Reader Meet Author: Michael Ceraolo

The range in form and content of poetry is amazing. Ohio's Michael Ceraolo has found his niche in writing to the blue-collar Midwesterner. He writes about the things he is most passionate about like baseball and Cleveland but is not afraid to lash out at the things he can't stand. In fact some of my favorite poems by Michael are from his series The Book of Corporate Prayer.

Recently, Michael was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Orange Alert (OA): I really enjoyed "Cleveland Scores Early", I feel that there isn't enough poetry out there about baseball. Do you plan to write more about your life as a baseball fan?
Michael Ceraolo (MC): Yes, I do plan on writing more about being a baseball fan.

OA: Do you feel that you are documenting a side of Cleveland that no one else is capturing?
MC: Given the scope of Euclid Creek, I do feel that I am documenting sides of Cleveland that no one else is, and I would like to thank Mark Kuhar and Bill Shute for publishing such.

OA: I have to ask you about The Book of Corporate Prayer, is it a full-length book and when can we get our hands on it? The two poems I have seen (or heard) from it are incredible!
MC: Thank you for your sentiments about The Book of Corporate Prayer. No, it is not a full-length book, it is about 7 pages long and part of a growing selection of history poems called The Business of America.

OA: What prompted this backlash at Corporate America?
MC: I wouldn't describe my feelings about corporate America as a backlash; I have held these sentiments for a number of years, long before they started to reach the mainstream.

OA: You have been involved with poetry long enough to have seen you work published on-line and then see that site stop production and perhaps disappear. Has this effected you opinion of on-line journals?
MC: My opinion of online journals has not been affected by the fact that some of them have disappeared, any more than my opinion of print journals because some of them have suffered the same fate.

OA: What's next for Michael Ceraolo?
MC: I will continue to work on my various collections: Euclid Creek, the history collections, more baseball works, and other stuff as well.

Bonus Questions:

OA: What type of music do you listen to and who are a few of your favorites?
MC: As for music, these days I mostly listen to jazz and classical, plus blues, rock, folk on occasion. My favorite jazz artists are Miles Davis and John Coltrane, favorite classical group The Cleveland Orchestra (of course!), favorite rock artist Credence Clearwater Revival.

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