Nobody would think that one of the foremost voices in the modern contemporary poetry circles sits in a small office on the third floor of Knutti and teaches various creative writing classes. A very humble and kind man with glasses and curly hair, Dr. James Pate sits and talks of his most recently published book of poems “The Fassbinder Diaries” as if he is just another person.
Most would be surprised to know that he is one of the few who has had journal articles published on contemporary poetics or that his most recent book of poems is being hailed by his friend and fellow poet Johannes Goransson as the “book of the year.”
Growing up in Memphis, Tenn., Pate began writing in high school. He describes writing as an outlet for his creativity which was heavily influenced by music. He was very much into the punk rock movement and the velvet underground.
Pate recounts how his book of poems, which was picked up by C&M Publishing, happened almost by accident. His friend Goransson had the manuscripts and was sending them out to publishers until one picked it up. Pate chuckles to himself as he recounts the story, smiling every now and then as if he can hardly believe it.
After acquiring his MFA in Creative Writing in Iowa, he worked in a bookstore for a couple years. “I had a romantic idea about it,” Pate recounts. “Having a 9 to 5 job and being able to write does not exist. That lifestyle is not possible now as it was in the ‘70s.” His struggle to maintain his creativity while still making a living drove him to get his PhD at the University of Chicago and eventually to start teaching.
As with music, Pate is also very much inspired by film, especially that of Rainer Fassbinder, a German filmmaker whose films Pate’s book of poetry is loosely based upon. “I was a fan of film, especially of Fassbinder’s who died of a drug overdose at a young age but was so prolific in his time,” Pate says.
He went on to explain how the thesis of film really helped bring cohesion to the poems that took three years to eventually complete. His undying love of film is evident as he rattles off all sorts of directors and films. “Film is as crucial as poetry or fiction for me.”
Film brought the cohesion to his set of poems as well as inspiring whole sections of the book. Various poems focus on two charactersm, Meiz and Franz from the Fassbinder film “Berlin Alexanderplatz,” which Pate was highly fascinated with. “I was not trying to make people watch the film to understand the characters. Though they are loosely based, they are their own characters.”
While being highly inspired by Fassbinder, Pate also has whole sections of his book, like “Pig,” inspired by visual artist Francis Bacon and “One Summer Continuous Hot” after David Lynch’s films.
The gamut of depth in the “Fassbinder Diaries” is truly awe-inspiring at times. Mixing elements of the Gothic and grotesque, as well as skirting the edges of flash fiction and poetry, Pate’s book is experimental poetry to the core. “I don’t know myself whether it is flash fiction or poetry. I really like writing that has one foot in each world while also being deeply ingrained in poetics,” Pate says.
He rises to gather his things for his creative writing: poetry class, one of his two workshop classes this semester. The students wait expectantly, yet it is to be wondered if they really know who is teaching them. Pate has a very humble demeanor and is really caring for his students, pushing them to find their own voices.
His biggest piece of advice to young writers is this: “Read all the time and do not be afraid to be inspired by different mediums of art like film, music.” He opens the door to Knutti 202 to teach and inspire the newest generation of poets.