Recently, 2 Pens & Lint's own, Henry Duncan, had a chance to ask Tom a few questions concerning his writing style, his literary influences, and what it means to be called black.

Henry Duncan: How would you describe your writing style?

Tom Pender: Blank verse plus free thought. I write about what I believe in, but I try to put abstract ideas into concrete images, so that all can understand.

HD: Your bio states that you have been writing since 1981. What inspired you to start writing?

TP: The oldest trick in the book: At age 15, I started writing poetry to impress girls! Actually, I started out writing song lyrics, but after a year or two, I found I was twisting what I really wanted to say into words that rhymed, so I eventually turned to blank verse, and there, my ideas really blossomed!

HD: Who are your literary influences?

TP: Poetically, I love Shakespeare and Coleridge, and Bernie Taupin (Elton John’s lyricist) inspired me to start writing song lyrics, which in turn, got me into writing blank verse poetry.

HD: In your poem Black you write “ Twice in the past year I have been called black.” Why do you think they called you black?

TP: My social circle is primarily made up of African-Americans. I have dated only African-American women for over 20 years now, and my oldest son (who was 6 when I met his mother) is African-American, while my two younger boys are mixed. At a gathering where I was the only white attendee, I was about to be crushed by the growing crowd and I joked, “Hey, watch out for the white guy!” A friend nearby said, “Who you foolin’? You ain’t white!” and I thought that was the greatest compliment I’d received in years, for the reasons expressed in the poem. Sometime later, on Facebook, I posted the question “What is something you know about me that few people do?” and another friend responded, “You’re black.” I think it’s just the fact that my significant others over the years have been black, and my kids are black and mixed, plus my social circle is peopled with African-Americans, and I think it’s very obvious that I’m completely comfortable with this.

HD: You are also working on a novel. What will it be about?

TP: It is a retelling of the classic film Citizen Kane, but rather than telling the main character’s life story through many points-of-view, it follows the main character through the eyes of one man: his closest friend.

HD: What is “Rubber Chicken Soup”?

TP: “Rubber Chicken Soup” is my personal weblog, which I’ve been posting on for over two years now. I post poems, reviews, personal stories, ponderings of Life, and my own version of late night television’s famous “Top Ten” lists. It’s been a lot of fun writing on this site, and I’ve received some great feedback on it! The original site is located at http://rubberchickensoup.wordpress.com and the active site is now located at http://rubberchickensoup2.blogspot.com.

HD: What do you want people to take from your book Colors... In Black and White?

TP: While some poems are very personal and specific to my own life, a great many of them are about human beings, and can be understood by all who read them. I believe in God, in the individual, in hope, in love, and in family, and my goal with sharing my poetry with the general public has always been to put some of my hope in Mankind out into the world. I think every person should be able to believe in himself or herself, in their fellow man, and in the future.

Read poems from COLORS... In Black And White