Photo credit
Rob Ackerman

Biography

Domenico Capilongo has lived in Toronto, Vancouver, Swift Current, Italy and Japan. He has found his way back to Toronto where he teaches creative writing and karate. His award-winning poems have appeared in several national and international literary magazines, as well as in anthologies. His work has been shortlisted for the F.G. Bressani Literary Prize, and long-listed for the ReLit Award. His poetry explores identity, culture, relationships, music, and technology, through both lyrical and experimental styles. He is influenced by writers who play with language and imagery, a technique that not only leaves the reader examining their connection to the world around them, but also makes them think about the craft of writing itself.

Micro-interview

Did you read poetry when you were in high school? Is there a particular poem that you loved when you were a teenager?

In high school I loved to read poetry secretly in the library. I had such a private and personal connection to poems. I felt like they expressed how I felt and I was amazed at what language could do. I remember studying William Carlos Williams' poem, “The Red Wheelbarrow”, and being mesmerized by its simplicity and ever-changing meaning.

When did you first start writing poetry? And then when did you start thinking of yourself as a poet?

I wrote poetry as a teenager and into my first year of university. I felt very private about my work at first, and wasn’t ready to share it. I'm glad, however, that I took this time to explore and develop my voice. I eventually took the plunge as a serious poet when I started taking creative writing courses in university and then even more, much later, when I began to have my work published in literary magazines.

What do you think a poet’s “job” is?

I think a poet's job is to remind us of the power and magic that language has to make us feel and connect with each other in the most unique of ways. Reading, writing, listening to, and sharing poems is one of the most wonderful things we can do together.

If you had to choose one poem to memorize from our anthology, which one would it be?

There are so many incredible poems I would love to memorize and perform. Here are my top three: Michael Ondaatje's “Sweet Like a Crow” because it's so fun and visual, Susan Holbrook’s “What Is Poetry” because it says it all so well, and bill bissett’s “dont worry yr hair” because it’s full of magical meditation.

Publications

Title
hold the note
Publisher
Quattro Books
Date
2010
Publication type
Book
Title
send
Publisher
Guernica Editions
Date
2017
Publication type
Book
Title
1972
Publisher
Ekstasis Editions
Date
2023
Publication type
Book
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