DJB: What’s been something recent that’s contributed to your growth as a poet?
RV: As most artists would say, struggle is a big influence. Overcoming obstacles both physical and emotional has contributed to my growth as an artist. I was very sick my freshman year with a blood disorder and was in the hospital for awhile. Fortunately I’m completely healthy now. My body was tested, I was given blood transfusions and other therapies, and this really gave me a new way of looking at life. Whatever happens, things could get better or worse…if you go forward with a smile and a notepad, it doesn’t matter, you get a poem out of it either way.
DJB: How has poetry served you through difficult times?
RV: Poets are restricted by language. We can only use the letters and sounds we’ve been given. What makes a poet and artist is her ability to twist, mold and deface those words and sounds to echo meaning. Loss in inexpressible. Poetry gives us a way to express loss outside of our tears and blank faces. It gives us words when words no longer work. When I lost my sister when I was 13, it was difficult to grow emotionally. I’ve been able to mature emotionally through writing poetry. I was able to express myself when any other form of expression couldn’t reiterate my loss. Poetry – – it’s made all the difference in my life. Let me give you a quote from a book of writings by Kahlil Gibran compiled by Suheil Bushrui, The Essential Gibran I read often: “I am a stranger in this world. I am a poet. I versify life’s prose; I render in prose what life has versified. For this reason I am a stranger, and so I shall remain, until death snatches me away and carries me home.”
SPOTLIGHT ON RANDII VALDEZ, A POETRY CENTER INTERN
by Debby Jo Blank
DJB: Tell me something about yourself.
RV: I’m an undergraduate majoring in Creative Writing. I write poetry and my favorite poet is Jack Kerouac. I live with a small Maltese who’s blind from cataracts. I always wanted a dog and my mom got him as a puppy from a shelter. He gets around amazingly well because he sniffs things so well. I went to high school here in Tucson at Salpointe Catholic High School. Originally my name was spelled R-a-n-d-i, but in 7th Grade I decided I wanted to be different, get away from being the class-clown-type-of-person, and started spelling it R-a-n-d-i-i. I guess it was a symbol for becoming more true to myself. Now I’m Randii. What I want to do with my life… is live to see tomorrow!
DJB: How did you get interested in poetry and the arts?
RV: I started reading at a very young age and was immediately in love with words. My favorite book has to be The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, which my father read to me when I was young. Though I experimented with poetry earlier, I didn’t find my voice until high school. An awesome English teacher encouraged me to join the poetry club. I had the pleasure of taking his Creative Writing class when I was a Senior. During high school my work was published in our school’s literary magazine. When I read poems, I hear my teacher’s voice reading them. I try to write so that my poems will sound good. I can hear how he would read them out loud in my mind. I’m more concerned with sound than meaning. I knew I had to continue with my passion for writing and chose Creative Writing as my major at the University of Arizona where I am now a sophomore.
DJB: What other areas of the arts are you interested in?
RV: Really, the arts are my life. Aside from poetry, I enjoy drawing, painting, and experimenting with different art forms. My Minor is Art, so next year I hope to delve further into my experiments. I’ve also made an attempt to play the drums. I start and end my day with music. I play rock and even classical. Mostly I play alone, but with friends we sometimes get together and have jam sessions.
DJB: How do you actualize your interests in art and writing?
RV: I have such a hunger for art, I always want more. I live for music and try to find art in everything – – the way the trees sway in the wind, the sound of the leaves rustling on the ground, old people, etc. I write to satisfy this hunger, mainly in a -inspired style, but also in prose. I want my poetry to be music, so the reader can feel more than the words, the pauses and rhythm as well. Though I’m really interested in painting and drawing, my poetry sets the bar for me.
DJB: How has the community at the University and the Poetry Center influenced you?
RV: Before starting at the University, I had only a small group of “poetry friends,” people who were even remotely interested in poetry. Now I have been able to spout out and capture so much more of what the poetry world is really about, and it’s flawless. My work at the Poetry Center has further invested me in poetry. I have access to courses and readings I probably wouldn’t have even known about. The Housewarming Celebration here was amazing. I had no idea things like that ever happened. I got a glimpse of how big the poetry world really is. Before I always thought it was more limited. I loved hearing all of the poets who came do their readings and watch all the people who were listening to the readings. It was a real eye opener!
