On Rhythm and Simplistic Poetry — Author Interview with Audric Adonteng

Audric Adonteng (he/him) is a Black poet born and raised in Massachusetts. In his poetry, he explores his life through the lens of his family, friends, and memories. Growing up in a relatively small town, Audric relives his experiences and brings them to life with his poetic voice. Over the years, his works have been published in 2022 Art on the Trails: EXPOSURE, The Eunoia Review, Lead & Pulp Magazine, Polyphony Lit, and Moonbow Magazine. 

Emily Pedroza: It’s so nice to see you again! I was curious as to what originally drew you to creative writing and poems.

Audric Adonteng: I came to writing, naturally as most people do, through reading. I started reading to make connections to my American culture, while still maintaining a sense of my own identity. Poetry, specifically, became a part of me because its rhythmic patterns and precisely picked words helped me find harmony in the chaoticness that is English, with its self-conflicting rules and irrelevant patterns. The need to understand brought me to writing, and I came to poetry specifically because it was so complex, yet made everything much more simple. 

EP: What does your writing process look like right now? 

AD: My writing process mainly consists of random spurts of creative flow, rough drafting, revising, and long spouts of creative depression. My best writing comes when I’m least expecting it, rather than in front of a desk with a paper and pencil. My random stroke of creativity eventually becomes a line, or the semblance of a poem, or, in some cases, it starts the flow of ideas and takes off in another direction. Right now, my writing process is very staggered, but long breaks and a relaxed attitude towards my craft helps me create my best work.

EP: What themes are you drawn to? 

AD: Usually, my poetry contains strong themes of family, struggle, religion, identity, and self. 

EP: Has it changed from the past, if so, how? 

AD: In the past, my poetry has mainly been about nature, but even in that, I related a lot of myself to what I saw out in the world. In a way, it has changed, but I have also just been more self-aware of the reasons guiding my writing. 

EP: What sources do your inspiration stem from? 

AD: I draw a lot of my inspiration from my family and my relationships with everyone in it. I also draw a lot from my memories, but also, I use a lot of my imagination to paint the pictures of my memories or highlight intense emotions through my imagination. 

EP: How was your process of finding them? 

AD: In the beginning of my creative journey, I think it was difficult for me to draw on my memories for inspiration because I hadn’t yet reconciled with the emotions brought about by the poems. However, through writing, I was able to do this reconciliation, and in turn, create stories while also learning to be content with myself. 

EP: Who are your favorite authors or artists and why? 

AD: My favorite poets are Jericho Brown, Danez Smith, Christopher Soto, Rajiv Mohabir, Ocean Vuong, Louise Gluck, and Mark Wunderlich. I draw on these poems for discovering inspiration, and whenever I’m having creative blocks, these are the authors I draw on. My favorite music artists are Tyler, the Creator, Frank Ocean, Beyonce, Lana Del Rey, Childish Gambino, Big Thief, Omar Apollo, and so many others. I love listening to these artists whenever I need to get in the writing mindset. 

EP: What was your experience like publishing your poems? How was the publishing process for you?

AD: Publishing poems can be a very difficult, emotionally taxing process. You can submit to hundreds of literary magazines and journals, just for them all to reject you after waiting an exorbitant amount of time to even hear a response. In my experience, it has been rough, but also very rewarding when you finally receive that “Congratulations!” email. Submittable is a great resource for anyone wishing to look for an easy way to track poetry submissions. Also, I’d also recommend creating a new email account specifically for submissions to have them all in one place. 

EP: How was the process of attending Adroit Mentorship for you? What are your thoughts on the significance of mentors?

AD: Attending the Adroit Mentorship has been a greatly beneficial process; seeing my poetry from a new, educated perspective has allowed me to reach new heights in my writing and define my style. Specifically, I think my mentor has helped me find themes within all of my poems that I haven’t even noticed. I think mentors are very significant, and they help growing poets get used to the idea of having their work critiqued. However, I don’t think beginning poets should have a mentor; every good writer should always spend a little time in contemplation with themselves. 

EP: How do you think the process is different when it comes to writing poetry vs prose?

AD: When writing poetry, I focus more on the esoteric and abstract, focusing on the figurative language to drive home a point in a less roundabout way. In a way, I try to create an image, while also allowing the reader to contribute to the message with their interpretation. The process is much more specific, when it comes to the line breaks, varying rhythm, specific words chosen, etc. 

When I’m writing prose, I also focus on this more abstract element, but I also include a sense of concreteness because of the structures inherently existing within prose. The process of writing prose is also very specific, but specific to a certain story, not a memory or figment of my imagination. 

EP: What is your biggest writing aspiration? 

AD: My biggest writing aspiration right now would be to get published in The New Yorker, or get my poetry manuscript accepted to a large publisher. 

EP: What projects are you currently working on? 

AD: I’m currently working on a poetry chapbook! It explores intimate moments in my life, my family, my struggles with myself, and other very personal moments. 

EP: What advice would you give to beginning writers? 

AD: Focus on improving your writing before focusing on publishing, but don’t spend too long because it’ll never be perfect. Then, I would recommend using the different prompts contests have to improve your writing in action. 

Also never give up on a piece because it keeps getting rejected; it probably isn’t the right home for the poem. And keep going on through the rejection because you will eventually get through it!