Isaac: You see, for well over two and a half decades, I've been a "lost poet," literally. I can't tell you the number of times, I actually wondered who might remember my name--and hopefully, my skills. The irony is that I'd published well over a 150 poems during the Black Arts period, many in the top journals while winning key awards and recognition. Then I disappeared. In the last few years I've had the opportunity to re-introduce myself. "Book of Love," a debut collection, is now ready. Once published, I hope, it will show what I have to offer as a poet. I had lofty goals back in the day, and I still do.  This book will be my belated re-introduction. No, I am not in an urn, or six feet under. So Get Ready !!

 
Q. What Happened?  Why did you disappear for so long?
 
Isaac: My story? In the early eighties both my parents became gravely ill, just about at the same time. They were relatively young, neither reaching 61. Dad was a diabetic, which created angina. Mom had breast cancer. When my Dad passed, I decided that I was going to move my Mom in with my family. My parents, after all, has given me and my siblings 150%, sending us all to college (masters degrees), making us productive, responsible adults. They sacrificed in all ways. Once in my home, I wanted my Mom to have quality time. I no longer stayed in my study for hours (alone) writing poems, short stories, and a novel in progress. Gradually, my creative enthusiasm gave way to the reality of the situation. I gave her quality time, spirited conversation, even sat with her to watch her favorite TV shows like Sanford & Son, The Jeffersons. Back then, I used to often think, "write a masterful poem." Suddenly, I felt disconnected. Was my writing/poems my key priority?  Production slowed down. I figured, in the end, I could get back to my creative efforts.  Along the way, a very large volume of my work (drafts, works in progress) were placed in plastic containers. 
 
Q: So your production lessened and/or nearly stopped?  Where were you as a poet and writer at that point?
 
Isaac: Honestly, I felt that I was peaking, that I was going to reach my goals. Let me do a recap. My first published poem appeared (maybe around 1970) in the old Negro Digest which evolved into Black World magazine. There was an Annual Poetry edition. I went on to get exposure in most of those published editions. I was fired up, to say the least. I appeared alongside writers like Gwendolyn Brooks, Mari Evans, Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez, Michael Harper, Dudley Randell, Alvin Aubert, Raymond Patterson, Amiri Baraka, and others. The list is a "Who's Who" and very long. Along the way, I won the Broadside Award for a few of my published poems and the Gwendolyn Brooks Award for a short story. But in time as I noted, the creative production of my work became a dribble, and nearly creased. Yet, I wasn't that concerned. Didn't Sonny Rollins do his "bridge" thing? Didn't Ali Come back?  Hey, I even had the draft of a novel nearly finished. I figured, in the end, I'll return on a chariot. 
 
Q: Well, before you took leave, were there other awards? 
 
Isaac: Yes, I was studying everyone, committed. I won New York Council of the Arts (CAPS) and New York Foundation of the Arts fellowships. Competition was always fierce in New York (only about 12 selected were chosen each year). I won with stellar poets like June Jordan, Audre Lorde. I recall sitting next to Philip Schultz (he won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007).  Put simply, I was publishing alongside many talented people, many with established reputations. Also, the judges were always renown or notable poets. In short, I was getting some encouraging attention. I was published, too, in Callaloo (Founder Charles Rowell seemed to like my work), in Obsidian and a host of other black journals, A to Z.  Black World did a four poem feature of my work (my Georgia poems). My poem "Gaines" opened an introductory edition for Callaloo focusing on the work of novelist Ernest Gaines.  Michael Harper published four of my poems in a special edition of the Beliot Poetry Journal with other talented poets of color. People like Yusef Komunyakaa, Raymond Patterson, Ntozake Shange, the late Melvin Dixon, Jayne Cortez, just a few examples.

Q: Did you have a poetry volume in the works back then?

Isaac: Yes, several times I submitted manuscripts to major competitions, including tries for the Walt Whitman First Book Poetry Prize. I kept upgrading, adding better poems, taking some out. Those early versions were titled "Shooting Ourselves Before Breakfast" (named after a published older poem I used to feature). My manuscripts were finalist selections a couple of times.  I also tried for the Juniper Prize (UMass). That didn't work, but I got a short personal note that was encouraging: "Readers found 'energy, passion, wit.' Will be interested  in seeing more, later. All good wishes." I just blinked, not yet, I thought. But soon. Little did I know.

Q: Okay, before you became "the lost" poet, what poet or poets made you take notice?  
 
Isaac: I read everybody I could. If you were publishing, I took note. But thinking back, emerging poets like Melvin Dixon, Colleen McElroy, Yusef Komunyakaa, Afaa Michael Weaver, Angela Jackson, Carolyn Rogers, and Rita Dove, to name a few, especially caught my eye. For whatever reason, I thought they were around my age, arriving, and talented. There was also a guy named N.J Loftis, too, who wrote a book titled Black Anima. I have no idea what happened to him. I also liked the way a poet like Janye Cortez seemed to scat the language. There were many others, of course, who made me take note.  I read and/or collected the books of poets like Haki Madhubuti, E. Ethelbert Miller, Eugene Redmond, Etheridge Knight, Ahmos Zu Bolton, Kalamu ya Salaam, Everett Hoagland, and Harryette Mullen. Of course, I loved  (and studied) older poets like Michael Harper, Gerald Barrax, Jay Wright, Julia Fields, Ishmael Reed, Mari Evans, Audre Lorde, Lucille Clifton. The list was/is very long.

Isaac: For me, Robert Hayden was an absolute master (I did my MFA on him at Vermont College). I learned a great deal just studying what he was doing. I was amazed at how he handled his poems, the craftsmanship, the overall brilliance. For me, you can count the poets on your fingers who can rival his collected works. I thought Derek Walcott was a marvel also.  Michael Harper was a major catalyst. I would write with his "Dear John, Dear Coltrane" always beside me, because that was a "first book" standard that really aspired/touched me. Amazingly, I spoke briefly to him at a poetry reading and he said it was okay to send him my manuscript in progress. I did. He wrote back: "You don't have to clash through the door, just open it."  He seemed to truly like my work, and I guess he picked up my vibe that I was trying to make thunder strike. Harper's work, was definitely a mentoring tool for me.  And yes, the great Gwendolyn Brooks made me nod. I loved her sonnets, "First Fight, Then Fiddle," as well as many of her other poems.