Name You Write Under
Phillip Knight Scott

In what part of the world do you live?
North Carolina

Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a native of Durham, North Carolina, where I live and write poetry. A husband and father, I find happiness in family, friends, reading, and of course writing. Though writing embarrassingly self-important poems since childhood, it was only at age 39 that I published my first collection of poems, Paint the Living, Plant the Dead.

Tell us about your journey as a writer.
I wrote poems for much of my childhood but, with the intrusion of adulthood, only sporadically wrote while my career took hold. When I lost a job unexpectedly in 2018, I turned back to writing, working on a novel and diving back into the world poetry, which has been therapeutic and rewarding. Though my unemployment was short, I could not shake that spark of creativity that had been shimmering for decades. In 2019, I began publishing new poems on my blog and eventually self-published my first collection of poems. The journey continues!

Tell us about your most recent publication.
I published my first collection, Paint the Living, Plant the Dead, in November 2019. I self-published it because I control the book, the publication, and marketing (or lack thereof).

Tell us about your other publications
My poems have appeared in numerous publications including Galway Review, Vita Brevis Press, Olive Skin, Spillwords, and others. One of my poems is included in the anthology, Pain and Renewal

Who are your literary influences?
e.e. cummings was my first and most obvious poetic influence. I continue to enjoy and inadequately immolate William Carlos Williams, John Kennedy Toole, Joseph Heller, and

What inspires/motivates you to keep writing?
I’m motivated by a world that too often expects so little of us to produce something lasting that I am proud of and proves I was here and I did something.

What is your personal favorite from the books?
Discolored Past

What are your future goals?
I will be publishing my first novel in 2020 and continue to work on poems to publish a second collection in the not-too-distant future

Where can we read more of your writing?
I write regularly on my blog, Phillip Knight Scott

What advice would you give a writer who wants to be published?
Rejection is only step 1.

Discolored Past

The rocks mark the ground
between prospering weeds enriched
by the warmth of a sun surging overhead,
encircling those of us interred
on a planet whose
percussive heartbeat rocks me to sleep.

I sense the presence of wildflowers,
of ants scurrying together in the dirt,
of life — too bountiful to count or name —
thriving in the darkness or
at least out of sight —
I dare not note a difference in perspective.

Photos remain after we pass on
a gentle breeze that thoughtlessly turns
blacks to sepia, discoloring too many memories
otherwise cruelly lost
in darkness
though the sun shines tomorrow.

Phillip Knight Scott | © 2020

Have you been published on a literary collective, an eZine, a journal, or a book? Go Dog Go Cafe wants to hear your publishing story.

Many of us dream of becoming published writers when we first start sharing our writing. As new writers, however, getting published can feel as mythical as a unicorn. You may ask yourself: Am I ready? Where do I start? What are my options? We believe that your publishing stories can provide much-needed confidence, practical advice, and inspiration for the Go Dog Go Community.

We are currently accepting publishing stories via Google Docs.  We can’t wait to hear about your journey.