What started as a personal project has become his legacy. Raymond Camper’s rich voice in his book Shadowland America invites you into his world of poetry through intimacy and authenticity. All of us at Wise Ink wanted to know more, so we interviewed Ray and asks him a few questions about his writing journey.

Wise Ink: Who are some of your favorite writers and writers that have influenced you?

Raymond Camper: Hmm, the most influential writer when it comes to my own work would probably be Dessa, of the Doomtree collective, because she has this amazing command of language and transitions so smoothly from writing lyrics to writing poetry. I can just put on ‘A Badly Broken Code’ or ‘Parts of Speech’ and write or drive or just be transported into the most intimate of psychological struggles for hours and hours. I just get the sense that she takes language and word usage seriously, and that really shows in her work, both in poetic and lyrical form. Robert Frost was one of the first poets that I really honed in on at a young age, and I loved how expressive he could be about nature and simple things that just about anyone can see, but most fail to really pay attention to. I’m also a big fan of Thomas Hardy, and Jude the Obscure is one of the few novels I usually read at least twice a year. Neal Gaiman is another favorite of mine, and I loved how ‘American Gods’ wrestled with mythology, religion and social constructs and humanized our idols, and I think some of my poetry that wrestles with the concepts of patriotism and the glorification of war attempts (and likely fails) to get at something close to that. 

WI: Tell us a little bit about your story and what inspired you to write, Shadowland America.

RC: This book is a collection of 60 poems that I’ve written basically over the span of when I was 18 until just a few months ago. I got to this place where I had the majority of these pieces, and I would occasionally think about the prospect of getting them into book form, and the more I thought about it, the harder it was to ignore, and I was also struggling with creating new poetry, because for some reason, I was feeling this overwhelming need to get these poems into book form and out in front of others, almost as a way to put them behind me so I could start creating and moving forward again. Once I decided that I was actually going to start looking into the prospect of a book, I knew that I wanted it to be a collaboration with other artists in some way, a communal thing, and I was fortunate enough to know Amber and Alicia, and they were so excited and thrilled to have my poetry in their hands, and create whatever feelings or emotions that the poems elicited and put it into a visual form. 

WI: What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel?

RC: I love Octavia Butler’s ‘Kindred’. Although I was unaware of Butler’s work until just 3-4 years ago, I fell in love with her voice and her style of telling stories. I know that her Earthseed Trilogy has garnered a lot of increased attention with the increased interest in Black Science Fiction, but I’m not sure that ‘Kindred’ is given the same weight and credit that it deserves.

WI: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your book?

RC: I’d say that the most surprising thing that I’ve learned is that the process of creating the poems was easy; however you really need to bring that same level of passion and commitment to the entire publishing process. As amazing as Wise Ink has been, it’s really been up to me to give more time, attention and effort to the entire process then I had ever anticipated before, because, at the end of the day, your book or your art has to be your baby, and as excited and as thrilled as others around you might be about it, no one will have the same passion and commitment to it that you do, because it was your experiences, thoughts, and emotions that you’ve poured out onto those pages, and nobody else will ever quite get your work and effort like you do. 

WI: How can we purchase your book?

RC: Folks are welcomed to preorder copies of the book through the crowdfunding campaign, where they can ensure that they will get a signed copy by myself and the artists, or give to the campaign and receive other rewards. I plan on getting my book into several Twin Cities local, independent bookstores, and expanding to other bookstores across the country. I will also have a Squarespace site set up so folks can order the book directly from me that way as well. I’m currently planning out some fairs and book expos I hope to be at this year, and folks will be able to purchase the book from me at these events as well. My goal is to get as much contact with those looking to purchase the book as possible, at least the first year it’s out, and then possibly rolling over to more online sells.

Folks can follow me at https://raymondcamperwrites.com/ where I’m writing about the entire publishing process, to get updates about the book, find out more about the launch date, and stay up to date about upcoming events and readings.