The Words, November 2014

Bryce Milligan Visits Macalester

By Molly Sowash ’16

On a beautiful October afternoon, students and faculty gathered under the sun-filled windows of the fourth floor of Old Main to hear Bryce Milligan share his poetry. Through wire-rimmed glasses he read to us from a compilation of prose poems about growing up, environmental change, traveling, and multicultural experiences. His deep voice revealed moments from his past as he spoke to his younger self in second person, inviting us into this intimate conversation. Between readings, he explained that he writes his prose poetry in the car on long rides over empty highways. “The first draft of almost everything I’ve written has been written in motion,” Milligan said. He reminded us to find the place where we do our best work and put ourselves in those situations. After reading a two page poem composed of only one sentence, he explained prose poetry to the audience. He described it as a revolutionary writing style with its stream-of-consciousness quality. “But I believe in craft,” he added, “so this is letting it flow, then hammering it back into shape.” 

As Milligan continued to share his experience as a writer of poetry, novels, short stories, plays, and children’s stories, and as a songwriter, performer, publisher, editor, and carpenter, we quickly realized that he is truly a Renaissance man. When asked about his diverse creativity, he responded, “Yes, I’m a bit odd that way… I just happen to be interested in everything, and nothing annoys me more than finding that I cannot understand a concept or that I cannot figure out how something is made, whether it is a poem or a guitar or a telescope.” Milligan’s breadth of interest can be seen in his four collections of poetry, five historical novels and short story collections, and five plays. He owns Wings Press in San Antonio and has experienced every position as editor, publisher, and printer.

After Milligan’s workshop with Wang Ping’s Prose Poetry class, I had the opportunity to correspond with him about my own concerns and questions as a young writer. His main advice for writers? Read widely; “from the magazines in the dentist’s office to Joyce to Dante to classical history and back again.” Milligan learned to read from struggling through Huckleberry Finn, but his literary influences stem from fantasy writers such as J.R.R. Tolkein and Lord Dunsany, poets Ezra Pound, Dante Alighieri, and T.S. Elliot, Edward Thomas, Matsuo Bashō, Ruben Darío, Donald Hall, and an endless list of others. He also advised learning one or more languages fluently, keeping your eyes wide open for new experiences, and getting passionate about a political cause.

In regards to the writing process, he reminded me of the importance of second opinions. In-depth critiques from colleagues and mentors are invaluable. However, giving readings can be equally as helpful for understanding an audience’s response to your work. He explained how you must rely on your own critical abilities to decide when something is ready for publication. Trusting and believing in yourself is crucial, but doubt is natural too. “Like they tell soldiers facing their first battle, only a fool is not afraid,” he said. Instead of becoming crippled by them, you must make use of those fears and doubts by turning them into “more finely tuned critical sensibilities than will be owned by the average reader, or by the average scholar, for that matter.” He encourages young writers to send their work to the journals they admire and always aim for the places where they want to be published.

Ultimately though, “Books can be published, artwork can be hung, music can be performed,” Milligan concluded, “but none of it is perfect, none of it is ever truly finished.”