Poetry is having its moment again, thanks in part to writers like Cleo Ashbee. Fair warning, these are not your grandmother’s verses or the watered-down micro-poetry posted on social media. Her poems resemble closer to that of the ‘Beat generation’s figures you’d recognize from coffee house murals or tattered paperbacks. Near reminiscent of Kerouac or Ginsberg is Ashbee’s mini-opus ‘Argonauts’ and ‘All was farther’-
” The coastal frontier all opened up muddy damp last I saw ahead and bent in Autumn’s breast having been reduced to the essentials…”
While she can’t overlook the influence, Cleo doesn’t consider herself a product of any distinct literary movement, rather calling herself a Sensualist. ” I’m motivated by love and longing, but I’m with anyone who celebrates non-conformity and unanticipated inspiration.”
A California native, Ashbee now divides her time between New Orleans and Wisconsin, with a firm intent on making the Northwoods her permanent home. “I want to plant roots. I’m no longer enamored with temporary.” In her latest book, Birds Before Land, we get a feel of the permanence she’s yearning for on the first page with a dedication to the Eau Claire area.
” If I’m going to write about this place and my relation to it, I need to see if I have it in me to stay. And out of the sitting with the land, may I find both a sense of place and a sense of self.”
I had the good fortune to get a glimpse into the life of the quasi-recluse on her second day back in Eau Claire. We sat on the porch of a tiny rented house on Fourth Street. Wearing a knitted rainbow sweater and yellow beanie, she me a beer before plopping down on the top step.
” Did I pick this place because it’s a 10 min walk to the best Asian food or because I wanted to constantly say…” positively fourth street!?,” she laughs as she lights a cigarette and tucks a stray lock of her dark hair behind her ear.
Bob Dylan is one of her biggest influences. I use this as a way to begin our conversation.
Who or what were some of your other earliest influences?
“Michael Jackson was the principal inspiration in my life until his death. I started writing rhymes and songs because of him. It wasn’t until I was older that I discovered poets or artists like Kerouac and Bob Dylan. Then I was just cracked open. “
So then, let’s talk about how you got into writing.
“I’ve been stringing unusual sentences together since elementary. I wrote on anything near me. Napkins, receipts, paper bags, and to my mother’s upset, the inside of closet doors.”
“In High School, other kids would pay me to write love letters and poems to give to their crushes.”
At one time you were a singer/songwriter. How did that progress to poetry?
“Writing poetry was a way I could survive doing art after I developed too much anxiety to travel and perform music. People have no clue how toxic the music industry is. I was bullied, cheated, shelved, and harassed. I ultimately moved to a remote cabin near the California/Nevada border and just hiked and wrote.
So, you retreated in a sense.
“I guess so. I was wound up too tight, for sure. Being around a lot of people still gives me uneasiness. I don’t like a lot of attention or explaining myself or my work. I think anything you could ever want to know about me is in my writing ”
“I’m in permanent retreat.” she winks taking a sip of her Miller Lite.
You were born in California?
Yup. I grew up just south of Lake Tahoe. My childhood was spent roaming all around the El Dorado National Forest. I was prominent in the Sacramento music scene and then followed some friends down to LA & Hollywood for a while. That life is no longer for me.”
How did Wisconsin come about?
“I first came here in 1998′ I think? I was with someone who was attending UWEC. I was young and poor so I had to be creative with entertainment. I went to High School football games, live shows, and house parties. The lack of resources forced me to experience EC in a more intimate way. I left knowing one day I’d be back.” she flicks her cigarette and rests her chin in her hand.
And you’ve been back and forth since 2015, right? What finally provoked the return here?
“Funny enough, a psychic in New Orleans. That’s how the poetry books started too. She told me I was with the wrong person and that my soulmate was up North. She described him and myself with such details it startled me. I started having these dreams that played out like films and crazy coincidences so, I just started writing about them. A lot of the imagery comes from that. A lot of my song lyrics too. “
And you believed her enough to pick up and move?
“Not really. I have a science background so, if it weren’t for the unknowable facts she stated then I’d have handwaved it away. I wasn’t totally shocked about the Northwoods reference because I knew I’d be back. As far as a soulmate, I’m naturally more of a solitary person. I don’t “date.” That’s why I always say my poems are not about anyone, in particular, they’re about the idea of someone. Most of what I write about hasn’t happened yet.”
But Wisconsin? It must be a culture shock from California or New Orleans.
“Not really, I grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I avoid the city. Besides, my mom’s family is from the Midwest and I grew up in a Packer’s house.”
She stands up, faces West, and points, “Actually, my ancestor was the pastor at the Norsk Church on Dewey Street here in the 1880s. He was murdered and then his new wife collected his estate.” she gives me a disbelieving look, “no suspects”
Cleo pushes up the arm of her sweater and exposes her tattoo-covered left arm. I take evident notice. ” I know,” she winches, holding out her arms to me, ” I look like a desk in a detention room.” The inner flesh of her arms is a hodgepodge of tiny symbols, letters, and numbers.
“I’m about to get 715 here”, she points to a blank space on the inside of her right arm, ” and then I want Mrs. Brisby on my right calf. The Secret of NIMH is my all-time childhood favorite thing”
Who are some things that you’re inspired by now? What are you reading, listening to, or watching?
A minute later, kneeling on the floor in the living room, Cleo digs through her books while Neutral Milk Hotel is playing.
“I’m a huge Jeff Magnum fan. I’ve written way too many poems about him. His relationship to fame; its ridiculousness, its destructiveness. It’s a theme that plays out a lot in my writing. I’ve seen musician friends go from doing anything to get noticed to complaining about people wanting their autographs. I’ve had a friend cry in my arms from loneliness on a tour bus when an hour before girls were screaming for him. Fame is a monster. It’s never what you imagine. ”
We sit on the floor listening to Caroline the band, War on drugs, and Manchester Orchestra. She throws a little Field Report in there for some local representation. She tries to lure me into a walk to Egg Roll Plus.
So, what’s next?
“It’s hard to say. This Pandemic has turned my life upside-down. I’m stuck in New Orleans most of the time. I have been recording music in my bedroom and I just came back from writing in Colorado. Some of the guys got COVID, so no recording got done. It was pretty devastating. “
“But the plan is to come back here. The goal never changes. I believe that Eau Claire is where I’m supposed to be.”
Until she’s settled, Cleo is content at her temporary little yellow house where she can bike to Carson and work on her fourth poetry collection in peace. You can find her poems and quotes shared across all social media, but Instagram is the primary platform she uses.
When questioned why she writes, she declares, “It’s the same as music. It’s my bread. It’s my religion.”
But I like her illumination in the poem, The Beginnings contain the end –
“I only write to clear the blurry boundaries of being alive”
Cleo Ashbee’s books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and local New Orleans booksellers.
I can’t play where I’m not supposed to (2015)
Fell the Last Passenger (2019)
Birds Before Land (2021)
Follow on Instagram: @cleoashbee.
Subscribe on YouTube: Vanhooligan75.
