Interview with Haiku Enthusiast, Richard Mario Preciado

Papers: Can you take some time to introduce yourself, and how you stumbled upon creating?

RMP: Well my name is Richard Preciado, I am a Mexican American from Coalinga, California. I had a pretty normal childhood here, got into trouble plenty of times, and I spent a lot of time daydreaming and writing poems in the margin of my math homework. Failed a lot of classes because of it. I guess I was always creating and always writing. I just never took it seriously until now.

Papers: We love West Coast writers here. What made you shift gears into the style of haiku? What about that particular style spoke to you?

RMP: I was always familiar with haiku, ever since I was a child. I dabbled in it a few times but it never really stuck. It wasn't until I rediscovered haiku during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns that I fell in love with the style and the poetic form of expression. I see haiku as a sort of artistic epiphany. Perhaps akin to having a breakthrough during a therapy session. A sort of "a ha" moment expressed through a simple poetic style. I hope that that answer translates.

Papers: It translates! Can you talk to us a little more about your inspirations, and the influential people that spark your writing?

RMP: Two of my greatest inspirations and the two main reasons for why I write today are Playwright Sam Shepard and Rapper Jay-Z. I could write books to express my admiration for these two gentlemen, but for now I will keep it short. Jay-Z's ability to squeeze so much meaning into such few rap lines, his ability to stack verses with double, and even triple entendres, makes me work to try and stuff whole worlds and lifetimes into my short haikus. Sam Shepard. What can I say, he wrote about the American West like no one ever has, and quite frankly, no one ever will. He wrote about places I've been. Dirt roads. Paint chipped motels. Farms and tumble weed infested highways. He wrote about my America, and made me see that even I have a story to tell. Regardless of my birthplace or situation.

Papers: We love that one of your biggest influences is Jay-Z. Rappers really don’t get enough credit when it comes figurative language. You mention stuffing worlds and lifetimes into your haikus—what are the stories behind your haikus? Do you typically write several and put them together to create a bigger picture?

RMP: My haikus are about my life. About the life I want to live. And about the lives of the people around me—the lives I think they would dream of had they made different choices. I like to think my haikus are plain and simply about the human condition. Often, I write twenty to thirty haikus in one sitting. Sometimes while listening to music, sometimes while watching movies or wrestling. I just start writing even if I have nothing to say, and only stop once I feel as though I've run out of words.

Papers: That’s incredible. We really respect your unique approach to writing. Can you elaborate more on the unique qualities within your writing, and maybe some more insight you'd like to share with others?

RMP: Something unique about my writing is maybe it's worldliness. I've read a lot of books from all genres, and I take in a lot of information through watching the news. So, many of my haikus are layered with references to other works , religions, music, and political movements from all around the world. As I said before, I feel like my haikus are about the human condition, and the many aspects of it. I feel like genuinely my haikus have the ability to appeal to anyone, from anyplace, and any background. And, I feel comfort in knowing that.