Course:Tommy Pico
| CRWR 501P 003 |
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| Advanced Writing of Poetry |
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Tommy Pico
It is certainly more than time that I list Tommy Pico as an influence. Pico is an Indigenous poet and writer from the Kumeyaay Nation in San Diego whose works include the books IRL and Nature Poem, as well as the podcast Scream, Queen! and writing credits on the TV show Reservation Dogs. Pico’s poetry, in particular, explores topics such as queerness, Indigeneity, pop culture, and technology. His voice is the driving force behind the framing of heavy topics in his works, using devices like text-speech (especially prevalent in IRL), colloquialisms, and vulgarity to disarm the reader before juxtaposing the casual register with discomfort.
I chose Tommy Pico for my Apprenticeship after being recommended to, having never heard of him prior to the start of the course. Now that I am acquainted with his work, it’s clear that he was the obvious choice; the way that Pico handles difficult subjects and uses a colloquial, sometimes funny, voice is a talent that I aspire to. I have experimented with his use of text-speech, the personification of concepts, and casual (sometimes vulgar) language, all of which are demonstrated in the following excerpt from my collection Politics:
i won’t write about Politics because i
would rather die than invite Her into
my house. my page. i think She’s like
bedbugs, n that shit is nasty. like,
stay away from me. Politics is like, you’re a spaz and
a lesbo. i RSVPed in your dna. avoidin Her
is a full-time job. that makes five.
Deliberately emulating Pico in my own work has developed my own voice and has introduced me to forms I hadn’t previously considered. For example, I find myself being drawn toward collections which follow one central topic, as seen in Nature Poem (an excerpt of which can be found on my Invitation page). My own attempt at a longer collection was heavily inspired by Nature Poem, both in form and in language. While I tend to gravitate toward different topics than Pico (as I differ in gender, sexuality, race, and generation), his method of juxtaposition works well with my already established style of writing.