After winning yet another game of "Beer Belly Balancing" with her favorite brand, Bud Semilite, Hilda Dewitt turned to me and said, "I think you should go now," all the while softening her words with a tender gaze and a world-redeeming smile, and really I couldn't complain. After all, I'd been interviewing her for two days and the refrigerator was just about empty. We were both exhausted and I had all the material I needed to provide a glimpse into the writer's life.
This particular writer is one of the most successful of the Black Yak Poetry Contest winners. Her clear straightforward style can be seen and heard across the nation, from Snapple radio commercials in the Boulder area to Rice Krispies recipes adorning cereal boxes in a grocery near you. Her 1974 chapbook, "Why Die?" was addressed to her younger brother, the winner of the 1973 contest who tragically took his own life moments before he could be notified of his victory.
What follows are highlights from our many hours of conversation. I hope they provide some insight into the complex mind of this poet, dreamer, mourner, sister and woman.
BY: Tell me about your current project.
HD: Victoria's Secret contacted me recently. They're looking for a new metaphor for spaghetti straps.
BY: So, poetry is not dead.
HD: Nope.
BY: Could you expound for a moment on why you don't think poetry is dead?
HD: Why would it be dead? Poetry is the intensest form of language. Wherever you need intensity, you will find poetry. It's like an explosion, except it's words. It's like an orgasm, except it's words. It is sex and death, but it's words.
BY: What was it like writing Rice Krispies recipes?
HD: I'm not a cook in real life. That required a lot of research. It's funny, as writers we are required to know everything and anything. We're always putting on a new hat. And I guess I love writing because I love the hats. I just love the hats.
BY: Was James an influence on you as a writer?
HD: He inspired my first book of poetry, which won your contest, but his writing itself was not really an inspiration. It couldn't be, because I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. It's just so painful, you know, and I have to be tuned in to my own style. But I've heard his work is quite good. Very emotive, you know? And I try to be emotive in my work. So I guess there is a connection.
BY: Let's get back to that first book of poetry. Do you feel you answered the question that you ask in the title?
HD: No, I do not. If I had answered the question, I would have made the answer the title. I'm very straight with my readers. I wouldn't hide an answer somewhere in the middle of a book. But the truth was, I didn't have an answer, so I just left the question up there.
BY: Do you want a back rub?
HD: Sure.
BY: You like that?
HD: Oh, good. Right... right there. Yes.
BY: What is that?
HD: Don't scratch it. Just rub it.