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liy MAKY COX
Staff Wr-iter
His second floor office in the
Blocker Building overlooks Uni
versity street. The traffic inches
by arid students dart between
cars to get to McDonald’s for
lunch. This view seems unfit
for the mind of the accom
plished poet and critic, Paul
Christensen — 1 always
thought poets needed their
own Walden to be able to ex
press themselves.
Although I suffer from
somewhat of a poet miscon
ception, Christensen said that
some poets and writers must
do certain things to get in the
mood to create. He mentioned
one writer who had to wash his
hands in special soap several
times before he could write.
Christensen said he writes
best in a room filled with his
mind energy. What he means
by this is that he seasons a
room for about six months by
working in it and becoming
comfortable with it. The room
is then his creative cocoon
where he can lose himself in
his work. He said he can sink
into an almost trance-like state
where he is not bothered by
phone calls or other interrupt
ions.
Christensen said writers
usually have themes in their
writing that relate to the life
they’re living at the time.
“For example, I think when I
was in my late thirties I began
to think about changes of life
and midlife crisis sorts of sub
jects,” he said. “People come to
grips that they’re getting older
now and there’s changes
within the family, within atti
tudes about sex, death, and all
those basic things.
“You see in the mirror — it’s
not going to go away. It’s not a
bad day — if s a turn in your
life that you can’t reverse.”
Christensen said that he
wants to appeal to the reader
who can relate to these
changes.
“I do imagine I write for sort
of an ideal listener who can
catch every bit of humor and
word play, instantly seeing my
Paul Christensen says his poems are about
self-confrontation and rites of passage.
/\ c;/\tvii; with kcX'k
liy Paul
I threw the rock
and watched it in the air
whispering,
flop’* ™me back!
I saw it shudder
and hang, as long as it
could, against blue air,
and forget for a moment
it was all rock and start
to fly, those dull wings
rounded on its sides,
the hopefulness and twinkle
behind shut eyes, and
a mind, slow glitter.
think for a moment of escape.
The upward heave
of lungless breath, the grasp
of no arms for a branch of
sun, anything to hoist
itself up to, ouf of this
desolate ocean of identity,
only to be stung with the
dread of what it was —
a rock, instead. It fell!
thudding miserably through
the air in which my
whisper hung,
don’t come back!
BAR BRAWL
by Paul Christensen
As if pain were flowers
opening in the blood; the lazy
velvet petals of a bloom
of hurt - the blue punched arm,
swollen whorl of thigh,
the aureole of black eye.
When the two men were hanging
in the amber air, in the
gelled motion of their labors
to hurt each other, the fiime
of liquoiy breath so thick
with enchantment, as black
cold atmosphere rushed from
the tavern doors, flung wide.
His fist flashing like a wand
dove deep to bone, rattling
the opponent’s inmost skeleton.
Shattered jaw, the dazed eyes
surprised to be rushed up to
a higher plane — pain.
meaning so that he can enjoy
the language experience I’m of
fering him besides any sort of
serious concerns I may be rais
ing in a poem,” he said.
Christensen’s eyes sparkle
and his deep laugh lines accen
tuate his happiness when he
talks about his craft. He chal
lenges anyone to go into the
bedroom and read Faulkner
out loud because of the beauty
of the poetry. He said it sounds
like God talking and is made to
be played on an instrument.
Cnristensen is not only con
cerned with the art of poetry.
He also has his own printing
press. He said he enjoys pro
duction and wants to learn off
set printing one day. He
proudly states that he has pub
lished several books, including
one of his own.
Christensen realizes that po
etry does not appeal to a large
audience. He said the biggest
audience poetry will ever hope
to enjoy will be 1 in 30 people.
The decline in poetry can be
traced to the success of Amer
ica, he said.
“The whole problem is when
you have a very fat and con
tented populace, they don’t
dream,” he said. “The stuff of
dreams is what you can’t have
and if poetry is the language of
dreams and longings — there’s
no sense in going to it.” \
are subject of symposium
Matthew Arnold was an
English poet and critic who
lived from 1822 to 1888. His
work exemplified romantic
pessimism, spiritual isola
tion in a time that was torn
between science- and reii-
The Department of En-
^ish is a sympo
sium Feb. 28 fil March 1 to
study this poet in depth. The
lectures will be a look at his
• thhe during the 19th cen
trin' and how this affects
present time and works of
literature. ' '• f- |
Registration is Thursday
at 8 am in the scheduling
office on the second floor of ;
Rudder Tower. The cost is
$12.50 per individual and
payments are to be made;:
mi to Matthew Arnold Sym
posium. The fee entitles the
participant to attend all
symposium session and the
banquet Friday evening.
;f" ; -!lifeFoughou| the sympo
sium papers will be pre
sented such as: “Arnold and
Culture: the History and
middle class,
g Arnold s:
the welfare of
■■■■■■■■■pi
this life is best
i mocracy vs. Culture: Mat
thew Arnold, James, lord
AWwiiiiii
Prehistory,” “Arnold and
Natural Supernaturalism,”
and W A Modernist Before
the
Matthew
Prose Writings.”
He was the apostle of a restricted, ob;
new culture, one that would irism — free fr<
pursue perfection by know!- political and p
edge and understanding of siderations.
the best thoughts in the Some of the other
world. He attacked the to be presen'
tastes and manners of the thew Arnold
19th-century English so- ernist Image,” “Literature For more informati
defy, particularfy those dis- and the Pleasure Prindple: the Department of
played by the provincial An Araotdian Antidote for at 845-3451A
. The Roger L Brooks Collec-
Ifion of Matthew
Unpubii
letters a..,
sive Rare
Works in
Evans Li :