Benjamin Schmitt is the author of the poetry collection Satan's School for Girls and Other Works. His other books include The Saints of Capitalism. He lives in Seattle.
Q: Over how long a period did you write the poems in your new collection?
A: The title poem took almost 30 years to write, which is not normal for me. Typically, I will spend a year or so jotting down poems, fragments, or just ideas in a journal. Then, when I feel like I have nothing more to write, I will type the contents of the journal and save it on a PC. I then spend another year or two on editing. That was the process for most of the poems in this book.
Q: How was the book’s title--also the title of the first long poem--chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The title “Satan’s School for Girls” came from a group of friends I had as a teenager. We all went to the same high school in the midsize Southern Idaho town of Pocatello.
It may surprise folks to know that this town actually had a bit of a music scene in the late ‘90s. There was a venue called the Roche Motel which featured some huge bands such as System of A Down and The Melvins.
There was also a bit of religious tension in the town due to the Mormon majority population, the local state university which was obviously more secular, and the other churches in the area who did not always see eye to eye with the LDS community.
It all made for an interesting backdrop as one watched a heavy metal performance openly defiant of organized religion. A few of my friends were in a metal band that opened for some major acts and we actually got to party with musicians who later become famous.
Our group of friends included some awesome ladies and while one of them played in the band I was trying to convince the rest to start their own. I told them they should call themselves Satan’s School for Girls and I would be their manager.
I spent about a year trying to make this happen and nothing came of it but afterwards I kicked the idea around my head for a bit and came up with various stories around it. Eventually, that became the title poem for this new collection.
So even though I never convinced my friends to start their own all-girl heavy metal band, I am proud to honor our friendship and their unique spirits in this book.
Q: How did you decide on the order in which the poems would appear in the collection?
A: I knew I wanted to start with “Satan’s School for Girls” because not only is it the title poem but it sets the tone for the rest of the collection. Many of the other poems in the book have musical references and one of the themes in “Satan’s School for Girls” is band life and musicianship so I thought it was the best introduction.
This is followed by a section of lyric poems because this is the part of the book that most closely resembles my previous work but it is also experimental in some ways, like the works that come after. These lyric poems are really the core of the text for me, so placing them in the middle felt right.
“Jobs” comes next. This section feels grounded but it is also experimental since each piece is either a work of prose poetry or flash fiction. I think all of them are both, so I call them flashy poems.
This is followed by a series of satirical book reviews which introduce some wackier elements. “The Detective Reichert Chronicles” is the most absurd part of the book as it follows a fictional literary detective and his attempts to root out literary communities and tropes, and the book reviews are a good segue into that.
“American History 101” is the final section. This is a work of alternative history and it is meant as a commentary on the history of my country but also the possibilities for its future. I wanted to end on those lessons for readers to consider.
Q: The poet Lisa Timpf said of the book, “Full of fresh metaphors and offbeat observations, Satan’s School for Girls and Other Works offers a lot of bang for one’s buck...” What do you think of that description?
A: I loved Lisa’s review of the book and folks should give it a read on the Specpo blog. I’m so glad that she found humor in the book.
I am currently doing readings for Satan’s School for Girls and Other Works and I have had some great audience laughter. What a relief it is when people laugh at some of these lines. It is also a great connection to have with a reader or an audience member.
If you can make someone laugh, it almost feels like they have briefly entered into your soul and you can experience each other, just for a moment. That is a beautiful thing.
I am also glad she found freshness in the collection, as I believe one of the jobs of a poet is to innovate with language. And finally, in this hellish economy, if someone says your book is a great bargain, I really can’t think of any higher praise.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: Last year my wife died from brain cancer. A few months before she passed, she suggested that I write a book about her and her illness. I feel like I owe that to her and her memory, so I have been working on a book which is largely about her, cancer, grief, and widowhood for the past nine months.
Q: I’m so sorry for your loss…
Is there anything else we should know?
A: I live in Seattle and if you visit our city and would like to eat an amazing plate of fish and chips, I recommend Emerald City Fish and Chips, just a few blocks from my place. Maybe I’ll see you there!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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