Thinking About Poetry — Barry Dawson IV
Interview with a Poet
Such a good read! I asked Barry to participate in our “Thinking About Poetry” series, and he sent this response. He captures all the challenges and all the joys of working this poetry thing. Zay.
You can read more of Barry’s work by checking this profile — Barry Dawson IV.
So how does a self-proclaimed poet with perpetual Imposter Syndrome describe what poetry is and what it is not?
I could cop-out and say that I know it when I see it, or I could flex my hippie-Jedi muscles and say that poetry is everywhere; it surrounds us, binds us, and penetrates us. (Yeah, I ripped that off from George Lucas, but he’s a billionaire. He won’t care. Plus, he subjected me to Jar Jar Binks. Frankly, George owes me one.)
I watch a lot of Star Wars, so I’ll probably lean towards the latter statement. But really, who cares about some dodgy old guy on the internet trying to quantify a language he barely comprehends?
What I think I know of poetry barely scrapes frost crystals from the towering surface of the iceberg that arrests me with its majesty; it conceals depths I’m compelled to imagine, having neither the ability nor resources to see the structure in totality with my own eyes. So yeah; it’s a bit like a gigantic pretentious hunk of ice; one…
