Learn More: The Restlessness of Bound Wrists | Plancha Press | April 2025 | $17
Can we talk about your use of form and theory?
When I first began writing I did a lot of ee cummings-type of poetry. I had not really read much of his work although I was familiar with his willingness to bend the rules of grammar and punctuation. I was always hesitant to write poetry that used formal patterns and predictable end rhymes, likely because I saw it as amateurish, not knowing the command necessary to do so well. For example, I am astonished by the offhand skill used by modern poets such as Algernon Charles Swinburne in “The Garden of Proserpine.”
and love, grown faint and fretful,
With lips but half regretful,
Sighs, and with eyes forgetful
Weeps, that no loves endure.
This could be almost trite yet is saved by the “half” in the second line. That one word sends you into a maelstrom of “why half and does that not mean that perhaps love’s lips are not regretful at all but instead are eager???” Anyway, I did not want to be constrained by rules. I only later realized that one cannot break rules if one does know of them and how, in literature, rules provide a framework for beauty. I am a fan of lyricism, of internal rhyme and the way it accelerates, and of how alliteration and assonance/dissonance contribute to the music that I think constitutes a good poem.
What are some of the key themes present in your book?
Loneliness. Despair. Resistance and rebellion. I want to think compassion.
What’s are some of your favorite lines in the book?
The scent of powder; fire & fuse.
The fall of hammer; bang & boom.
The clink of mortar; more & more.
It’s all they’ve ever known.
-"Send in the Needles"
And
arising like steam
From the culverts cut into
The curbs, I hear voices. . .
-"12th and Chicon"
And
Bloated
In a rented bed he gurgled
When he drowned,
Without the coin to pay
The gowned professionals
Who may have saved him.
"It's news to me"
And
surely somewhere
An unbound sleeper stirs,
Disturbed by the certainty
That under the bony luminescence
Of a grinning moon
Penitence is dying a giddy death.
"Prison Moon"
Is there a connection with your past in the book?
Pues. I try to make a community with ser humanos who have come before and whose voices were stilled. And I don’t think it’s intentional. It’s just that the themes that arouse my empathy are almost always centered around the abuse of power, the contempt of institutions and officials toward those who are not part of the structure. And one learns of that through an honest reverence for those who have fought that power.
What is poetry to you?
The lyrical expression of one’s existence in a way that creates empathy and community.
What type of poet do you classify yourself as?
Ha. A living one.
I don’t. I rarely think of myself as a poet. I try to write in a fashion that is entertaining and honest and evocative and relevant. If it takes poetic form, great. If someone feels the need to classify me, that’s on them.
What are you currently reading?
The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing by Adam Moss.
Dozens of interviews with sculptors, artists, musicians, and writers about the process of
creativity.
Since his last release from prison in 2008 Jorge Renaud has been a policy analyst and community organizer at various social justice organizations, among them the Texas Center for Justice and Equity, Grassroots Leadership, the Prison Policy Initiative, and Latino Justice PRLDEF. Jorge was honored to be selected as the 2020 Poet in Residence by the Civil Rights Corps and the 2021 Writer in Residence at the Texas After Violence Project. He is the proud father of Katie, a woman who enchants and astonishes and befuddles him in equal measure. Jorge believes poetry should be left to younger spirits yet was somehow persuaded to publish a book by the vatas lorcas at Infrarrealista Review. The Restlessness of Bound Wrists is forthcoming in 2025 with Plancha Press. He is guided by one maxim–No human is disposable.