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David Humphreys
Interview article © 14 Feb. 1999, conducted by students of Matthew Weeks, a teacher at St.
Mary’s High School in Stockton, California, edited by David Humphreys © 11 Nov. 2005.
David Humphreys - 1951
Stockton
I. Biography
David Humphreys is an accomplished poet in the Stockton area. He has
been published in many literary magazines and has a collection of poems
called My Shepherd , a large compilation of his works spanning over
almost 30 years. As the title suggests, many of his poems are about
religion and God. Another prevailing topic is his family; he often
finds inspiration in them. David himself attributes his inspiration to
his experiences at the time of writing. Hence, two major parts of his
life show up most often in his early poetry, his family and God.
David’s poems often have concise visual images and deep meanings and
emotions set to a jazz beat -- this was referred to by another Stockton
poet and instructor, Paula Sheil.
David Humphreys was born in Morristown, New Jersey in March of 1951. He
lived a pretty normal childhood. During his teenage life, he switched
high schools frequently. His first year in high school was spent at a
prep school called Claire de Lac. He then went to Woodside High School.
During his senior year, his stepfather received a job offer in Spain.
He and his family moved there for a year. It was there that he took a
correspondence course from the University of Nebraska. That was where
he graduated and started his love of poetry. The books that he used in
his correspondence course really caught his attention. It was there, in
Spain, that he started poetry with a pen and journal. Writing was a
talent that continued with him after he discovered it during his high
school years.
David continued his education by attending Colorado Mountain College.
Colorado Mountain College was a community college near Aspen. It was
there that he wrote for the literary paper that was put out by the
school. Besides getting an AA degree there, it strengthened his love
for writing. He proceeded to obtain a bachelor’s degree by moving to
Boulder, Colorado in order to attend the University of Colorado. He
studied anthropology there. During these years, he decided poetry was
what he wanted to pursue. At the age of 21, he had committed himself to
poetry; he directed his actions in life to it.
Humphreys came to Stockton by sheer coincidence. He moved here because
of his wife whom he met in Mountain View. She had received a Ph.D. in
geology from UC Santa Barbara and got a teaching job offer from the
University of the Pacific. Therefore, they left the Santa Barbara area
for Stockton. Stockton has since become the setting for all of this
poet’s dreams and thoughts; it is a place of beauty and inspiration for
him. He thoroughly enjoys the trees and sky, along with the summer heat
and the fall and winter fog.
David Humphreys writes poetry, but he has also been a carpenter and
building contractor. For 20 years he practiced the art of carpentry.
This suddenly ended in 1993. Two major strokes took his ability to be a
carpenter. David went through rehabilitation and recovered quite well.
During his rehabilitation, he followed his passion for poetry. It was
then that he met Gilbert Schedler and Catherine Webster, two major
influences on his work. Professor Schedler is a recently retired
Pacific professor of Religious Studies and English; it was his dual
interests in religion and poetry that interested Humphreys. Catherine
Webster ran a workshop that he joined in the early nineties; it led him
to focus more seriously on his work. She also taught him to channel his
thoughts into poetry by using a graphic title. This process helped
David write great poetry over and over again.
Due to the two strokes that he experienced, God and his family have
been seriously focused in his life. David had his family’s support
throughout his health trouble. The incidents also made him very
contemplative on the subjects of religion and God. Therefore his poems
from this time dealt frequently with these subjects, for his poems are
inspired mostly by life. It is his life experiences that give him
subject matter. Even the little things can inspire him into writing a
great poem. For example, one of his poems came directly from one of his
three children’s thoughts that a kangaroo was a dinosaur. That became a
title of a poem just from that single image. It is the title that often
gets him started writing. "A title has the power to collect all my
thoughts," David said. It is these revelations that are the part of
writing that David enjoys the most. "My favorite experience in writing
is when it sort of falls out of the sky. It’s magical, you become a
medium for some other force. You can’t reason it out in any way...
Well, if I were to describe a God experience, that would be as close to
it, I think, as one could possibly be," he said.
David Humphreys has played a major role in the community of Stockton.
He hasorganized the talent of the area in a group called The Poet’s
Corner. They have given readings at cafes and bookstores around the
area. He has also hosted the Poet’s Corner web page at
www.poetscornerpress.com and also worked with KUOP studios along with
several other poets in the area to record poetry albums. Part 1 of the
series can be previewed at the Poet’s Corner web page. Part 2 was just
recorded in January of 1999. David has also worked with the Sacramento
Poet Center. He has often found very talented poets there to work with.
Together, all the poets seem to have had a very closely-knit society.
They have worked together and supported each other for the betterment
of the poetic community. It is a great thing to see a man like David
Humphreys participating in such a thing. David continues to work on new
works for us to enjoy, and at the same time maintains his web page and
works with poets in the area.
II. Literary Works:
My Shepherd 1997
Our Father Who 2000
Art In Heaven 2004
Delta Pastel Dawn 2005
Delta Pastel Dusk 2005
III. Stockton and Humphreys
Stockton, although an influence on Mr. Humphreys’ work, is more like a
home for the poet. As is any home, it is an influence on a person, and
Stockton is David’s home. It is the place where all the experiences he
writes about take place. It is where his friends are, where his family
is, and where life takes place. Therefore, Stockton is an influence on
Humphreys’ work but not in any special way. Any place that could be a
home for David would have an influence on his poetic works. Stockton is
just a place for David; the real influence lies within Stockton. It is
the people, the atmosphere, and the beauty he sees here. It is
important to realize that, for I feel David would say the same. It is
not the place that makes a great poet, it is the writing of the poet
and his or her subject matter.
Many of David’s poems deal with the influence of Stockton. Not all that
many poems actually talk about Stockton’s influence as a city, but the
influence of experiences in Stockton. One of the best references of
Stockton as a city is in David Humphreys’ poem "Hat Trick." It speaks
of the beauty pointed out to him by a fellow churchgoer named Norma
Yeoman. He writes about the Stockton beauty in its brick buildings and
trees. They remind him of upstate New York. Another poem, "I-5", makes
reference to the highway which passes through Stockton, but the poem
itself seems to be more about the way I-5 once was through the Sierras.
David Humphreys would be a talented and gifted poet no matter where he
chose to live. The fact is, David has chosen to live in Stockton.
Stockton is noted for its crime and ugliness, but David has chosen to
find the inner beauty of the people and atmosphere of Stockton. The
majority of people often overlook this part of Stockton. This ability
of David’s is what makes him a very talented poet.
IV. Transcript of Interview with David Humphreys
This interview took place on Valentine’s Day of 1999 at the Barnes and
Noble Cafe in Stockton, California. Jonathan Wong conducted the
interview with special thanks to David Humphreys for taking time out of
his busy schedule to do this interview.
Basic Biography
Jonathan: Where were you born and when?
David: Morristown, New Jersey in the March of 1951.
Jonathan: Where did you go to school?
David: I went to a number of different high schools, but I graduated
from the University of Nebraska’s extension division. I was in Spain at
the time and they had a really outstanding correspondence course that I
took. That’s where I graduated. The freshman year I was at a little
prep school called Claire de Lac, which has since folded- it’s no
longer there. That was a lot of fun. My third year I went to Woodside
High School which was another fine school. My stepfather had a business
opportunity in Spain so we went there for a year. After which I
returned and entered this community college near Aspen called Colorado
Mountain College. I got an AA degree there and then went down to
Boulder -- the University of Colorado. I went into the anthropology
department there.
Jonathan: When did you know that you wanted to become a poet?
David: I think I started writing poetry while I was in high school,
especially when I was in Spain. The textbooks that were part of that
correspondence course that I mentioned werel fine quality and it just
caught my attention. I started at about that time. I started in a
journal with a pen, which is very different from the way I write now.
The pen and the journal -- that kind of thing -- that is how I started.
Jonathan: Was it a class that you did that for? I know, like my
sophomore year, we had a journal that we wrote poetry and entries in.
Is that how you started?
David: Yes, very similar. Then in the community college, I continued
to write and I also contributed to the literary paper of the school. I
enjoyed it very much. Writing is something that has stayed with me ever
since -- for about 30 years. There have been times when I didn’t write,
but it always stayed in the back of my mind. I did it pretty
continuously.
Jonathan: Did you always know that you wanted to be a poet, like it was
your "calling" kind of thing -- something you always wanted to do?
David: When I was about 21, I think I really committed myself to it. I
decided it was something that I wanted to do consistently. I really
wanted to direct my life to it.
Jonathan: Is there anything else you would like to add to this basic
biography?
David: Well, I was a carpenter for close to 20 years of my life. But,
in 1993, I experienced two very serious strokes that took my ability to
be a carpenter away from me. In the period of time since then, I’ve
directed myself to writing poetry. When I met Gilbert Schedler at the
University of the Pacific who is in religious studies and English
creative writing he directed me to contact Catherine Webster. She ran a
workshop that I joined and I’ve been writing pretty seriously ever
since then. I was very interested in the twin interests that Schedler
held, religious studies and poetry.
David as a Poet
Jonathan: Was there anyone or anything that really inspired your work?
I know you write a lot about God and your family, are they your major
inspiration?
David: I think most of my inspiration came from my life experiences
during the time that I was writing. It was the best method from me to
express my feelings and my thoughts about my experiences at a
particular moment. Sometimes I would hear something; I would hear an
interesting expression from my children that would act as an epiphany
that would open the musical process. I would just start into it. It is
very much a musical experience, as well as an intellectual exercise. It
was something that I just had to do because it was like singing to a
song. Other things also inspire me, like the flight of a bird or in one
of my poems, a dinosaur is a kangaroo and that came directly from one
of my children. That kicked everything in to gear so I used that as the
title of my poem. Down in the family room there is a chair and I was
sitting in the chair and they just swarmed on top of me. I have three
children and they just swarmed on top of me (laughs) in their play. It
was something that I had to work on, so I’m working on that poem.
Jonathan: When you were saying musical, in your introduction to My
Shepherd you refer to that music as a type jazz beat. Is jazz a heavy
influence on your poetry?
David: Music influences my work to a great degree and that
interpretation kind of left me with- well my experience with poetry is
coupled with the people in community and Paula Shiel mentioned it one
time. She was doing a reading series at the Sacramento Baking Company,
this was several years ago, and she just picked up on the rhythms that
I was using in my delivery and plugged it in as jazz. But as far as
music, jazz comes closest to the way it is, but it is not a conscious
decision to be jazz. I enjoy rock and roll as much as, or more I think
than jazz. Rock and roll is more of what I experienced growing up. It’s
the Beatles, Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin that I have always really
liked..
Jonathan: Yeah, the Beatles are really good. I listen to them quite a
bit and they aren’t even from my generation. Well, do you write any
other types of works beside just poetry?
David: Yeah, I started in my college days after I left school. I went
into short stories. I think my hero, everyone’s hero, was Mr.
Hemmingway. I thought his stories were really fine and also Jack
London’s, so I wrote three or four of them. But then I just left that.
As I have studied other poets like Philip Levine, I found that his
method of writing is called narrative poetry. Narrative poetry tells a
story, it has a story line, and a lot of the very fine poetry is just a
micro story. Philip Levine, I think, is probably the premier example of
that style, for he is up riding a crest of the wave. Over the last
couple of months he’s been in New York over and over again, he has
something going. I would like to bring your attention to the website
of the Academy of American Poets at www.poets.org where you can
find the work of all the major poets of national stature such as Robert
Bly
or Gerald Stern, for instance or Kim Addonizio, who is an absolute
master
of narrative poetry, Rita Dove and Louise Gluck among many others.
Jonathan: Most writers have a special place or a ritual to their
writing to get the "flow going." Is there any special place or thing
you do?
David: I would like to say that the very best way to start the writing
process is to
read fine poetry from the past or currently in fine magazines like
Poetry of Chicago.
Also, going back to Catherine Webster and her influence, she pointed
something out to me. I was writing at the time -- I had noticed E.E.
Cummings, the way he didn’t use titles or capitalization -- so I wrote
a number of poems without titles. Catherine suggested that I make a
title,
and I started doing that. Now, I always start a poem with a title. It
collects
all my thoughts. My most recent poem that I just finished the other day
is called
"Candelabra" and I just start with that image, that photographic image.
Another title I have is "For Every Action" which comes out of the Third
Law of Newton, The Third Law of Thermodynamics. It states, "for every
action there is an equal and opposite reaction." The "Candelabra" is a
very visual image, and by starting with that, everything just came
right out. My favorite experience in writing is when it sort of falls
out of the sky. It’s just magical, you become a medium for some other
force almost. You can’t reason it out in any way.
Jonathan: I know exactly what you mean, sometimes its like "gosh, I
really don’t know what to write." Other times you start writing and you
just can’t seem to stop, and it just seems to work so well.
David: Right, Well, if I were to describe a God experience, that would
be as close to it, I think, as one could possibly be. It is a communion
with something beyond a conscious reasoning. It is a special connection
of some sort.
Jonathan: Is there anything else you would like to add about being a
poet?
David: That I love it! More than any other thing that I could do,
except perhaps experience beautiful people and the world.
Jonathan: And that gives you something to write poems about.
David: Yes!
The Stockton Area
Jonathan: Why did you decide to come here to Stockton?
David: Well, my wife. We met in Mountain View where she was working
with a geological survey, and she wanted to go and get a higher degree.
So we both moved down to Santa Barbara, she was after a Ph.D. in
geology. We moved down there, and after she completed that she got a
job offer as a professor at UOP. That is why we moved back up here, it
was also to return to the Bay Area where I grew up.
Jonathan: Do you feel like the Stockton area offers some sort of
influence on your work?
David: Yeah, that is a good question. Yes I think it does. It’s the
setting to all my thoughts and all my dreams. As a subject matter, as
an immediate subject matter, most of my work fits in and takes place
here. I focus on how I have experienced my family or my thoughts about
religion. For a good while during the time that I was having my health
trouble I was wondering and considering. When I was a child I was
confirmed in the Episcopal Church, but I had not really thought about
it very much. I went through the frame of confirmation but I had not
focused on it very much. I didn’t really understand it. After the
strokes, I started wondering, Why did this happen? Why at this time of
my life? Right when I started my brand new young family? My twin
daughters were born just three months before I had my most serious
attack. That is my explanation for why I have directed a lot of my
poetry to figuring out what is God? Why would God do this? Just trying
to understand why this happened.
Jonathan: I know you do the Poet’s Corner and you play a major role in
that. Do you find it difficult to do that in such a small area like
Stockton?
David: I have discovered myself to have been isolated or ignorant of
development in the outside world. Just yesterday I discovered
there is another Poet’s Corner on the Internet, which is extremely
detailed and well drafted. It’s a huge site with over 4000 poems with
over 500 poets on their site. I was unaware that somebody had
concentrated on so many great poets. I was a little disappointed
by the small number of poems by Wallace Stevens, but it is a really
minor detail. It is a really nice place to visit. I think what I would
like to do since I just
made my website, the Poet’s Corner website, I’m going to put a link to
this other site.
Jonathan: You were working on Part 2 of your thing at KUOP studios.
David: Yes. That turned out pretty well. We made a CD and cassettes,
and the engineer put them into a very nice order. So it is a pretty
cool program. I have a reading at the Sacramento Poet Center. That is
one of our immediate avenues to great talent. Sacramento Poet Center
has a lot of poets and it is only an hour away. Luke Breit, the
president (at the time of this interview) of the non-profit
organization,
has done a real fine job in promoting the local talent. That is (still)
a great
resource for readers and poets. In May,(1999) our Poet’s Corner reader
here (Barnes and Noble) will be Melanie Bishop, (now Melanie Sievers)
I just met her back in January while seeing Susan Kelly-DeWitt, one
of the featured poets in the part 1 series. She gave a reading there
and I went up and met Melanie, who is (was) a brand-new board member
up there. There is just a lot of great talent there. If you visit their
website, you may visit the Sonoma County link of Lane Russell. Every
event and cafe in the bay area have been listed there. You could
probably wake up on Monday morning and just go from one cafe to another
around the country, then you just might find out the meaning of
infinity. It is quite extensive.
Jonathan: Is there anything else you would like to add about the area
itself?
David: One of my poems in the My Shepherd book is called "Hat Trick."
It deals exactly with Stockton and how at my church Norma who is a
professor of mathematics at Delta (a local community college) loves
Stockton. She says Stockton is a beautiful place. It surprised me; I
had grown up in a different area. But I found that the beauty of
Stockton is the trees, the agriculture and the surrounding agricultural
communities, the sky and the flat land and the heat. I’ve become
acclimated to the heat, so that I really look forward to it. The fog,
the fog has its own beauty. On part 1 of the series, there is a poem
about fog called "To the Valley Fog" by Don Campbell. You might have
run into it on my website. It’s just a lovely place. In the "Hat Trick"
poem, it mentions that upstate New York has brick buildings and that
the trees change in the fall. It is almost exactly the same in
Stockton, although there are hills. It is the trees and the brick
buildings, and the atmosphere.
Jonathan: Is there anything else you would like to talk about?
David: No thank you, I appreciate very much your having called.
Jonathan: No problem. I really enjoyed doing this. Thank you very much
for doing this.
V. Sources
Humphreys, David.
http://www.poetscornerpress.com
Humphreys, David. Edited Personal interview. 14 Feb. 1999. Updated November 2005.
This essay was submitted by students of Matthew Weeks, a teacher at St.
Mary’s High School in Stockton, California.
 *An article done by Paula Sheil on David Humphreys and Small Presses. 
David’s Poetry... http://www.poetscornerpress.com/david.html
David Humphreys © 2005
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