Readers who desire to break away from their own lives and busy schedules, if even for a moment, can now take haven with Brandon Gene Petit's poetry collection, "Intrinsic Desires."This is a compilation of both traditional and unconventional poetry, with neo-gothic overtones. Through both free verse and rhyming styles, Petit explores themes such as love, nature, dreams, religious struggles and existential philosophy.

Interview with Brandon Gene Petit

Reader Views talks with Brandon Gene Petit, author of the poetry collection “Intrinsic Desires.” Today, Brandon is being interviewed by Juanita Watson, Assistant Editor of Reader Views.

Juanita:  Welcome to Reader Views Brandon, and thanks for taking the time to talk with us today.  We are excited to hear more about your poetry collection, “Intrinsic Desires.”  Would you start by describing your book for us?

Brandon: “Intrinsic Desires” is a collection of poems that combines colorful fantasy with dark, gothic imagery and raw human emotion. There are poems that are somber and nostalgic with a classical feel, and poems that are more modern and mainstream. There are poems that are harsh and brutal, and poems that show a gleam of hope.

Juanita:  Brandon, how long have you been writing poetry?  Is this your first book?

Brandon: Yes, this is my first book. I began writing song lyrics in my teenage years, and these gradually grew more abstract and evolved into poems.

Juanita:  What inspired you to write “Intrinsic Desires”?

Brandon: In addition to dreams and daydreams, as well as actual events in my daily life, I sometimes experience a sort of “paramnesia”… in which thoughts and dreams can be confused with memories and vice versa. This sometimes give me the impression that I’ve experienced something I really haven’t, such as a previous life or other ethereal experience, and allows me to extract emotions from such an experience as an actor in a movie or play would do to get into character. These odd mental ramblings are a great source of inspiration for me, and sometimes allow me to put myself in a character’s shoes.

Juanita:  What’s the common thread that weaves these poems together?

Brandon: I tried to incorporate a variety of topics, so not all of the poems are entirely coherent…. But the general theme that sort of arose unintentionally was desire. Our desire for a higher understanding; for a connection with nature and reality. Our desire for mental exploration and nourishment of the soul. Our desire for a spiritual utopia, for refuge from the evils of everyday life; for love and emotional depth and diversity; for curiosity and answers to the riddles of life. 

Juanita: Would you explain your compelling use of fantasy and neo-gothic imagery?

Brandon: I’m almost always trying to escape reality in one way or another…. I’ve had a love for the gothic since my adolescent days, and a love for fantasy and romanticism since I was a child. Even though I ended up branching out and exploring other ideas in order to keep from limiting myself, I tried to retain a somewhat gothic feel to the overall book. The surrealist touch was important because I wanted to give readers a chance to escape from reality and routine.

Juanita: How did these poems come together in the writing process?  Were these random poems or did you have a clear intention of writing this collection?

Brandon: I wrote most of these poems with the intention of compiling a poetry collection, but a common theme between them arose coincidentally on its own. “The Early Hours”, “Urban Storm” and “The Sensorium” were early poems that I later revised for inclusion in the collection.

Juanita:  What themes are you exploring in this collection? 

Brandon: Soul-searching; destiny and finding your niche in the world; traveling, both in the physical and metaphorical sense; spiritual unrest as well as spiritual fulfillment; memories, reviving the past and finding the “fountain of youth”; dreams and nightmares; nature themes, science themes; love, betrayal and other emotional conflicts; The classic “man vs. man”, “man vs. himself”, and “man vs. nature” ideals.

Juanita:  Are these particular themes ones that you are questioning/exploring in your own life?  Why these themes?

Brandon: Yes, all of these themes are issues I deal with or ponder about in life, and I’m sure many can relate to these themes in their own way as well.

Juanita: Brandon, your book description states… “Behold the diversity of the human spirit as you enter a higher plane of existence; a place where good and evil take many forms and a search for fulfillment takes center stage. Here you may find mirrors of your own desires as you explore a multiverse of painful beauty and enticing mystery.”  Would you explain?

Brandon: The book attempts to show variety in that it deals with both the darker and lighter side of human nature and the soul, but on a “higher plane” that magnifies emotion and thought. Conflict takes many forms, such as the human foes in “The Fifth Column” or the wrath of nuclear war in “De Novo”. A quest for emotional and spiritual enlightenment becomes the main idea as our intrinsic desires are addressed, and readers are invited to find their own place in a diverse world of images and emotions.

Juanita:  Have you always been interested in fantasy and exploring reality?

Brandon: Yes, fantasy and surrealism has always been a part of my personal taste. As a child I had a wild imagination, and still do. I am also fascinated by other subjects like theoretical physics, everything from black holes to parallel dimensions.

Juanita:  Brandon, how does your environment influence your writing?

Brandon: My current environment has a major impact on my writing; I wasn’t as focused on my writing before as I am now that I live here in upstate New York. H.P. Lovecraft, my favorite writer, wrote about the upstate New York and New England countryside often, and I feel like I am living in his stories when I am here. The land is mostly rural or semi-rural, with lots of forests, hills, stone walls and fields. The winters are often white and the autumn here is beautiful.

Juanita:  Brandon, your poems are very emotional in nature.  Would you agree?  Please comment on the depth of your poetry.

Brandon: A lot of emotions were squeezed into the poems, even the ones that were mostly about environments or about a character other than myself. I pull emotions from my own personal experiences and use them regardless of the poem’s  subject or motive; “Urban Storm” and “A Dying Breed”, for example, are poems not about me that came close to centering around my own feelings.

Juanita:  Who are your literary influences?

Brandon: H.P. Lovecraft has been my favorite for a long time, I discovered him when I was fairly young. I am heavily influenced by Lovecraft’s ideas and atmosphere, but I would also have to cite J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy writings as a primary influence. He was the first writer to turn me on to the fantasy world, though much of the gothic influence came from Lovecraft.

Juanita:  What are your future plans?  Are you working on any more books?

Brandon: I am working on another collection of poetry, as well as some short stories. Hopefully a full-length novel will be in the works later on down the road, but that will take time.

Juanita:  How can readers find out more about you and your endeavors? 

Brandon: I don’t currently have my own website posted online, but I am working on one on my own and I hope to have it completed and operating in the near future. Until then readers can read a short bio and sample poems at www.Authorsden.com and www.Writerscafe.org. I also have a more personal page at Myspace.com under the screen name “deepNdistant” that has a few poems in my blog.

Juanita:  Brandon, thanks for talking with us today.  We have enjoyed hearing about “Intrinsic Desires” and encourage readers to look for your book at local and online bookstores.  Do you have any last thoughts you’d like to share?

Brandon: I’d like to encourage readers to write to me at Authorsden.com if they have any comments or questions about the book or any of the individual poems. Some of the poem titles are in the language of Latin, so if you’d like a list of translations I would be happy to send you one.