NL: Favorite poets?
JM: So, so many. Here are “the teachers” for me…  Robert Lax, William Stafford, Cesar Vallejo, Pablo Neruda, Anna Swir, Juan Gelman, Ruth Stone, Stanley Kunnitz, E. Etheridge Knight, Paul Eluard, Ernesto Cardenal, Lucille Clifton, Mario Benedetti. They taught me to observe, to be more curious than certain, and encourage me to sound like me, one poem at a time.

NL: Why I became a Poet Laureate?
JM: Because I deeply believe that language matters, and poetry is its most essential form. Given that, applying to become the Poet Laureate was a great opportunity to have poetry be a means to foster authentic dialogue in the community, and honor the words from our towns.  Also, I was drawn to it because I did not know how to do it, there was something important to learn.

NL: What language do you write in and why?
JM: Being born in Argentina, I wrote in Spanish for a number of years, even a few years after moving to New York —still a young poet in love with the masters of my native language: Neruda, Vallejo, and Juan Gelman from Latin America, but also Antonio Machado, Miguel Hernandez and dear Federico Garcia Lorca, from Spain.
As I said, I was still writing in Spanish after arriving to New York, many moons ago, but I believe that by now, I’ve written in English much longer than I ever wrote in Spanish. Why? That was an epiphany of sorts, I began to write in English because “I lived in English”. Place, culture, and the way I continued to “grow more human”, happened in my adoptive language. Once I realize that this was not a betrayal of my origins but a freedom to speak more intimately and authentically, it was the most profound way I could express myself.

NL: How are you influenced by Jorge Luis Borges, the most famous Argentina poet and writer?
JM: It is impossible to be an Argentinian and a writer, particularly Porteño (born in  Buenos Aires), and not owe a tremendous debt to Borges. Especially the magic and craft of his short stories, more than his poems, at least for me.
That said, and I regretted, the fact that Borges was a proponent of political views that justified the cruel work of military governments and our native oligarchy, had me renounced him. Something I felt quite righteous about as a young man wishing justice for my country, but I regret now for keeping away from the genius of his work for many years.
Now, perhaps because I am an older man and I understand that human beings are complicated creatures, I fully appreciate him again. Borges was —is!— stunning and unique and a “literary father”, even to those sons and daughters, like me, who would not acknowledge his influence. He is still “our father” and deserves our troubled love.

NL: As a writer who’s written about the authoritarian regime in Argentina, do you think the current times in the U.S. require a poetic response?
JM: Any time in history, anywhere in the world, would be poorer without poets responding to what is in front of them. A poet, in my view, is a citizen as much as an artist, and if we choose to live under the illusion of “being above the circumstances” of the times you’re living in. The work may be exquisite in its craft, but lack a soul.
We may come into the world believing that we are “neutral”, but we are not, life will love and batter you, and you cannot afford not to speak about it. I also think that our immediate future would require poets, in particular, to say what they see, to celebrate and denounce what happens. The art of it is to right good work, and not indulge in merely “pamphlets”. For what is worth, I learned as a young poet that courage is not the absence of fear but an obligation, whether it’s a poem, a novel, an essay… or a birthday card (LOL).

NL: What are you currently reading? Do you like it?
JM: I’ve been reading mainly poets for a long while, most recently older poets. Right now, there are two books are I’m quite moved by: Joan Larkin’s Older Stranger and Alicia Ostriker’s The Holy & Broken Bliss. I’m interested in where they arrived poetically, so to speak, what they write about and how they write. I like how much they have to teach me.

NL: If you could have any author speak at Nyack Library, who would it be and why?
JM: Jennifer Martelli, Joan Larkin, Tina Cane, all of them poets.

NL: Which character in a book do you most identify with?
JM: The one who’s a good guy, but really complicated.

NL: What books are on your night stand?
JM: My night stand can only hold a lamp, my glasses, and my iPad which has plenty of wonderful choices. These are my current choices: Peter Balakian’s June-tree: New and selected poems 1974-2000), The Road to Character by David Brooks, Ask Me: 100 Essential Poems of William Stafford, Kazim Ali’s Black Buffalo Woman (about Lucille Clifton), and Listen to This (a book about Miles Davis’ late 60’s music).

NL: Are there any books that you feel are overrated?
JM: I’d rather not “name names”, but there some authors whose earlier work I admired whose recent books I consider far from their best. I’d leave it at that.

NL: Do you have a literary “guilty pleasure”?
JM: Yes, although I don’t feel that “guilty” about it. I love graphic novels, they are a distinct pleasure for me. I appreciate the kind of collaboration it takes to bring together the imagination and distinct talent of an artist and a writer. For instance, Batman’s The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale.

NL: Are you a re-reader?
JM: There is a number of books (fiction, essays and poetry) I read more than once, and will come back to again. Michael Cunningham, the author of The Hours, said that the great books must be read every ten years. You are not the same reader, or writer, every ten years… Hmmm

NL: How do you get out of a reading rut? 
JM: I write.

NL: Thoughts on prologues? Epilogues?
JM: Prologues are like movie previews, integral part of the fun.

NL: What’s your least favorite book?
JM: Fortunately, I forgot.

NL: If you were to own a bookstore, what would it be like? How would you arrange the books? Would you serve coffee and food? Play music? Where would it be? 
JM: The bookstore would resemble Big Red Books, in Nyack, quite a bit!

NL: Are you a one-book-at-a-time reader? Or do you like reading multiple books at the same time?  
JM: The more the merrier.

NL: Do you DNF (do not finish) books or always read until the end?
​​JM: I’ve come to peace with not finishing a book that is poorly written.