Meet Brent Ameneyro

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brent Ameneyro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brent, how do you think about risk?
I owe every aspect of my success to taking risks. Going back to school to get my MFA after a decade long break from being a student is a specific example of a risk I took, but there is a larger risk “theory” that I think is important to address. A poet takes a risk every time they write a poem and every time they publish or perform a poem. To be an artist—a true artist that innovates and carves new pathways into the greater collective consciousness—one must be prepared to live a high-risk life. I think all human beings have the capacity to create art, but not all people have the risk tolerance and aptitude to be an artist. I’ve learned that I not only have a high tolerance for risk, but I also have a hard-wired need to take risks. In other words, I’m not taking risks to achieve a particular goal, I am taking risks because that is part of being a poet, it’s who I am.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Poetry is a way of seeing, a way of being in the world. A poet’s journey is not linear and it can’t be quantified. The success of a poet is not measured objectively. Poets are chipping away at some immeasurable magic within themselves. What happens externally, what can be witnessed, is a kind of biproduct of a poet’s internal incantations.

I’ve learned how to lay under a tree, how to walk slowly, and how to fully inhale and exhale. I’m trying to learn how to take a nap. These are the lessons that nobody has been able to teach me, which I think are the hardest lessons to learn.

I think every person has a beautiful story to tell, so I can’t sit here in good conscience and say that my story is more important than anybody else’s. I try to create art in the purist way possible, to honor my ancestors, and to express raw human experiences and feelings. I want anyone who is interested in engaging with this kind of art to read my work.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I have some beautiful plants in my yard, so we would spend a lot of time lounging under the Jacaranda tree, smelling the Plumeria flowers, and admiring the huge leaves on the giant birds-of-paradise. We would barbecue, drink sparkling water, maybe take my dog for a walk. In the evenings, we would listen to music and talk for hours. Most days would be spent this way, but on occasion we would go to the beach for a walk and listen to the waves.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
During my undergrad, Joshua McKinney taught me poetry fundamentals. At the same time, Doug Rice taught me to write without inhibition. I guess you could say McKinney taught me the rules and Rice gave me the confidence to break them, so I owe the foundation of my knowledge and skill to them. During grad school, Blas Falconer, Sandra Alcosser, and Jessica Pressman were my mentors, and I owe a lot of my growth and development to them. More recently, Francisco Aragón has shown me how to be a community leader. Aragón has mastered the art of uplifting other writers, a skill I am trying to develop. Behind the scenes, my wife Alita Ameneyro has been incredibly supportive, I couldn’t have done any of this without her. My parents, Candice and Salvador Ameneyro, have always encouraged me to pursue my dreams, so they deserve more than just a little credit. Last but not least, my brother Kent Ameneyro, a fellow artist, and someone I turn to often when I need to recalibrate my creative energy.

Website: www.BrentAmeneyro.com

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