ELI WHITTINGTON
Eli Whittington was raised on the plains and came of age on the front range of Colorado. They currently reside in Denver with their child, where they have worked as a server, barista, non-profit fundraiser, landscaper & tiler. They have volunteered with Denver Free School, Food Not Bombs, and Joy’s kitchen. They have taught poetry workshops with Beyond Academia Free School as well as hosted and curated open mics and shows. They are an urban gardener, forager, cyclist, martial artist and folk-punk enthusiast. Their first book, “Treat Me Like You Treat the Earth”, was published in 2019 by Suspect Press. They have published numerous poems through various zines, anthologies and online journals such as Spit Poet Zine and Punch Drunk Press. They have collaborated heavily with Black Market Translation and even stole 2 members of their band for their original project “Eli & the Hypotheticals”. They are the life of the party if you like a buzzkill. They make a modest living doing construction and an immodest life making poetry, art, music and friends.
BOOKS
Confessions From the Brink of Ecocide // South Broadway Press (Forthcoming)
Treat Me Like You Treat the Earth // Suspect Press
ONLINE PUBLICATIONS
Languishing // South Broadway Press
West Colfax // South Broadway Press
Treat Me Like You Treat the Earth // Suspect Press
ONLINE FEATURES
I Don’t Want to Go Out // Eli & the Hypotheticals
Poet Eli Whittington Talks Treat Me Like You Treat the Earth // Westword
Queer Poet Debuts Book on Sexuality & Climate Change // Out Front Magazine
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
South Broadway Press interviewed Eli Whittington to get to know the author of the forthcoming full-length poetry collection Confessions From the Brink of Ecocide a little better.
SBP: WHAT IS FUELING YOUR CREATIVITY RIGHT NOW? WHERE DO YOU FEEL AT YOUR MOST CREATIVE?
EW: After nearly 2 decades writing and performing alone, I feel mostly fueled by collaboration with my bandmates, and held by the local folk-punk music scene. Biking alone with just my thoughts and listening to live music & thrashing in the mosh-pit fills my cup. I feel most creative in the soft hours of twilight on my front porch swing, or along the banks of any moving body of water.
SBP: WHAT MADE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH POETRY?
EW: What?! Who said I’m in love? This is a strictly platonic obsession! Hehe, but… honestly, if I must point to only one thing that I love about poetry, it is that it teaches me to listen.
The rhythm, pauses, non-linear and metaphorical thinking of poetry are allowed to exist in a way normal speech isn’t. When you listen to poetry as if it were speech, it becomes confusing. When we listen from a soft and quiet heart, it touches us deeply- forces us to assess our beliefs, re-live experiences, and find common ground with the experiences of others. There’s a metaphor in there somewhere.
SBP: WHO DO YOU HOPE FINDS YOUR POETRY? WHO IS YOUR ART FOR?
EW: I hope my poetry is found by the burnt-out activists, the grieving ecologists, the blossoming queer botanists, the angry anarchists, the parents bringing up children in what feels like end-times, and the thoughtful elders who’ve been fighting the good fight for longer than I’ve been alive. My art is for the people who struggle with reconciling the love they feel for the world, and the simmering rage they have for systems of oppression- and the shame of their participation in those systems. My work is for the humble builders who are fed up not being able to afford the fruits of their labors, but still figuring out what the next step towards sovereignty looks like.
SBP: IF YOUR WRITING WERE A KEY, WHAT DOOR WOULD IT UNLOCK, AND WHAT WOULD YOUR READERS FIND ON THE OTHER SIDE?
EW: It… would probably be a front kick, as I’m not big on subtlety, or being locked out.
SBP: WHAT POEM IN YOUR BOOK WENT TO A PLACE YOU WEREN’T EXPECTING, OR WHICH WAS THE MOST/LEAST CHALLENGING TO WRITE?
EW: Honestly- Confessions went to a place I didn’t expect. I was in the mood to hold each CEO accountable with Nuremberg-style trials. Then I thought about my own ecological footprint. I thought of how future generations and foreign countries oppressed by US companies would feel about my ilk. I wanted to write something angry & rhythmic for a Punketry feature. I decided to write all of my crimes against the world in one long list- I certainly had enough shame and material…
But a funny thing happened as I wrote- I realized how perfectly innocent I was for most of my apparent crimes. A baby is not responsible for the cows that are subjugated for the milk they drink. On & on the list goes- all the things I’m ashamed of are listed… but so much of it is the cost of living in the society I find myself a part of. Very little of what I was/am ashamed of is under my control. There is a release of relief in that. There’s only so much free will I can exert over Wall Street, over governments, etc. I can take responsibility where I can, and must leave the rest behind. I’m not sure that arc is even clear in the poem, but it was cathartic to write and reflect upon.
SBP: WHAT HAS BROUGHT YOU JOY THIS LAST YEAR?
EW: Taking bike rides with my kid; laughing with my bandmates, playing at Compost Heap music festival, biking Lookout Mountain, setting tiles, studying kenjutsu, writing a love song, getting top surgery, receiving love and care from community members, watching pollinators and bunnies in my yard, petting a fat orange cat, telling dad jokes that make my kid laugh and groan in equal measures, reading quality books, training with my dojo, reading poetry, moshing at Seventh Circle, taking my kid to cello concerts, daydreaming and cuddling.
SBP: WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT OBSESSION?
EW: I’ve been listening to many teachings of buddhists, taoists, toltec teachers, modern day self-help books and even Jesus Christ. Been marveling at the similarities between spiritual teachings across the world- the common truths they come to, and the different mythologies that have come into being depending on the needs of society.
SBP: WHAT IS THE VALUE OF WRITING AND ART IN THE CURRENT STATE OF THE WORLD?
EW: We need new myths- we need old myths. We need stories that tie our individual stories to a larger narrative. We are in an unprecedented moment in human history- and we need to decide if we want to continue to be part of the evolutionary story of the planet. If we are prepared to take our place as part of a living planet, or if we will die king of the mountain, trying to lord over all of creation. We need stories of forgiveness. Stories of resilience. We need connection. The lies of separation and fear perpetrated by well-meaning and ill-meaning people has reached a fever pitch. It pollutes our very airwaves and inner monologues. The depth of our empathy needs to be extended to every member of our species, and spill into our living soil and water and every brethren species.
south broadway press 