Recently, Benjamin Harrell, co-founder of the poetry website Writers Foundation, LLC., made himself available to Baltimore's Book Examiner for an interview about his poetry and new website. Here is the result.
Examiner: What is your connection to Baltimore?
Benjamin Harrell: I was born and raised in Baltimore. I received all my pre college education in Baltimore. And I'm currently a member of the Baltimore "I Love City Life" organization.
E: How did you come up with the idea of the Writers Foundation?
B.H.: The idea for Writers Foundation LLC came from my love for written word. I wanted to create a place where artists could converse and share their works. James Harrell (co founder) wanted to share the word of God with the world.
E: What do you hope to accomplish with the Writers Foundation?
B.H.: I hope to help others realize that they can write poetry no matter the form. We want Writers Foundation LLC to also serve as a publishing company in the future.
E: How do you promote your site on and outside the web? What poetry venues, if any, do you attend?
B.H.: I interact with several poetry blogs. Most of my advertisement comes from word of mouth.
E: How long have you been writing poetry?
B.H.: I've been writing poetry for about 20 years. I started writing poems to the cute girls in elementary school and realized that I had something going on.
E: Who are some of your biggest poetic influences and/or favorite poets?
B.H.: I love poetry by Langston Hughes. My poetic influences come from life and emotion. The emotion whether human or animal has always been intriguing to me. A picture can say a thousand words. Well I wanted to capture that those feelings through my words.
E: What's your favorite poem, outside of your own?
B.H.: Not too sure if I have a favorite poem, but I really like "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou. Today's woman is often lost in society's view of how a woman should portray themselves. This poem is a breath of fresh air.
E: What is your opinion of the status of poetry in America? In all its forms: spoken word, hip-hop, literary poetry, etc.
B.H.: I love where poetry stands in today's world. Different forms of poetry tell a story of culture from all walks of life. Spoken word gives you an aspect of poetry that hip-hop does not. While hip hop tells a story that you might not find in literary pieces. Therefore I appreciate the many forms as we are many different people.
E: Do you think all poetry should have meaning? And if so, what do you consider more important: the poet's meaning or the individual interpretations from each reader?
B.H.: All poetry has meaning. That meaning will vary sometimes because of the reader. Interpretation has a way of redefining a story. It is important to myself that readers understand the plot of my story. As long as a reader can walk a way with something then I believe the poem was not written in vain.
For more info: Visit the Writers Foundation, LLC website at http://www.writersfoundationllc.org/. Read his poem "Because of Your Beauty" on the Dead Poets? Review, brought to you from Baltimore's Book Examiner.
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