Rae Armantrout | CTRL+Shift: Writing practice at the dawn of the digital era

What digital devices do you have access to for writing?

Well, really just two. I have an iPad and I have a Dell computer upstairs. Oh, and I have one at work, too. Also a Dell.

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What are your physical archiving conventions?

I have a bunch of these (notes) filling up my shelves. Right now, I have way too many. A couple of times, I've sold or donated my papers to archives including Stanford and also at UC-San Diego. And when I do, I also include these.

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What role does correspondence play in your revision practice?

I think one reason that I tend to send poems out is that I will be dissatisfied and fool with things forever unless somebody goes, "Hey, that's good."

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How long have you been writing professionally?

I think I had my first poem published in a national magazine shortly after I graduated from college, and then I just continued to publish in magazines. I had my first book was published when I was thirty, and I've been publishing books ever since. ... If by a professional, you mean somebody who actually makes money and has a reputation, I guess I've been in that category maybe for twenty-five years, or something.

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What digital devices do you have access to for writing?

Well, really just two. I have an iPad and I have a Dell computer upstairs. Oh, and I have one at work, too. Also a Dell.

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What physical tools do you use for composition?

Well, actually, I probably work primarily in this old school device called 'notebook' where I, you know, fill pages with illegible text, and then once I start to think that my text is coming together, very often I'll do a version of it—just type it into the iPad.

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What genres do you work in?

Mostly poetry. Once in a while I write an essay, but mostly poetry.

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How do you name your files?

I just name it—I mean—whatever the title of the poem. ... I number them. Sometimes, I'll have, you know, "such-and-such a title one," "such-and-such a title two,"... But when it gets too confusing, sometimes I'll just erase the old ones. ... I do have a back up on a zip drive, but I haven't backed-up for several months. So, I'm careless.

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How did the advent of personal computing and the internet influence your writing practices?

I don't remember. I mean, I guess it was gradual. ... What I do have a clear memory of is how the internet changed things. Because then you could send someone something and say, "What do you think? I don't know about this last line, what do you think?" I mean, you could have that kind of conversation.

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What role, if any, do other people play in your writing?

Once I start to think that my text is coming together, very often I'll do a version of it—just type it into the iPad. And I can show you. I'll send it to myself. Sometimes, I'll send it to my friend, Ron Silliman...I used to send them to more people. Lyn Hejinian, at first, and Bob Perelman, at first, and Lydia Davis, the fiction writer—she's a friend of mine. And later, Fanny Howe, too. Now, I mostly just send them to Ron...because he's very confident about what he says, first of all, and he's also very specific. He doesn't always say why he thinks what he thinks, which drives me crazy, but he gives me something to bounce off.

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