Maverick Poet Spotlight: Sur Ren Dirt

Sur Ren Dirt has been named The ruth weiss Foundation’s 2021 Maverick Poet for their poem “Untitled (we are performing)”.

Hailing from Seattle, Washington, on unceded Duwamish land, Sur Ren Dirt has been creating poetry their whole life - read our interview below to learn more about their unique perspective on poetry, purpose, and practice.

RWF: Congratulations on being named our 2021 Maverick Poet! What made you want to become a poet?

Sur Ren Dirt: Poetry has lived inside of me for as long as I can remember. There was never a burning desire to be a poet, but rather an underlying knowing that has taken at least thirty-seven years to realize. Word magick visited younger versions of mySelf when least expected, when the body was in depths of shadow emotions spiraling inward, and often provided a lifesaving form of release for little Dirt.

My words are potent, and up until a few months ago, I had only shared them with select people and audiences, including the trustworthy stack of journals strewn upon my desk. It's been such a wild ride to reconnect with younger versions of Self and alchemize life substance from years ago.

At this moment, I am re-membering and holding the elementary-aged babe who wrote a limerick about her favorite basketball team, as well as the young teen who unexpectedly won a poetry contest after waking several times during the night before the deadline to make final edits; then there's the pre-teen who dove deep into sensations of cedar chips rustling in her guinea pigs' cage as she sought familiar connection in her house at night, as well as countless Self(s) creating poetry on torn up pieces of paper bags, napkins, notebook paper, journals and/or anything within reach. Thank you, little Dirt, for leaving these love notes years ago for current-day Ren to stumble upon as the world expands and collapses around them.

As I sit here in thirty-seven year-old Ren-body, here's what I know now: I want to "become a poet" over and over again because the world needs poetry now more than ever. We need creative expression as a form of release, a way to understand and process all that is happening out there (in here), a way to hold seemingly opposing truths, and ultimately as a way to come back home to what matters most to each (all) of us.

RWF: What is your method to writing poetry?

Sur Ren Dirt: My inner teenager, the part of me that craves independence and wants to rebel, declares, "Poetry writes ME! It just happens! Poetry is something that just falls out of me."

Yes, teenager, this is absolutely true. I honor your truth.

When I allow mySelf to dive deeper into this question, I find that I have an incredibly playful, yet somewhat structured way of creating. Poems often live inside of this body for several years (perhaps lifetimes) before emerging, oftentimes first via stream of consciousness on paper before they reach the screen. It doesn't matter how messy the words are when they initially come out: the point is to get them OUT!

Each word or phrase then becomes a puzzle piece, something that can be pulled apart from the whole and rearranged if it doesn't fit quite right. There is often space for all words that spill from this body in the original draft, even if they end up in a different poem somewhere in the distant future.

One of my favorite creative puzzles consisted of a least three different poems I wrote just about ten years ago while living in Portland, Oregon. I had planned to go out dancing that night but instead found myself playing with words while Robyn was undoubtedly going on about "Call(ing) your girlfriend..." in the background.

I printed out each poem on my housemate's printer, and without thinking began cutting each line into strips of paper. I sat there for hours arranging and rearranging the puzzle pieces, occasionally getting up for a snack or to dance in the middle of my room until finally i felt complete.

The process was simultaneously exhilarating and frustrating, and ultimately so completely satisfying and PLAYFUL. No, I didn't write down this poem or take a picture but am pretty sure I still have the individual scraps of paper tucked into the pages of a journal somewhere. Perhaps I'll pull them out again someday.

RWF: What are you planning on doing with the grant funds?

Sur Ren Dirt: This answer is intentionally short, because I want to separate productivity from rest, and also to highlight how money is linked to our survival as humans. These grant funds will help me pay my bills for the next month so that I may focus more on the message contained within the middle column of my poem.

RWF: Understandable - let’s talk about the award itself, then. What does winning this award mean to you?

Sur Ren Dirt: Receiving this award feels like a giant hug from the universe, as well as a swift kick in the internal compass, as I slowly re-member the poetic path that began in childhood.

I'm full of so much gratitude and excitement knowing that the multiple messages contained within my poem resonate deeply with other people. If it has reached even a few of y'all, then I know I am doing my life's work. If it echoes with my inner children as well, then I am on my sacred path and need to continue. In time and rest, I hope to share more of my poetic word magick with the world outside Dirt body.

Just a few months ago, I quit the daily grind to pursue writing full-time; in this space, I birthed the idea of creating an ebook based on personal narrative, among other creative projects such as learning to fly a dual line kite and re-learning the art of accidental napping. Though the book has transformed into something not quite yet recognizable over the past few months, at least I am now well-versed in both flying and snoozing.

I cannot say for sure what the future will hold, but I can tell you that I will be sharing more poetry with y'all publicly. Lots of it. All-ways.

If folks want to more intimately follow, support, and engage with my work, as well as receive "behind-the-scenes" access to content I am creating, they can join my Patreon by visiting my Linktree here: https://linktr.ee/surrendirt

Because I don't want capitalism to hinder anyone's ability to engage with my work, Instagram and weekly emails are both ways to receive my gifts without exchanging money. Links to both can be found in my Linktree as well.

RWF: Knowing more about ruth weiss and her work, how would you say she inspires you?

Sur Ren Dirt: When I told my mom about receiving the Maverick award, she responded with "I just love ruth weiss! Will you get to meet her?" I replied, "Unfortunately I can't meet her in this lifetime, but maybe the next!" How cool would that be? Though I never met or saw ruth weiss perform in person, I do feel a connection to her spirit. She LIVED poetry and knew that it was a powerful force within her since she was a child.

"I have just always been living the poem. That is number one. Whatever else happens is part of the structure. But the real core is what I call 'the poem.' And we all have 'the poem' within us.”

The above are ruth's words quoted by Director Melody Miller within her article titled "One Day with ruth weiss," in which she reflects on the making of the documentary "ruth weiss, the beat goddess." [note: You can read “One Day with ruth weiss” here.]

These words sent chills throughout my entire body when I read them. Yes, this. In the spirit of the Maverick, ruth weiss challenged norms and blazed trails both literally and figuratively across the world and within the Beat scene, just by living her life out loud. Her poems are both whimsical like the fairytales she read as a child, as well as radical and rebellious. Astrologically speaking, as a Gemini sun sign, this ability to hold and express opposing truths is deeply inspiring to me.

I am in awe of the way that ruth described heart and gut-wrenching events in her life, such as her family's escape from Berlin to hitchhiking across the States, by using simply structured poems that evoke such a full range of emotion. ruth's profound connection to nature and the eloquent way she spoke about environmental issues that impact us all also hits so close to home, as the earth continues to upheave all around us.

These last few months of my life have been some of the most difficult I've experienced in years, and also have been filled with simple moments of joy and pause and gentle motivation.

One of these moments arrived as I watched the documentary "ruth weiss, the beat goddess," recently. At some point, I heard ruth's voice encouraging viewers to "trust the bend in the road." Her words felt like yet another firm hug from the Universe, a reassuring message from whatever worlds she is traveling through right now. The bends have been rather sharp recently, and sometimes I forget to SurRenDir(t) to what is happening. Thanks for the reminder, ruth.

RWF: Any final thoughts to share with our readers?

Sur Ren Dirt: I hope you find pause today, love. Re-member your way home. (love note to Self, and maybe you, too)