An Interview with Thomas Penn Johnson

Thomas Penn Johnson was born on August 22nd, 1943, in Greensboro, North Carolina, where in 1961 he graduated from James B. Dudley High School and in 1968 he received an MA in English from UNC-G. In 1966 he received a BA in Classical Studies from then-Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He also pursued graduate studies in English literature and history at Syracuse and Wake Forest Universities. From 1974 to 1981 he resided in Valparaiso, Indiana. In 1992 he published a collection of poems entitled If Rainbows Promise Not in Vain. In 2009 he retired from then-Edison State College in Fort Myers, Florida after serving for twenty-six years as an instructor of English and humanities. In retirement, he has published a few poems and a dozen short stories in various literary journals.

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

The name of the title character of my play AMIAS was discovered in my research of the biography of Francis Bacon; the name was the first name of a friend or acquaintance of the Bacon family, one Amias Paulett, a minor figure in Francis Bacon’s life. I thought the name sounded right for my central character.

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

The cover for AMIAS smacked me in the face when I first saw it! I was taken aback at how beautifully graphic and appropriate it was. It was “the bridge in the distance” that nailed it for me—that image foreshadows the climax of the story inside the book!

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

I guess a major influence on me would be all the poets that I have personally known—Owen Dodson, Allen Tate, Robert Watson, Gibbons Ruark, John Richard Gehm, & Walter Martin Wangerin, Jr. Most notably, it was Allen Tate who was the first person to say with authority directly to me: “Thomas, you should write poetry!” I was twenty-two years old and had never before even considered the possibility. In 1973, along came the comet Kohoutek and I wrote my first sonnet to memorialize the event.

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

From age twelve to twenty-two I worked at Triangle Super Market in Greensboro—mostly in the meat market but also in produce, stock, and as a cashier. From 1978 to 1981 I was employed as a furniture mover & warehouseman at Landgrebe Moving & Storage in Valparaiso, Indiana. From 1967 to 2009 I spent more than thirty years as a college instructor of English and humanities.

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

The developmental editorial phase.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

“The Keeper Did A-Shooting Go,” “The Blue Bells of Scotland,” “In Tyrolian Hills,” and some music by Telemann.

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

Whatever interferes with, or rather places a sword between, two hearts that truly love each other is evil and should be done away with.

What new writing projects are you currently working on? Or, other projects that are not writing?

Currently working on “A Book of Letters”—a collection of letters exchanged over forty years between me and eight friends with the general theme of “on becoming a poet.” Will also publish a collection of stories in the fall of 2024. Hope to publish a couple of poetry collections and a novel before long.

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

Atmosphere Press was professionally faultless throughout the entire efficient process of publication: they were always helpful and responsive.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.