As a rule of thumb, throughout the years I have remained neutral on a number of controversial Detroit-related subjects. One of them being “Detroiters” knee-jerk reaction to reject newcomers to the city. When I met recent N.Y.C. transplant and accomplished poet Jeremy Schmall, he gave me a reason to have an opinion. I was fortunate to see Schmall read some of his poetry at Detroit Soup a few weeks ago. It was refreshing to see a large group of people so warmly embrace the literary arts, Schmall is the first poet to be represented by the wildly successful micro-funding dinner.

Schmall is an accomplished writer who grew up in Ohio and went on to complete graduate school at the New School in New York City, along with producing an arts annual the “Agricultural Reader” and a book titled “Jeremy Schmall & The Cult of Comfort.” As with all people who come to the city, I wanted to know why and he told me he created a list of cities that he was considering moving to, and that Detroit was the only one to not end up crossed off. He was frank about the low cost of living being an added perk, but he did not forget to remind me of how great the community of people here can be. I will allow him to say it in his own words in a translation of our discussion after just a few more lines of text. This is not meant to be a testament to what a swell guy Schmall is, but more of a revelation of how great it is that he choose to make Detroit his home. It has been said we don’t need more people, we need the right ones, and I believe we should be welcoming the kind-hearted, talented and passionate. Without knowing me for more then five minutes, Jeremy gave me a copy of his book “Jeremy Schmall & The Cult of Comfort” to review for the blog. I believe he is going to become one to watch in our burgeoning literary scene. His poetry seems to focus on the melancholy and mundane without trying too hard. He employs keen observations and critique through admissions of truth to paint an honest picture of our everyday lives. Titles like “This City is Ugly” do not exaggerate the sometimes grotesque nature and remains of human activity. Here is the part that I will let him use his craft to help us understand, literally, where he is coming from.

Vanessa Miller: So, Jeremy, can you give a brief statement about your work, what inspires it?

Jeremy Schmall: Well, I’m inspired mostly by anxiety and obsession, the twin fountainhead of any writer or artist. I’m sort of half joking there, but also 80 percent serious. With my work I am mainly trying to fit words together in a precise way, in a way that makes sense to me, and, in so doing, learn what I think about things.

VM: Can you share a little on your background, schools, accomplishments?

JS: I grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and went to undergrad at Miami University of Ohio and then to grad school at The New School. I co-edit a literary journal called the “Agriculture Reader,” and I recently put out a poetry book, “Jeremy Schmall & the Cult of Comfort,” and a couple years back I wrote a short book of letters by a fake senator called “Open Correspondence from the Senator, Volume 1: But a Paucity of his Voluminous Writings.” I have also written the text for a couple of artist books. One recently with Mark Wagner, called “Mr. Handshake’s Last Gasp,” and one back in 2007 with Damara Kaminecki, called “The Slapdown.”

VM: Could you explain the “Agriculture Reader” and your involvement in it?

JS: The “Agriculture Reader” is an arts annual that features poetry, stories and art work. It’s partly handmade, and each one is a little different, as we individually stamp and sticker them or punch grommets in them or fingerprint them, something along those lines. We letter pressed the covers of the previous issue, and one issue we actually bound with zip ties using punched pennies as washers.

I founded the journal in 2006, and shortly after that met the fantastic Justin Taylor. We now edit the journal together. The design and construction of the journal is done by the fabulous Amy Mees and Mark Wagner of X-ing Books. They’re both incredible people and artists. It’s an honor to work with them.

VM:  What factors played a part in you moving here from N.Y.C.?

JS: When I visited Detroit for the first time in July, I was floored; it hit me right away that anything is possible here, as my dear friend Rosie had been telling me for years. In New York I’d gotten so accustomed to compromising what I wanted or even needed just to be sane, that I’d resigned myself to working extremely hard doing things I didn’t want to do so I could afford to live in a shoebox. 

I looked at one apartment here and immediately took it on a handshake. I’d spent years living in a cramped space, crowded in by roommates. It was time for me to get some space for myself, as well as an open schedule in which to be productive, which Detroit has provided in abundance.

But it’s not just the cheap rent, of course. I drove through the Heidelberg project when I visited and had never in my life seen anything like it. It’s the most successful art project I’ve ever seen. And I’d never even heard of it before, which is astounding. It was a complete surprise, and I feel that element of surprise exists throughout the city as a whole. There’s also so much beautiful architecture here, so many great artists, a great sense of community and, equally important, the gardening potential is unlimited. 

VM: How has the transition been? Do you think it will effect your work? How?

JS: The transition has been mostly good, though it’s been difficult re-orienting my life from the way I lived before. I’m now away from a lot of my close friends, as well as family, and I spend a lot more time in my apartment, which is new to me. My last apartment in New York was so miserable I’d spend as much time as possible out in the city, at bars or in parks or at readings or wherever in order to avoid coming home. All of this will undoubtedly effect my work, though I have no idea how. 

VM: Where can interested parties see your work or hear you speak?

JS: The “Agriculture Reader” is available at TheAgReader.com, and my book is up at x-ingbooks.com/cultofcomfort.html. I don’t have any readings coming up at the moment, though I would encourage anyone to e-mail me, at [email protected] for any reason at all, related or unrelated to poetry. I love corresponding.

VM: What has been you favorite thing in Detroit so far?

JS: I can never come up with singular favorites, but here’s a handful of things I’ve really enjoyed: Freedom, Belle Isle, Eastern Market, Cafe 1923, Mike on Mack, Detroit Soup. And, of course, the people I’ve met, who, without exception, have been encouraging and welcoming in the best possible ways.