This article on Joseph Nutman is less of a feature length, more a hike through a National Park, with so many paths to explore. I received such depth in each response to every question, that if I only featured small segments in this article, it wouldn’t do the quality of our chat any justice.
Joseph’s poem “what my grandfather said when I asked if he believed in monsters” in the literary journal “INK SWEAT & TEARS” is my favourite poem of his. The final lines “no question if I believe in monsters, Child, I have seen them” are haunting. Joseph wrote the poem as a tribute to the Armenian Genocide after watching a documentary that featured the band System of a Down talking about their families survival of the genocide. This poem may be to bring forward an event that happened a hundred years ago, but these words are just as true and relevant in the present tense. Today, millions have become victims of the ongoing Ukrainian/ Russian war and the Gaza conflict; caught in bloodshed from wars they never desired to partake in. Please I would urge you to not just read this poem but remind yourself about the injustices of the world that surrounds us. Empathy does not cost a thing.
Joseph Nutman grew up in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, and now lives on the outskirts of Baldock, Hertfordshire just down the road. He hasn’t gone far from where he grew up, with only a 40 minute train connection to London and the countryside on the front doorstep. Why would he? Joseph worked in the fitness industry for many years; that’s how he met his wife. Right now he is just taking some time out for himself, dedicating himself to poetry full time or as he joked, he’s unemployed. Joseph got into writing young, starting off writing poetry and music lyrics; however, English Literature A Level just sucked the life out of his passion, which ended with him putting writing down for a period. Mentioning that they read “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats in English A Level, which he admits reading now as an adult is phenomenal. However I agreed with him, it’s a little bit heavy for a teenager to truly appreciate. Keats was someone who was very much into the strict theory of poetry, writing with specific rhythm, form and metre. When you’re at that age you want to experience freedom, not rules and regulations. I had the same thing after my A Level teacher drilled Thomas Hardy into the class non stop. So when he read Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road”, it led him to the free verse poets Allen Ginsberg and Walt Whitman. I therefore was not surprised by his answer when I asked; “What poem does he wish he’d written” and he replied back with “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath. Plath was a confessional writer who also wrote with expressive freedom. In fact the day before, Joseph had just finished reading Plath’s book “The Bell Jar”. Joseph said that the book featured views of the time, which in today’s society would be considered offensive. We discussed how it would be interesting to see how books from that era, if the original manuscripts had been edited by today’s editors, how different they would be.
Joseph’s shoulder bag with his notebook and green pens is taken with him when he walks regularly into the nature reserves and countryside that are on his doorstep and pretty much everywhere. He says he can write “anywhere, pub, library, train, bus, wherever the idea comes”, saying he “gets sent inspiration at the most inconvenient times so just has to work with it and get it down.” He writes 1 maybe 2 drafts in this notebook, then does what he refers to as a “fair copy”, typing up the poem onto his laptop, “editing and altering slightly as he goes along”. This will then “end up into a folder called work in progress”. He will “go back over the week or two and hammer that into the best version it can be” and then the poem ends up in a folder called “best versions”. It will stay like that but sometimes if he is going to send the poem off he will have a glance at it and maybe change a few bits.
Joseph is on an incredible run where he has had acceptances every month since August this year, with 4 times as many rejections (including one on Christmas day); understanding extensive rejections are just a part of the industry. His current project was an unexpected one; even for Joseph himself. It’s an epic poem, which he is completing just to be able to prove to himself he can. So the debut pamphlet he has also been planning has been put on the back burner for a bit, while his epic poem about the narrator climbing a metaphorical mountain in Tenerife is completed. Joseph admitted he perhaps was once obsessed with writing poetry with the exclusive aim of sending things off to get recognised. So completing this epic poem and not focusing on whether it will ever see the light of day or not, is purely for his own satisfaction.
In the snippet bio’s that is sent in accompaniment when he submits his work, Joseph says “he finds his voice in the tension between nature, psyche, and society.” Joseph also said he reckons 10% of his work is him stepping outside into another person’s story using symbolism rather than it being purely confessional. The highlight of his poetic journey so far has been his recent accomplishment of reciting one of his poems by heart at a gig, something he has never done before. Other highlights include him having recently received news that 3 magazines have accepted his work for print and finishing a poem that he had previously shelved due to creative frustrations of it not sounding the way he wanted.
The spoken word is something Joseph really values, saying the spoken and written word should work in conjunction. Our discussion on this subject was a detailed one. I added how I feel some poems are written to be spoken but can look daunting on the written page. While some short, sweet and personal ones are perhaps best kept secret, delicately placed in a box in a safe place on the page. However, Joseph expressed how one of the things he loves about performing his work is seeing the audience’s reaction in the room. He tries to capture the same passion and emotions it was written with, hoping that will transfer to his audience. Performing poetry well is a skill in itself; a skill he has plenty of practice in.
If you have read my previous two interviews in this series, you will have spotted I like to throw in a few questions like “what is your guilty pleasure” or “if you could meet anyone dead or alive who would you meet?” Not in this one, I’ve changed up the final fun questions this time. Joseph admitted he hadn’t put up any Christmas decorations this year due to other life’s priorities: so that answered that question before I even got to ask when he takes them down. Joseph’s poison of choice is red wine, or even though his stomach doesn’t agree with it, he is also partial to an ale. A French press coffee using already ground coffee with a dash of milk is his preferred brew. If he is going somewhere like a chain coffee shop, he prefers something like a cortado (espresso with a dash of milk) or a flat white. He has recently binged watched “Scott Pilgrim Takes off” on Netflix and re-watched the TV show “Vikings”. If he was given a choice of holiday between camping, glamping or a hotel he would choose glamping; he does like a shepherd hut, especially if it has a wood fired hot tub.
I hope you got an insight into Joseph and his work. Be sure to check out his work which you can find on his Linktree page. I have also added the link to the poem discussed at the beginning of the article.
Thanks to Joseph for partaking.
Joseph’s Linktree
INK, SWEAT & TEARS feature
© Megan Layley
Disclaimer: I have Joseph Nutman’s permission to quote his work in this article and use the photograph featured.
Megan Layley 
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