Featured Poet: Lukas McNett
We had the opportunity to interview Lukas McNett about his new book Wildfire and his approach to poetry.
Congratulations on the publication of your debut book Wildfire! What inspired you to write this book?
Thank you, I am very excited it has finally arrived! My inspiration for my debut book, Wildfire, is simply that I have a story I wanted to tell. It's not just a story, but one that is relatable on an individual level as well as a broader scale to the reader. It might not be every poem that you will connect with, but there are a lot that I feel others will read and are able to empathize with.
Can you describe your creative process?
I write with whatever tools I have on me at the moment something hits me. It doesn't matter if I'm in the car, at the beach, or on a plane. I'll find a way to take note of my thoughts, and develop them into poetry in the moment or at a later date, depending on what hits my brain. In regards to the creative process of my book and how it is organized, it is written in chronological order (except for one poem, which I purposely placed out of order). Some of the poems in the book were either written or experienced when I first began writing, nearly 15 years ago when I was just starting high school. You wouldn't believe how many times I went through each page and each poem deciding whether it was "good enough" to put in the book. "Good enough" is subjective, and being a perfectionist, there is no perfect book. After scratching at least 20 poems from the book, I began realizing that I will never think it is perfect, but it had to be good enough in my own standards. There are four sections within Wildfire, creating the four themes of the book: Part I: Brimstone (life itself), Part II: Smoke Signals (warning signs of love, loss), Part III: Trial by Fire (heartbreak, death, loss), and Part IV: Tinder Box (circling back to love, but this time it's a healthy love). My journey as a person shines through each poem, and changes significantly from the first page to the last, with those four themes together making up Wildfire, each poem in it being as vital to the theme as the last.
Lukas McNett, poet.
How did you become a poet?
I started writing the first day of high school, and that is when I realized I have a strong sense of my words on paper. I became a poet, like any traditionally great poet, when my heart got shattered and when I felt a great sense of loss, on multiple occurrences. The outlet of poetry helped me deal with my emotions on a personal level, while creating something beautiful that I can later reference when I am feeling a similar way. I have implemented poetry into my life for years, and I'm proud to be able to do this for fun, while connecting with people across the world in this medium.
What does literary success look like to you?
Personally, I feel that I have already achieved sufficient enough literary success. My scale probably differs from others, and I say this because I don't mean I've achieved success in the sense of being a bestseller, or having a million social network followers, or making endless amounts of money, but I have achieved my primary goal. This was to publish my book (previously a long-time work in progress) for myself, no matter what the outcome may be. If I can touch others and they feel something from my words, then I am even more humbled, and appreciate any support I receive.
Where can readers read more of your work?
My debut poetry book, Wildfire, is available on Amazon in paperback and kindle formats. I also use my poetry instagram to connect with other poets and my linktree (general links to everything).
