LINE LEVEL #14 CHAT
Welcome to LINE LEVEL CHAT!
Launched in 2023, LINE LEVEL is a monthly column started by writer, editor, and educator Joanna Acevedo, focusing on craft lessons from the recent or forthcoming work of contemporary poets of color. LINE LEVEL CHAT invites contributors to answer a few questions about craft which will continue to add to the conversation, create more resources and more accessibility, and serve as further context for the goals which LINE LEVEL aspires to achieve.
We asked our January LINE LEVEL contributor Abdulrazaq Salihu, whose chapbook, Quantum Entanglements with Notes on Loss, will be published by Sundress Press in 2025, to answer a couple of questions. The twist? His entire response was limited to 250 words. Read his answers below, then head over to LINE LEVEL #14 and read his poem, his notes on craft, and a more in-depth consideration of how craft functions in his work.
Why is an awareness of craft important to you?
I feel that despite the fact that the aesthetics of language will always exist in the subconscious process of writing poetry, the awareness of craft not only makes the editing process easier, it also makes a new neurological pathway that consciously uses known craftsmanship, even in my scribblings, which is like autocorrect or autotune for first drafts, and is really so beautiful.
Why is craft important to your work?
Craft is important to my work because it’s what really makes my voice my own, whether the form is a villanelle or a pantoum or anything else. It’s the craft of entry lines, exit lines, aesthetics of language, grammar, syllables and structure that differentiates my pieces from that of any other poet. Craft is really important to my work because it allows for a depth in the significance of the genre and the form; the craft gives the poem a soul and sense of purpose.
What excites you the most about poetry?
The most exciting thing for me in poetry is the fact that I can do whatever I want, and I’m not here to succeed at a good poem or lose, but to live through the lines and leave when necessary. Poetry holds, for me, a kind of delicateness in narration and social interaction. It’s as exciting as life, and as daring as death.
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You can read Abdulrazaq Salihu’s poem, “Ode to memory” and more thoughts about craft at the link below:
Abdulrazaq Salihu, TPC I, is a Nigerian Writer and Performance Poet. A member of the Hilltop Creative Arts Foundation, he has Received Residency from IWE Nigeria, Frances Thompson Writers studio and is a 2025 Fellow at the LOATAD Black Atlantis. He won the Masks Poetry Award, LAP performance poetry prize, SOD, BKPW and Poetry Archive contest. He’s the author of “Constellations” and “Hiccups” and has his chapbook “Quantum entanglements with notes on loss” forthcoming with Sundress Publication 2025. He has is works Published/Forthcoming with Uncanny, Bacopa Mag, Strange Horizons, Stachion, Consequence, SofloPojo, Bracken, Poetry Quarterly and elsewhere, He tweets @Arazaqsalihu and instagram: abdulrazaq._salihu
