D.L. Lang: A Self-Interview

Lately, I've been flooded with email requests for interviews from magazines and radio shows. I've responded to a few asking for a list of questions, as writing is my preferred method of communication, and I'm less likely to put my foot in my mouth or be misquoted than if I am interviewed verbally.

Instead of questions, I occasionally receive back a price list instead. Thus ends my interest in being interviewed by your organization.

I've been interviewed by many legitimate media outlets over the past decade, so I have no need nor desire to invest in pay-for-play interviews. My name and story is out there as an accomplished poet. If I wanted to buy adverts I would seek out rates from well-established magazines.

But I thought it might be fun to interview myself.

Why and when did you start writing?

At eight years old I wanted to be a spy because I was a fan of Get Smart. I got in trouble in elementary school for pretending that I was a spy, writing little stories and drawing illustrations in notebooks while at school. One teacher reprimanded me, and another told me that I was so creative and detail-oriented that I should become a writer. By age 11 I was writing short stories, attempting to write a YA novel, and collaborating with many of my childhood best friends on them. By age 13 I had switched to writing poetry because it was a way of processing my emotions as an angsty teenager. By age 14 I had taught myself how to code websites, and I was publishing my poetry online. I continued to write poetry throughout my 20s while working and taking classes. Much of this adolescent poetry makes up my first three volumes, Tea & Sprockets, Abundant Sparks, and Personal Archeology. In my 30s I became inspired to write nature poetry, travel poetry, and political protest poetry.

Who are your influences?

I never studied poetry in any formal sense outside of exposure to the art at school, so my creative influences were musicians like the Beatles and Bob Dylan. I read a few books of Allen Ginsberg and Jim Morrison as a teenager, but I primarily liked reading autobiographies and about history which informed what I liked to write about. I also grew up listening to the music of the 1950s-1970s and was influenced by the folk revival and protest songs of the time. In my 30s I delved into the history of their influences and became enamored with Woody Guthrie. I already knew a lot of folk music due to having watched The Elephant Show as a child. I later found many poets who also tackled social issues in their work. Life presented me with the opportunity to emulate my heroes by performing my poems at demonstrations.

Do you have an MFA?

No, I do not hold any graduate level degrees, and therefore am not qualified to be a teacher nor professor which is how many well-known poets really earn a living. I am not formally trained in writing nor performance. Experience has been my greatest teacher. I am just a person who likes to write, so my style may be different from those who had the privilege of pursuing graduate level education. I only took the usual basic creative writing and composition courses offered at a high school and undergraduate level.

Why not?

I did not pursue graduate education due to coming from a working class background. In order to earn my undergraduate degrees, I worked part time, had scholarships, and limited help with tuition from my parents. My parents did not want me to go into debt with student loans and expected me to start working after my BA, so that's what I did. I, unfortunately, could not find paying work in my areas of study, so I fell back on administrative work and manual labor to pay my bills, often squeaking out poetry during my lunch breaks.

What are you doing for National Poetry Month?

For the first National Poetry Month in 11 years I am not featuring nor appearing anywhere. I am not forcing myself to participate in NaPoWriMo. For the first time since serving as poet laureate, I am letting my natural curiosity lead my intellectual pursuits and inspiration dictate what I write about rather than living up to the expectations of themed anthology calls and on-demand occasional poetry for organizations. It is good to slow down.

Why did you start performing?

As a child I always wanted to be an artist though I couldn't narrow it down to what creative field. In some ways I am a poet because I am a failed musician. My first attempts at writing poetry were song lyrics. I also played violin in the school orchestra which gave me a taste of being on stage. Instead of practicing the classical music we were assigned, I often preferred to play Beatles songs on my violin at home. That combined with performance anxiety meant that I didn't do very well on tests. I was consistently last chair or second to last chair in the second violins. I wound up dropping out after five years because orchestra conflicted with the required foreign language course that I needed to graduate. So instead of being a musician I often found myself hanging out with musicians.

The musicians at my synagogue held an open mic in December 2014, and I participated, reading my poetry to a live audience for the first time. They encouraged me to keep performing my poetry. This lead me to go to Poetry by the Bay where I performed semi-regularly between 2015 and 2023, and I soon branched out, making connections in other communities.

How did you become poet laureate of Vallejo?

I was attending the local read around circle, Poetry in Notion, at the library in spring 2017, and our first poet laureate Dr. Genea Brice encouraged me to apply. I applied, fully expecting not to get the position. It came as a surprise when I was announced less than two weeks after having wrist surgery.

At the time I thought it was a paid position, so I applied thinking there was grant money behind a structured program. I do hope that this will be the case for future poets laureate since many other municipalities do provide an honorarium and expense reimbursement. Ironically, it is the wealthy communities that often provide compensation while the more working class communities whose poets laureate are more likely to need financial assistance are not. Unlike my predecessor and successors I was not receiving retirement checks, nor working a full-time day job while serving my community. I threw everything I had into making it as a poet in spite of my limitations.

I did my best to organize readings and unite local poets as I grew into the position. For example, at the time I was proclaimed poet laureate, I had performed about 100 times, had six self-published books, six published poems mostly in local newspapers, and I was included in zero anthologies. Nine years later I've performed 487 times, I am in 100 anthologies, and have 145 other publications, edited 3 anthologies, and have 18 self-published books.

Why did you stop performing?

I haven't quit entirely, as I do have a couple events coming up later in 2026 in Oklahoma. I chose to cut back on frequency and certain kinds of performances for a few reasons.

Financial

The number one reason is financial exploitation. I cannot justify traveling to other cities every weekend when I am not being paid to perform. Both gas and bridge tolls have doubled since I started making public appearances in 2015. With gas being over $6/gallon and the bridge tolls being nearly $9 now, it does not make sense for me to travel unless I am being offered a paid feature with an honorarium that at least allows me to break even. I am often invited to events where I am confined to reading one poem for an open mic style event instead of a paid featured set of 20-30 minutes. I've started to turn most of these events down.

If I am not paid an honorarium, I am often encouraged to sell my books as a way of making up for an organization's lack of funding. However, in many instances the organization I perform for wants a significant cut of my book sales. If the bookstore or performance venue wants 50% - 60% I am often left with no profit once I deduct the cost of printing paperback books, and the cost of travel.

I enjoy performing for political benefits and protests, and think it is important for spoken word performers to lend their voice to whatever causes that they personally believe in. However, it's often not appropriate for me to sell books or be paid in those instances, so I often wind up paying to perform by giving a donation on top of volunteering my time for an organization, a practice I refuse when I encounter it in other circumstances.

There are other venues both commercial and non-profit that will charge $20 a head to attend an event, but the cover charge does not pay any of the poets who are performing, which I consider to be exploitation. Other venues require you order something at their bar or restaurant rather than providing performers with a complimentary meal for being the evening's entertainment that is drawing in more customers.

It's expensive being a poet in the existing system which is largely volunteer and set up for hobbyists instead of a career. The cost of living has steadily gone up, but the rate of income for poets has remained low. I don't subscribe to the myth of starving artists being more creative. Struggle will help you to understand your fellow human, but if your basic needs aren't being met, writing poetry will be the last thing on your mind. The publishers, art galleries, bookstores, and non-profits are benefiting regularly from the volunteer labor of poets, but last I checked we can't pay our rent or buy gas with award certificates, glasses of wine, flowers, and charcuterie.

Respect

The second major reason was a lack of respect towards me as a person or as a poet. I had a number of people tear me down and lash out at me for various reasons in recent years, and when you're already working for free, criticism is like pouring acid on a wound. It comes off as ungrateful. You're allowed to have criticisms of me and even dislike me, but understand that I do not have any obligation to change for you. If you want to be a poet or live your life differently from me, there is nothing stopping you from having a go at it.

Someone somewhere will always find a place where they think you are missing the mark, not doing what they would do if they were in your position, and they are often not in your field, nor anywhere near as accomplished as you in the first place.

Then there were dozens of people over the past decade who chose to use their brief interactions with me at gigs to hit on me or make moves on me. It stopped feeling like flattery and started feeling like an unsafe work environment. I felt trapped in inappropriate interactions with fans and in some instances fellow poets just for the hope of maybe selling a book or two. I wanted the ability to be able to say "no" to keep myself safe both mentally and physically, so I greatly reduced my performance schedule. You're allowed to love me and admire me, but I'd prefer it if you never touch me.

Burnout

The third reason was burnout. With an average of 30-50 public appearances per year between 2015 and 2025, I used to burnout consistently every May from taking on too many gigs for National Poetry Month, trying to hit every open mic and special event in April both to perform and support my fellow poets. One event a week was my ideal schedule where I could have a six-day break in between to recharge both physically and creatively. The more popular I became the more emails and social media comments I had to attend to on a daily basis which reduced my hours of solitude and ultimately lead clinical burnout.

With rising health insurance rates, and my mental health being negatively affected by such a schedule, the answer to the math equation began adding up to just staying home unless I really felt called to perform.

Writer's block

The fourth reason is writer's block. I went from writing an average of 80 to 200 poems per year in my 30s to being lucky if I can squeak out a dozen in recent years. Having written thousands of poems in 31 years, it's very likely that I have already covered a given subject multiple times in multiple ways. I like having variety of old and new work in my live sets, so that the audience isn't bored hearing me read the same poem years on end.

Has it helped?

I have noticed that my desire to read, research, and write has returned the more I have allowed myself to say "no" to frequent social gatherings. Instead I say "yes" to putting myself first by returning to activities that inspire me and fulfill me instead of dream chasing in a world that fails to take proper care of its dreamers.

I know the fame roller coaster will be there for me to board should I choose to return. In the meantime I am returning to other hobbies like birdwatching, genealogy, word puzzles, and reading.