"The vibe here is very good. This is a hub of literary activity for all genres." —Doug Holder

1. What is your connection to Somerville?

I have lived in Somerville since 1994. This is where I started my poetry magazine, "Ibbetson Street" and the Ibbetson Street Press—where we have published many books of poetry over the years. I gave up my rent-controlled apartment in Cambridge to move to Somerville and marry my late wife—the poet Dianne Robitaille. She told me that I must have been truly in love with her to give up my apartment. Richard Wilhem (a longtime Somerville resident), Dianne, and I actually founded the magazine in 1998. It was named after the street we lived on, "Ibbetson Street." I have also been the art/editor for The Somerville Times for the last twenty years, and have produced my show "Poet to Poet: Writer to Writer" at the Somerville Media Center for almost that long, as well.

2. How did or does living in Somerville influence your writing? Or, what does it mean to write from this place?

The vibe here is very good. This is a hub of literary activity for all genres. There are many venues, poets and writers who are in close proximity. I know many in the community, and this has spurred on my own literary ambitions.

3. What do other/aspiring Somerville writers need to know?

Personally, I do a lot of my writing and interviewing at the Bloc 11 Cafe in Union Square. They have a fireplace—good java—and good bagels—what else can a writer ask for? Somerville has vastly gentrified over the years, and many artists have had to vacate the city because of high rents, etc...I hope this will not change the sensibility of the city—Somerville—"The Paris of New England," as the Utne Reader once called it.

—Doug Holder

http://www.ibbetsonpress.com