Gregory Kan is a writer and developer based in Pōneke/Wellington. His first collection of poetry, This Paper Boat, was shortlisted for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for poetry in 2017. Under Glass, his second collection, was longlisted for the award in 2020. He was the 2017 Grimshaw Sargeson Fellow. Gregory talks to NZ Booklovers about his new poetry collection.
Tell us a little about Clay Eaters.
It’s a strange scrapbook that charts an obsession with a military jungle island with an enigmatic history, and our beloved cat who died a couple of years ago.
What inspired you to write this collection?
It was a way for me to cope with a few different, concurrent griefs.
What was your routine or process when writing these poems?
It began with a few torrents of pages and pages of writing without pause or reflection, from various points in the past few years. I tried to synthesise and recognise what the major tendencies were in those raw flows. Those got chopped up, re-arranged. I did some focused research on those various points of interest, and wove that in, too. After that it was just looping through it all over and over again, tweaking, refining, moving things around until it all felt right. I had a couple of rounds of early feedback, and then sculpted it all to fine points with my editor and old friend, Louisa Kasza.
If a soundtrack were made to accompany this book, name a song or two you would include.
I don’t know if I could name a particular song. But if the book were a record I think it would be a sad indie folk album. Moody electric-acoustic guitars and a theremin.
If you had to choose a favourite poem from Clay Eaters, what would it be, and why did you choose it?
No favourite child, ha. The book is written to be a system of sorts. What three words would you use to summarise Clay Eaters as a whole? How about three triplets? “Not easily digestible.” “May leave residue.” “Rinse with water.”
What did you enjoy the most about writing this poetry collection?
This one encouraged me to reconnect with some old friends and to discover new things about places I thought I knew.
What did you do to celebrate finishing this book?
My partner and I went out for an exquisite dinner at one of our favourite local restaurants.
What is the favourite book you have read so far this year and why?
I am re-reading Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee, which is the first in the trilogy, Machineries of Empire. Just a really fun space opera that explores multiple and extended selves, novel artificial intelligences, and occult computational weaponry.
What’s next on the agenda for you?
It will be a while before I move on to another writing project. I will simply try to enjoy the book’s launch and all that follows.
Auckland University Press