I barely made it through college. It was the '60s. The poetic element, most of the time, is expressed in editing, which can create interesting dissonance and juxtapositions that are endemic to surrealism. Semilian says that being a poet is laying claim to one's true identity. I use words like the painter uses paint.
Words are full of meaning - even made up words create meanings at different psychic levels.
Sometimes words form themselves in a very delightful and imaginative way and are entrancing to me, so I write them down. In addition to writing and teaching, Semilian also translates the work of Romanian poets, concentrating chiefly on avantgarde writers such as Paul Celan and Tristan Tzara. In May of 1999 he was honored for his work at the Romanian Cultural Center in New York City. Semilian remembers meeting Codrescu in 1965 when they left their native Romania on the same plane. We stopped in Naples and were walking around, discussing the differences between Coca Cola and Pepsi and enjoying the fawning of the local ladies.