New York based poet, reading series host, and perfume enthusiast Montana James Thomas first caught my attention after I saw the cover of his debut collection, Pomeranian, floating around the internet. I quickly grabbed a copy and was enamored by the narrative poems, the absurdist fables, and the refreshing playfulness on the page. When I read in an interview that Montana took inspiration from both Russell Edson and Willy Wonka, it all made sense.
While Pomeranian was his debut offering, his new collection, 2025’s Concerning the Dinner, is his debut full-length. A messy delicacy of a collection, his new self-published book reads like a tipsy buffet. A horse stuffed with hog stuffed with chicken stuffed with duck. Unhinged yet concise. Dense yet crystalline. Back and forth via email, I chatted with Montana about his two books, his writing process, his reading series, his many number of multimedia inspirations, and much more.
Congrats on the release of your collection, Concerning the Dinner! I'd love to hear you talk about the craft angle of assembling and writing this collection.
Thank you! Many of these poems I had been working on for years before this specific collection. I allowed myself to write from a more explicitly biographical box of references. I was drawn to faux-archaic language, where contractions, rhyming, and bouncing rhythms can create a nursery rhyme effect to carry through these darker, often sexual, themes. I also tried to mimic the format and tone of menus and the speech patterns/cadences of waiters, if only just to get my notes on the page or outline a poem to start with. I’m a firm believer in killing your darlings, pretty much right off the bat, but with this collection I allowed myself to leave some of those in here and there. It was a little indulgent, which felt appropriate.
Are you someone who overwrites and later chisels away / deletes poems from the manuscript, or do you begin to assemble once you have 40-50 pieces you're happy with?
It’s a combination of both…I keep a running list of impressions that expand and contract into a collection of cohesive works. Once I feel like I have 10-15 poems that are speaking to each other, I begin to let them hang out in various orders, physically, in a document, or just in my brain. And those relationships motivate the expansion and creation of a collection.
via Concerning the Dinner
Additionally, this book was supposed to be released with an indie press in 2024, but due to complications, you self-released it in August of 2025. I'm glad it's finally out in the world and on your own terms. Obviously, this was a headache, and if you don't want to get into it, we can skip this question, but if you'd like to talk about this arduous journey to publication, I think a lot of writers/poets might find it relatable, insightful, and even inspiring.
I don’t want to say too much, but it was a huge learning experience for me. I think it’s crucial for writers to be patient and to obey their instinct. I had a feeling it wasn’t the right move, and I did it anyway. I want to say so much more, but I probably shouldn't. Just be sure to support any other writers who also worked with this publisher.
However, I was able to edit each poem alongside Tilghman Goldsborough, which was an incredibly thorough and fruitful experience. So every situation has its pros. I could have waited and pitched the re-launch to other publishers, but I wanted to put it out into the world and be able to move on with what’s next.
I first learned about you because the cover of your 2023 collection Pomeranian caught my eye. I instantly had to grab a copy. This book is full of short and sweet narrative fables that felt timelessly American. I loved every page. Since it's a bit shorter in length, do you consider this your debut collection or more of a chapbook leading into your full-length of Concerning the Dinner? Are they siblings? Lovers? Next door neighbors?
I love the Pomeranian cover! It’s by Fred Blauth, he’s an amazing artist. I think Pomeranian will always be my debut, but consider Concerning the Dinner to be my debut full-length. They’re like…friendly exes. Or stepmother and stepdaughter. Pomeranian is the daughter, she came first…
Because Concerning the Dinner was to initially be released in 2024, I assume these poems were finished about two years ago. What have you been working on since? Is a follow-up manuscript already in the works?
Yes I am! I’m always writing, and another manuscript is in the works. It has been for a while, but I feel especially energized now that CTD is finally properly out in the world.
Along with writing poems, you also host the 'Straight Girls' reading series at KGB Bar in New York. When did this series start? Talking origins vs. where you see it now would be great.
I co-host Straight Girls with Riley Mac, my dear friend. I think we started off wanting to create high-energy evenings with intentional curation. We want it to be equal parts campy and heartfelt. And we wanted to bring the freaks from basements in Brooklyn back to downtown Manhattan, which we’ve felt is becoming more and more normy and dull. I think we’re managing to do that, we’re having fun, which is the most important thing.
via Pomeranian
Are you more comfortable approaching the blank page or approaching the stage?
I’m equally comfortable approaching both. But the stage provides a delicious instant gratification.
In an interview you did with Byline, while writing Pomeranian, you mention being inspired by Willy Wonka, Russell Edson, Sofia Coppola, Les Baxter, and Lydia Davis. Who inspired you while writing Concerning the Dinner? Who inspires you now?
Azealia Banks, Amy Sedaris, Sleigh Bells, Shakespeare, Nabokov, Roald Dahl, Carmen McRae, Salvador Dalí's cookbook, Alice Coltrane, La Grande Bouffe (1973), Willy Wonka again and always. Also, restaurant menus. I guess those were some inspirations for the direction the collection went in.
In that initial list, I love how your answers aren't strictly literary. There's a movie director, a fictional character, and a composer thrown into the mix. It's a lovely multimedia blend. Have you always been just as interested in film/music as you are in literature?
Yes, if not more. Right now, music is my favorite art form to consume, then perfumery, and poetry third. I think to successfully use comedy in poetry, you have to understand specifically jazz and country music— they are always equal parts punchline and pain.
via Concerning the Dinner
With that in mind, outside of your own work, what are some recent reads that you have enjoyed?
I’ve been reading so much non-fiction. I finally read The Natural History of the Senses, which I thought would change my life, and it did. No Turn Unstoned, the worst ever theatrical reviews compiled by Diana Rigg. Unruly by David Mitchell. Cheerleader’s Guide to the World & The Cake Part by Stacy Doris. Theatrics by Maya Martinez. I’m currently reading Recollections of Léonard, Hairdresser to Queen Marie Antoinette.
I'll ask the same question, but in regards to recent movies and/or music. What are some recently watched films or recently listened to albums that you'd recommend?
Oh Snap by Cécile McLorin Salvant, Bunky Becky Birthday Boy by Sleigh Bells, Opa*q by Rea Harukami, the soundtrack of BBC’s Life On Earth (1979) by Edward Williams, Inside Betty Carter, Carmen McRae by Carmen McRae (1971), One Thing At A Time by Morgan Wallen, Folk Songs and Ballads by Alfred Deller & The Deller Consort…I could go on. I like that new Sabrina Carpenter album, it’s funny. I am always searching for and listening to music. I haven’t been watching as many films lately, lots of trash television and whodunnit dramedies.
If you can, provide a photo of your writing workspace or describe with words. What are some essentials while you create?
Some essentials are silence or jazz, my laptop, open windows, natural light/daylight, and a beverage (usually tea).
Do you have a set writing routine / discipline / schedule?
I try. I work well in the early morning, if I dream vividly enough I can start by using whatever impressions I’m left with from my dreams. I also go on long walks and take notes about things I see. I write every day, even if it means transcribing Real Housewives of New York.
via Pomeranian
For this ongoing author interview series, I'm asking for everyone to present a writing prompt. It can be as abstract or as concrete as you choose.
The moment of impact during a collision.
In closing, do you have any advice for early writers? Or rather, what's something you wish you had known when you first started writing? Or or or, what's something that keeps you returning to the page?
No, because I still am an early writer. But I guess in my opinion it's a poet's job to witness and describe the world as best as they can. When you are most blocked, DO NOT try to talk about your feelings or thoughts, just begin to describe something, literally anything, use your senses, and then you have the beginnings of an important poem.
Any final thoughts / closing wisdom / something I might have missed that you'd like to include? Thank you again for taking the time!
Thank you so much for including me is all! I’m such a fan of your writing and the work you do for authentic inclusivity.
