An Interview with Ted Virts

Ted Virts’ life has wandered and wondered through preschool teaching, labor in startup manufacturing, Planned Parenthood management, ministry and pastoral supervision. There were stops along the way: Korea, the Philippines, China, the Caribbean, Mexico and the Arctic. There were stumbles and sorrows, play and puzzles: SCUBA diving, triathlons, friends lost and found, dulcimer playing, academic degrees, divorces, a happy marriage of forty-two years to Charlene, and homes in desert, suburbia and forests of the Western US. Ted and Charlene are recent residents of southern Arizona.

Throughout the years, Ted has pondered what is sacred and how myth, memory, and stories from human cultures describe life and consciousness. His conclusions? The Holy surrounds us. Our task is to pause enough to notice and appreciate—then to engage enough to offer kindness, comfort, support and celebration to the world in which we belong.

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Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

Window and Mirror is a collection of poems. As I went through my writings, it occurred to me that they mostly center on my own observations of the world, of interactions, of events, of nature and more. My desk has always looked out a window, and my writings usually were a link between the “what” I see and the “so what” that makes it meaningful to me. My career involved interactions with people in a wide variety of settings, and my training underscored that I pay attention to my personal feelings and reactions. It was obvious to me that any time I am looking out at something, my perceptions were a reflection of my own story, values and personality. It is not uncommon to look out a window and see one’s own reflection looking back. I think I was daydreaming as I looked out of the window in my writing room while I puzzled about what to call this collection and saw my own face wondering back at me.

How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?

The cover art process was a surprise. I had expected that there would be an artist on the other end who would interpret my title and concept and draw something brilliantly abstract and compelling. So my first shift was when I realized that my designer could search for art, or I could and we would talk. My first image was of a desk in front of a window. I googled “paintings about windows” and started searching. I came across Henri Matisse, who did a number of works using windows and an implied story of a window, a view and a viewer. His Entrance to the Kasbah captivated me. I had been to Turkey recently and looked up what a Kasbah was—a guarded place that held wealth, truth and secrets. the image was ideal for my writing, and the personal nature of poetry. My designer liked the image and idea. He did a masterful job of designing the cover. I was very pleased, and continue to appreciate the cover as an invitation to something important, tender, and sacred.

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

It was my dad. He did not see it that way. I grew up with my dad reading poetry to us and tapping out the rhythm of the poem on the kitchen table. He was on the service club speech circuit as I was growing up, and would practice his speeches in front of my mom and me. Language, logic, and communication were critical in our household. I was on the high school speech and debate team. Writing was important at my Jesuit Prep School.

My career in the parish as a pastor required that I prepare a 10-20 minute speech/essay/sermon each week. To do that I blended the story of the scriptures, the story of myself and the story of the people in the pews. I would search for a saying or poem that captured the theme of the week and build a worship and message around that theme. The delight of the work was that I was able to read a lot of poetry, essays and thoughtful books about the human personal and spiritual condition. I guess that I’ve never not been a writer. In retirement, I have been able to focus on my own personal interests and reactions, more than the necessity to craft a particular thought for a particular group of people at a particular time.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

There is a story in Jewish tradition about a group of students of a wise rabbi. The students were disturbed that one of their number didn’t seem devoted enough to prayer and to study. Instead he spent his time carousing with his friends, staying up too late, drinking, telling jokes, and, well, he just wasn’t holy enough. The rabbi sighed and said, “When the conversion comes, our brother will people, their lives, their joys and their struggles.” That story is familiar to me. My work has covered manufacturing, preschool teaching, family planning, management, and, yes, the ministry as a pastor and as a pastoral supervisor. I have also done my share of not living up to the popular idea of “holy.” All seems to be interrelated, with common questions an understandings. What do people long for? What is hard for them? How hard it is for people to do things well. How much the culture puts on the spirits of men and women, and children too. How people escape pressure. How people cling to one vision of what “is supposed to be.” What a terrible toll being wrong, or being a “bad girl” or “bad boy,” takes on people trying to live a life. What happens when life doesn’t work out the way a person has hoped? Does religion have anything to offer? Do I have anything to say? Those questions were constants for me throughout the “professions” I moved through.

What was the most rewarding/meaningful part of publishing your book?

I did not write in order to publish or gain employment. My writers’ group encouraged me to publish. What was most meaningful is that I pushed myself to be vulnerable enough to share the personal observations that are in my writings. I am an introvert and don’t go public unless asked by someone who is sympathetic and interested. Most rewarding are the positive reactions I have received, and the understanding of what I was trying to accomplish in these poems. I have felt heard.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

My message is that there is a sacredness, a wonder in day-to-day life. In the parish, I suggested that trying to be Mother Teresa or Martin Luther King Jr was not the goal. If you need to compare (and please don’t!), look at the teacher who is also a mom, look at the person in sales who works to feed the family, and takes time to play with his or her kids. Awe and wonder abound. Don’t miss it. And take time to notice the beauty that surrounds this life. Rest in the wonder of this time and this life, and when the urge strikes, be part of the kindness that keeps sneaking into our human condition.

What creative projects are you currently working on?

My wife and I moved from the Pacific Northwest to southern Arizona a year ago. We came here for a mix of reasons. We have good friends here. There is a way that we can do our own small part to offer humanitarian support to immigrants in the Sonoran Desert. There are many things to do in this over-55 community. We are still trying to get our own pacing and balance set.

I’m learning sketching, Spanish, Arizona history, and just what the plants like in the very different seasons here. I write a monthly meditation for a Taize worship service, October through May. I am working on a writing/reading discipline. I’m curious about shape-shifting in human mythology and the stories cultures tell about their origins, their values and traditions. And we see music, lectures and plays whenever possible.

How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?

I would not have published without them. I didn’t have the skill or drive to self-publish, and small poetry collections don’t attract traditional publishers. It is an expensive project, but the finished product is way beyond what I would have made on my own. The team was supportive, personable, and professional. I have the joy of knowing that many folks I’ve met over the years were very interested in my work, and appreciative. Atmosphere Press was just what I needed to make Window and Mirror a reality.

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