Kenneth Pobo is retired from teaching, but before teaching he worked as a houseboy, a busboy, and a telephone solicitor (the annoying guy who calls at dinnertime—it was so dreary that he told people he was Neil Diamond calling them).

Moonlighting Jobs

I taught from 1977-2020. Before that I was a busboy—which, as a young writer, influenced me. I attended a Christian College at the same time I bussed tables and found I enjoyed the people at the restaurant more than most of the people at school. I wrote some busboy poems.

I like being retired from teaching, though I miss some of the folks at work who I don’t see as much anymore.

What inspires your work?

The garden inspires me. The Wisconsin northwoods inspires me. The struggle for LGBTQ+ rights inspires me. Art inspires me, especially music and paintings.

When I was fifteen, I began writing at fifteen under the influence of Tommy James and the Shondells.

What were some of your biggest challenges along your writing/publishing path?

Most everyone who writes and submits work has to face rejection. I'm a king of rejection, yet it doesn't stop me from sending out work. My poem knows that a taxi will come along sooner or later and pick it up. Rejections can be an opportunity to re/view and re/vise a poem to see how it can be improved.

What advice would you give to writers/artists today who are "moonlighting" in order to support their art?

It can be tough. If possible, try and find spots of time in the week that you save for writing. Some jobs are so tiring and/or demanding that this can be a challenge. Or family situations that demand enormous effort and time. Still, writing can be a helpful focus, sometimes even be fun.

Kenneth Pobo (he/him) is the author of twenty-one chapbooks and nine full-length collections. Recent books include Bend of Quiet (Blue Light Press) and Loplop in a Red City (Circling Rivers). His work has appeared in Asheville Poetry Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Amsterdam Quarterly, Nimrod, Mudfish, Hawaii Review, and elsewhere. He has two books forthcoming: Raylene And Skip (Wolfson Press) and At The Window, Silence (Fernwood Press).

You can find him on Facebook and Bluesky.