Poet Joseph Massey was kind enough to spend a little time with me. He discovered poetry after a particularly troublesome childhood which included neglectful parents and spending one school year by himself in an auditorium. He spent his time after that reading and writing poetry; corresponding with some of the most influential poets alive, like Cid Corman, Robert Bly, and Allen Ginsburg (who gave him a lot of advice and encouragement). Joseph was so dedicated to his art that he wound up living alone in a shack and almost drinking himself into oblivion. And just as he was turning everything around, he was blindsided by unfounded and anonymous accusations which cost him his livelihood. But he is rebuilding and has found a strength that he didn’t know he had. But that probably won’t keep him from getting texter’s thumbs, like Kanye. Follow Joseph on social media @jmasseypoet. Subscribe to his substack for regular poetry fixes. Follow us @PerformanceAnx for regular podcast fixes. Give us a coffee fix at ko-fi.com/performanceanxiety. Merch is at performanceanx.threadless.com. Now let’s ease into our conversation with poet Joseph Massey on Performance Anxiety on the Pantheon Podcast Network.
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