Buy: Brutal Companion by Ruben Quesada | OCTOBER 15, 2024 | BARROW STREET PRESS
ISBN: 978-1-962131-03-2 | $18.00
Which living poet/writer had the most influence on your book?
D.A. Powell has had the most influence on Brutal Companion. His work, notably his trilogy, has had a significant impact on my approach to writing about queer experiences and the junction of personal and political issues. There’s a poetic beauty that cleaves reality that has encouraged me to achieve a similar balance in my work. I’m drawn to poets who demonstrate attention to similar social concerns as my own, but perhaps more importantly, poetry with rhythm and sound with particular attention to detail for the natural world and the perspective it offers.
Over the past decade, I’ve been voraciously reading contemporary poetry and there is so much to draw from these days. If I had to share poets whose use of rhythm and sound most resonated with me–Diane Mehta, Sean Thomas Dougherty, and Philip Metres. The nature of expression in the work of Mai Der Vang, Anthony Cody, and Vanessa Angélica Villarreal is exciting. I could go on…
Which non-living poet/writer had the most influence on your book?
The late Paul Monette had a significant effect on this collection. His visceral, unembellished depictions of love and loss during the AIDS crisis in works such as Love Alone: 18 Elegies for Rog influenced my approach to writing about grief, sexuality, and the complexity of identity.
What is your favorite line(s) in your book?
It is difficult to choose, but I particularly like these lines from the poemtry "Aubade:”
"In the dark, I listen, now resigned, you mumble
about the arms of pinyon pine, saying it points to a falling star
against the serrated pool of sky."
These lines encapsulate a sense of intimacy and cosmic wonder, which I strive for in most of my work.
What are the primary themes in your book?
Brutal Companion probes multiple linked topics, including identity, loss and grief, the complexities of intimate connections, and the need for connection in an often hostile society.
How has authoring this book changed you?
Writing Brutal Companion was a deeply transforming experience. It compelled me to address traumatic memories and feelings, particularly those involving loss and identity. The process of drafting these poems enabled me to have a better understanding of my experiences and how larger cultural and historical frameworks informed them. It also strengthened my trust in poetry's ability to express complicated feelings and experiences that would otherwise go unheard.
Did this work have any influence from another art form?
Visual art, especially painting, has had a considerable impact on this collection. Several poems, such as "Oath of the Horatii" and "Angels in the Sun," include direct references to specific artworks. The ekphrastic approach offered possibilities to explore emotional and thematic terrain. When I first conceived of this book, I received a grant for travel to museums around the country that allowed me first-hand experience for further ekphrastic writing.
Instead of imitation, the goal is to have an association with the original piece and make something that stands on it while also casting light on elements of the original material. We use public images and videos in creative ways when I teach ekphrasis.
My process usually includes inspecting the original work and analyzing it, then using both literal and figurative language when speaking about that experience. Something that strikes a chord with me could be a subject, the imagery, the rhythm, or a single line. After that, I allow my thoughts and experiences to mix with the main idea of the original work.
The goal is to make a multilayered piece that pays tribute to the original and adds something new to the conversation about the arts. I figure out what is remarkable about the piece that interests me—is it the language, the images, or the feelings that are hidden beneath the surface? This is where I begin.
I spent two years visiting museums around the country and in Europe. It began by flying to Los Angeles, where I was able to visit my mom. Then it was a daily visit to museums in the area: the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Getty Villa in Malibu. Then, I went north to San Francisco, where its pub parks and artwork most inspired me. I visited the de Young Museum of Fine Art and Legion of Honor Fine Arts Museums; I shared an afternoon in Dolores Park with a friend.
In the second year, over one week, I traveled to Spain, where I visited the Reina Sofía, Prado, and Picasso art museums. On to Italy, where I visited palazzi and libraries in Bologna then in Venice, I arrived in time for Carnevale. Before returning home, I spent a day in Berlin at the Topography of Terror and Museum Island. I wish I could do all that again with more time.
What was the motivation for this collection of work?
The impulse for Brutal Companion stemmed from a desire to investigate and confront personal and collective traumas. My private and public life are intertwined and mutually influential to my work. In sharing this deeply personal narrative, I aim not for sympathy but for empathy—a bridge of understanding between my experience and the collective. The U.S. health crisis, intimate relationships, and the desire to belong are all central to this motivation.
One year after moving to Chicago, I was ready to begin a new chapter of my life. I was going to get involved with extraordinary poetry and teaching programs in the city. It was the start of August. I was turning forty, changing careers, recently single, and then diagnosed with HIV.
There I was, poised at the intersection of multiple transitions, my body in distress through what I initially dismissed as mere allergies. I’m allergic to everything outdoors (grass, trees, & flowers). After two weeks, the symptoms took a turn for the worse. For the rest of the month, I slept only a few hours at a time.
Those August days were rough. The fever hit me hard, messing with my body and my mind. It felt like I was stuck in some weird, hazy dream. Even though I felt awful, I kept thinking about my new teaching job and my upcoming birthday. It was like life was saying, "Hey, I'm still moving forward whether you're ready or not.
The fever kept getting worse until one day, I just knew something was seriously wrong with my body. I managed to call my neighbor for help. She came over, let herself in, and called 911. It was intense. I don’t know how I managed it, dealing with being so sick while also trying to hold onto the good stuff coming up in my life. It took me years to adapt, losing work and breaking commitments along the way. I wish I’d managed it differently, but context doesn’t always matter.
“Love moves me and makes me speak,” said Dante. It took another few years before I finally settled in Chicago, months before the COVID-19 lockdown. I moved in with my now fiancé.
The transitional nature of my life has made me resilient, for better or worse. The poems I wrote sat around for more than a decade. I never sent them out. Most were written when I first moved to Chicago. They celebrate life, recognize its loss, and find a way to reconcile what has passed. My love of language motivated me, and life kept me writing.
Are you working on a new project? Could you tell us a little about it?
Yes, I am now working on a new poetry collection about the intersection of technology and human emotion. I am particularly interested in how artificial intelligence and digital environments are changing our perceptions of identity, relationships, and creativity. The project's goal is to combine parts of speculative poetry with more classic lyric genres to establish a conversation between the human and the technical. It is still taking shape, but I am excited to see where this journey takes me.
Ruben Quesada’s latest poetry collection, Brutal Companion, winner of the Barrow Street Press Editors Prize, published October 15, 2024. He edited the anthology Latinx Poetics: Essays on the Art of Poetry, which won an Independent Publisher Book Award in 2023. Quesada’s work appears in prestigious publications including Seneca Review, American Poetry Review, the Best American Poetry series, Harvard Review, and The New York Times Magazine. Quesada has received fellowships from the Jentel Foundation, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Community of Writers, Napa Valley Writers’, and CantoMundo.