The Habit Rabbit Room Press Presents: Ben Palpant and Scott Cairns
Oct 27, 2025
Ben Palpant, an insightful author and interviewer, shares the conversation with celebrated poet Scott Cairns. They delve into Kafka's metaphor about poetry awakening the silent within us. Cairns reveals his humorous approach to poetry, emphasizing the importance of irony. The duo explores how life's particularities lead to spiritual depth through poetic discovery. They discuss managing humility, the perils of self-promotion for young writers, and reminisce about defining childhood moments that anchor joy amidst life's uncertainties.
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Treat Every Poem As A New Start
- Treat every poem as a new beginning and a raid on the inarticulate, accepting likely failure.
- Keep experimenting since each attempt opens a fresh path to meaning.
Hospitality And Humorous Openings
- Scott Cairns welcomes Ben into his modest childhood home and opens their conversation with gentle humor.
- He admits to starting poems with a joke before letting irony fall away into seriousness.
English Words Keep Revealing Layers
- English carries etymological 'ghosts' from Greek and Latin that let poems keep opening with each reading.
- Learning root languages helps craft poems that reveal new senses over repeated readings.
