had a lot of fun with marketing it.
Q: Do you feel like you can do more with poetry than prose?
A: When I hear “prose” I immediately think “pompous”. Poetry, to me, can be as accomplished as the greatest poets of history and as casual as the millions of journals around the world packed with forever-undiscovered brilliance and expression or any schmuck at a local open mic. I tend to write somewhere in between as probably most people do. I enjoy writing in a poetic meter and breaking it with prose. I have respect for writers who attain levels of mastery in each in their pure forms. Maybe that’s something I’m working towards.
Q: What is the main focus of your poetry work?
A: My poetry is all about processing. Processing emotion, thoughts, human experience, existence. A lot of my work comes from some internal struggle that I want to externalize. I hope to express the mundane in terms that offer a different perception; finding relatable things that everyone goes through unconsciously and…yeah, making the unconscious, conscious.
Q: Was there an early experience in your life that showed you that the way you write affects people in a powerful way?
A: Wow. What a question. I think my poetry about heartbreak really hit home with some of my friends and acquaintances when I was a teenager. There’s so much turmoil at that period in life. Everyone is looking for someone to love them and be accepted. They’ll give anything for it. I would make observations about those things in my journals (I kept them open for people to read and write in) and I think it woke some people up to what they were doing without realizing it, like when you hear a good song that just seems to “get you” or puts something into words that you’ve felt for so long. Every so often someone would read something in my journal and start tearing through page after page. They’ve started some of my favorite conversations in my life; deep-diving, vulnerable stuff that they wouldn’t normally talk about with anyone.
Q: So let's talk a little about scheduling in the work day - do you stick to a writing schedule? Do you set daily or weekly goals?
A: These days I’m privileged to make my own schedule. I own a fledgling catering company with my friend. I don’t have a set writing schedule and lately I find myself saying that I need to write more and more often.
Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing within your genre?
A: I don’t particularly care for meter or rhyme. It’s beautiful when it’s done well, but it’s far from the top of my list, personally. I like big statements. I like authentic voice, writing from one’s own experience, whatever that is to them. I like when something is being taught, a nugget I didn’t know or see before that I can take with me and share with others. I particularly enjoy violating expectations, being led one direction and turning on a dime.
Q: Have you experimented with fantasy or fictional poetry?
A: I haven’t, no. I’ve played with some flash fiction and short stories in those realms but not in my poetry. That’s traditionally been a place of real, raw expression. That could be a fun challenge and experiment though.
Q:What criticism about your writing gave you pause, made you re-think your writing style?
A: Something I struggle with is consistent voice. I’ll sometimes switch perspectives unannounced and it can be difficult for people to track. I write the way I think, the way I talk. I like how organic that is. I like not having to think to hard about what I’m trying to express and how much more raw and punchy it tends to be. At the same time, I appreciate the value of keeping writing as accessible as possible and expressing the same idea with a little more tact. For a lot of people that can be such an obstacle, they can’t hear anything that’s being said because they’re so focused on HOW it’s being said.
Q: How have you been promoting this book?
A: I’ve been posting links to my website, the book’s amazon page, using amazon ads, finding author interviews, anything to get it out there. Familiarity is key in advertising so if I can put the cover in front of someone enough times they’ll get more familiar and more curious the more times they see it. On that note, I’ve found it’s also extremely helpful to compare my book to currently-popular books and authors and artists to give people as clear of an idea as possible as to what they’re signing up for by buying one of my books.
A: I did self-publish and It’s been a tough journey for me to be honest. I went with Amazon and—in hindsight—I wish I went with Ingram to have access to more platforms. I may still do that and re-publish at some point. Overall, I’m still exceedingly happy I started even though my book launch has been far from ideal. I think that’s the hardest part, just starting and pulling the trigger. I’m learning a lot and I’m hopeful that I’ll do much better with my future projects. It’s incredible to be able to hold a physical copy of my book and so far I’ve had a lot of fun with marketing it.
Q: Do you feel like you can do more with poetry than prose?
A: When I hear “prose” I immediately think “pompous”. Poetry, to me, can be as accomplished as the greatest poets of history and as casual as the millions of journals around the world packed with forever-undiscovered brilliance and expression or any schmuck at a local open mic. I tend to write somewhere in between as probably most people do. I enjoy writing in a poetic meter and breaking it with prose. I have respect for writers who attain levels of mastery in each in their pure forms. Maybe that’s something I’m working towards.
Q: What is the main focus of your poetry work?
A: My poetry is all about processing. Processing emotion, thoughts, human experience, existence. A lot of my work comes from some internal struggle that I want to externalize. I hope to express the mundane in terms that offer a different perception; finding relatable things that everyone goes through unconsciously and…yeah, making the unconscious, conscious.
Q: Was there an early experience in your life that showed you that the way you write affects people in a powerful way?
A: Wow. What a question. I think my poetry about heartbreak really hit home with some of my friends and acquaintances when I was a teenager. There’s so much turmoil at that period in life. Everyone is looking for someone to love them and be accepted. They’ll give anything for it. I would make observations about those things in my journals (I kept them open for people to read and write in) and I think it woke some people up to what they were doing without realizing it, like when you hear a good song that just seems to “get you” or puts something into words that you’ve felt for so long. Every so often someone would read something in my journal and start tearing through page after page. They’ve started some of my favorite conversations in my life; deep-diving, vulnerable stuff that they wouldn’t normally talk about with anyone.
Q: So let's talk a little about scheduling in the work day - do you stick to a writing schedule? Do you set daily or weekly goals?
A: These days I’m privileged to make my own schedule. I own a fledgling catering company with my friend. I don’t have a set writing schedule and lately I find myself saying that I need to write more and more often.
Q: What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing within your genre?
A: I don’t particularly care for meter or rhyme. It’s beautiful when it’s done well, but it’s far from the top of my list, personally. I like big statements. I like authentic voice, writing from one’s own experience, whatever that is to them. I like when something is being taught, a nugget I didn’t know or see before that I can take with me and share with others. I particularly enjoy violating expectations, being led one direction and turning on a dime.
Q: Have you experimented with fantasy or fictional poetry?
A: I haven’t, no. I’ve played with some flash fiction and short stories in those realms but not in my poetry. That’s traditionally been a place of real, raw expression. That could be a fun challenge and experiment though.
Q:What criticism about your writing gave you pause, made you re-think your writing style?
A: Something I struggle with is consistent voice. I’ll sometimes switch perspectives unannounced and it can be difficult for people to track. I write the way I think, the way I talk. I like how organic that is. I like not having to think to hard about what I’m trying to express and how much more raw and punchy it tends to be. At the same time, I appreciate the value of keeping writing as accessible as possible and expressing the same idea with a little more tact. For a lot of people that can be such an obstacle, they can’t hear anything that’s being said because they’re so focused on HOW it’s being said.
Q: How have you been promoting this book?
A: I’ve been posting links to my website, the book’s amazon page, using amazon ads, finding author interviews, anything to get it out there. Familiarity is key in advertising so if I can put the cover in front of someone enough times they’ll get more familiar and more curious the more times they see it. On that note, I’ve found it’s also extremely helpful to compare my book to currently-popular books and authors and artists to give people as clear of an idea as possible as to what they’re signing up for by buying one of my books.
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