Mack Attack

Nathanial Mackey’s presentation was inspirational. When he walked in I was alerted to a certain aura towards which I was previously unaccustomed. He seemed very calm and collected, and I think his poetry reflects that combination of traits. I forgot who it was that asked this question during class, so please do not be upset at me because my memory is ill, but Mackey was asked about his revision process. Mackey explained that he revised as he wrote, as opposed to writing out his pieces and then revising once the pieces were complete. It slows the writing process down and makes for more incomplete thoughts, a concept that grounds Mackey’s style.

I thought it was interesting how Mackey found his roots in jazz as a youngster, I feel that his genre of poetry reflects musical influence because its so smooth and flowing like smoke drifting through the air. Also, I found his take on publication to be particularly interesting. He raises in good point in that a young poet/writer must struggle a little bit first before she/he gets attention from any publications, and indeed it is the young writer’s responsibility to put themselves out there in order to get noticed. Perhaps this is the process that all writers must go though; hearing Mackey speak out about that personal experience made me less apprehensive about getting discovered myself and and encouraged me towards the possibility of publishing some of my pieces.