“Somebody always knows.” Ask around. Somebody, usually someone more experienced, has already dealt with whatever perplexes you. This came to me from a wise friend who told me about her first day in law school. The professor wrote “S.A.K.” on the blackboard and told the class this was the most important thing they’d ever learn.
I had the pleasure of interviewing James W. Gaynor. Gaynor is a poet, artist, editor, and writer. A graduate of Kenyon college, he has lived in Paris, where he taught a course on Emily Dickinson at the University of Paris, studied the development of the psychological novel in 17th-century France, and worked as a translator. After returning to New York, Gaynor worked as an editor at Grosset & Dunlap, Cuisine magazine, Scriptwriter News and Forbes Publications. Having served as EY’s Global Verbal Identity Leader, he is currently the co-publisher of Pinfeather Press. A silver medalist in the 1994 Gay Games (Racewalking), Gaynor’s found-object sculpture has been exhibited internationally. He donates his work to any NFP that asks. His “Chapel Installation Project” will be unveiled at the Chapel at the United Nations for the benefit of the Li Tim Oi Foundation on March 25, 2026. Gaynor is the author of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in 61 Haiku (introduction by Nola Saint James), I’ll Miss You Later (a memoir of the AIDS epidemic in NYC, and subject of a documentary film to be released in 2025) His most recent collection is 40 Inappropriate Poems for Weddings + Funerals: Knowing what not to say is always a good first step (introductions by Nola Saint James and Rabbi Dr. Jo David).
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I tell stories best in poetry, so this strikes me as a good way to introduce myself:
Because Denver in 1954
Just like Jesus
I was an only child
Or was
until the age of six
after which
I remained one in my mind
But then
following a meeting
with the
Blessed Sacrament Catholic School principal
My mother
informed me I could
no longer
refer to my sisters as
My father’s other children
because Denver in 1954
The backstory: Shortly after my birth in 1948, my father, who had been a colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers during WWII, was called back into service. I spent my early years in Alabama and Tennessee, and we moved to Denver when I was 7. Both my parents loved poetry and bedtime reading alternated between Keats and Frost (my father’s favorites) and Dr. Seuss and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology (my mother’s).
When you were younger, was there a book that you read that inspired you to take action or changed your life?
Early devotion to the Hardy Boys is probably the start of my fascination with genre fiction and a general pursuit of justice. But it was Thoreau’s On the Duty of Civil Disobedience that had one of the earliest effects on awakening 1966 consciousness. It still does — to the point that the entire essay occupies the facing pages of my new collection, Breaking up on X: 20 Poems for a Nation in Crisis.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
At 17, I had my first serious summer job, assistant to the construction superintendent on a small apartment house project. On my first day, my boss was called away and put me in charge of verifying a shipment of 2x4s that were going to arrive in his absence. When they arrived, I counted them twice (the number was correct) and then went a step further and measured a few individual pieces to find out they were 1.5” x 3.5”. So, I refused delivery, much to the amused annoyance of my boss on his return. The resulting 2-day delay created extra labor costs (about which I then learned).
I also became interested in the strange relationship of language and numbers, which much later resulted in a collection originally titled, 20 Inappropriate Poems 4 Weddings + Funerals.
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book?
One of the most important things I wish I had known when I began my circuitous journey into adulthood was that it wasn’t necessary to know what I wanted to do with my life, but what I wanted to do next. When I retired from my corporate life, I went into partnership with one of my oldest friends to create Pinfeather Press. We share a passion for genre fiction and community-building. Breaking Up on X is our first joint effort with the intention of creating a social impact through revolutionary storytelling.
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
Again, I like to tell my stories in poems.
Between the Sheets
Last at night
first in the morning
we’ve been together
for a lifetime.
How is it we woke
strangers
wondering when
we started sleeping with the enemy?
The backstory: Whatever the ostensible subject, poets write about the intertwinement of love and loss, attraction and repulsion — how one leads to another and, occasionally. back again. That inevitable conflict has never seemed more apparent than at this point in the history of the democratic republic in which we live. Each of the 20 poems in Breaking Up on X tells a story, based on the overriding metaphor of our current situation, being not unlike a long-term marriage in need of counseling. I also look at the current administration as a particularly unsuccessful blind date set up on a dubious dating site.
What was the “aha moment” or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
In a recent discussion with noted human rights lawyer Michael E. Tigar, I expressed my frustration at not knowing what further action to take at this painful beginning of a slide into a menacing authoritarianism. His reaction was immediate: “You’re a poet. Write something!”
So, I did. Then, Michael contributed the introduction, my co-publisher and dear friend Rabbi Dr. Jo David (aka Regency Romance writer Nola Saint James) wrote the foreword, selected quotes from women activists and researched a recipe for colonial Williamsburg vinaigrette to complement the poem, “Fibonacci’s Artichoke.” The distinguished gay historian and poet David Bergman volunteered the afterword. Kelly Duke McKinley created a spectacular design for the book. When we included Thoreau’s entire essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” Hank (as I now think of him) joined the team. Breaking Up on X became a collaborative effort, an example of the supportive and effective community I hoped it would create.
In Auden’s often-quoted words, “Poetry changes nothing.” Perhaps. But Pinfeather Press is donating all its profits from the sale of this collection to the ACLU, an organization at the forefront of the vital work of confronting the darkness threatening our nation. I believe that change can happen — — one poem at a time.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
While the book is finding what looks to be a large audience, I don’t yet have any stories about its effect on readers. But the idea of doing something that benefitted the ACLU, the guiding force behind Breaking Up on X, was of a very specific benefit to me.
Starting with the most recent presidential inauguration, I found myself waking up every night at 3 a.m. for no particular reason, just a general sense that something was wrong, accompanied by a sense of helplessness. I’m action-oriented by nature (convinced that most situations in life can be fixed by duct tape and /or WD-40), and I wanted to do something. I gave to the ACLU annually, but decided to become a monthly donor. As a result, I started sleeping, if not better, at least for 5 or 6 hours straight — and most of my nightmares now happen during the day whenever I see the latest developments on the national and international fronts.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
We as a nation need to address the root causes of our internal upheaval and increasing violence — and not get sidetracked by the outright lies and mistruths that are being spread on social media to distract us. I see the basis for that national conversation to be around:
There is unwillingness to confront the current executive abuse of the checks and balances as laid out in the constitution. We are sliding into authoritarianism. We need to start talking about necessary changes and improvements to our nation’s founding documents.
- Second Thoughts
We, the People of the United States,
are not who I thought we were,
probably never were, and,
now,
more than likely, won’t ever be.
As it turns out,
I’m not who I thought I was,
probably never was, and,
now, more than likely, won’t ever be.
Therefore, dearly beloved
for better or worse, etc., etc., etc.,
until death us do part, and,
now, more than likely, this is who we are, so —
In Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defense,
promote the general Welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity —
It’s time to renegotiate the prenup. Now.
No one is talking about the looming AI-enabled employment crisis in the emerging Service Economy. In my opinion, this is the unacknowledged force driving much of the fear and anger we are experiencing as we move into a different way in which work is defined and performed.
2. Pre-GPS
I miss that moment we admit we’re lost getting out of the car unfolding the map deciding where an exit was missed
the wrong turn taken
I miss finding out where we are now which is not where we were going then how to get there getting there only to wonder now what
As our population becomes more and more diverse, we need to address racism in all its forms, acknowledging and discussing the inherent fears about the changes in our cultural identity.
3. No Place Like Home
America’s narratives all
begin and end in black and white —
Dorothy’s is no different.
She visits not-Kansas,
makes new friends and
kills two old women of color (green).
She then returns to life back on the farm
safe again in black and white. —
Technicolor™ is a dream state.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
“The general leads by example, not by force.” My father was stationed in what was known as Burma during WWII, where he was introduced to the philosophy of Sun Tzu (The Art of War). He gave me a copy for my 16th birthday, and I still remember our discussion about how a leader who embodies desired qualities and behaviors will be more effective than one who relies on authority and fear. “The general who is a capable leader is one who embodies the virtues of wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage, and strictness.” This strikes me as particularly applicable when looking at what isn’t working in our current situation.
Some time ago, I put together a short collection for a poetry contest called “Chiffon and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War,” which purported to be the catalog for an exhibition at the imaginary Museum of Hideous Bridesmaid Dresses. It didn’t win, but I dedicated it to my dad.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I had a terrific boss who had hired me to address horrific inconsistencies in the organization’s published communications. I had written a style guide to address the specific issues and was hesitating about releasing it without getting more feedback. She pointed out that I could address issues as they came up, but the situation required strong and immediate action.
- Corporate culture is the enemy of strategy. It’s not enough to have a plan, you have to take into consideration the various established interests in any organization if you’re going to put it into effect successfully. I found this out when I launched an article-writing program for executives without first consulting the organization’s PR department. Painful.
- “You don’t have to know what you want to do with your life, just what you want to do next.” I was in a terrible situation at a publishing house, with an unmedicated bipolar boss who would inexplicably start to speak to me in German (which I don’t speak). I was dithering about leaving without having another editing job, i.e., derailing my career in its infancy, and suddenly realized I’d rather be a bartender. I quit on the spot. Jobs in and out of the restaurant industry supported my writing career from that point on.
- “Somebody always knows.” Ask around. Somebody, usually someone more experienced, has already dealt with whatever perplexes you. This came to me from a wise friend who told me about her first day in law school. The professor wrote “S.A.K.” on the blackboard and told the class this was the most important thing they’d ever learn.
- “If it can be solved with money, it’s not a problem.” The same friend as SAK shared this as a way of keeping things in perspective. It’s also an invitation to look deeper at what’s really going on.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I was 28, an eager young book editor taking one of my authors to lunch on my expense account. It was 1976 and the three-martini lunch was a publishing rite of passage. My author was Dorothy Woolfolk, then in her 60s (which seemed at the time to be very old), a woman pioneer in the comic industry — and a force of nature, complete with turbans, scarves and jewelry that made music whenever she moved. At about the second martini, I said something about becoming a writer “when I got it all together.” She reached across the table, took both my hands in hers and said, “Oh, darling. You never get it all together. Never. So just go do what you’re going to do.” Almost 60 years later, I can still hear her voice (and her bracelets).
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Heather Cox Richardson. Her daily newsletter, “Letters from an American,” is as necessary to my daily life as coffee. She has a remarkable ability to put current events into an historical context that, while in no way diminishing what is going on, really helps. And I always learn something.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-w-gaynor-5a1b6472/
Thank you so much for joining us!
Social Impact Authors: How & Why Author James W. Gaynor Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.