On Thursday March 6, JSC welcomed Minneapolis poet J.P. White, who read from several of his published books of poetry, including his two most recent, “Salt Hour,” and “My Crocodile.”
Sponsored by the Writing and Literature Department, the reading was the culminating event for two JSC classes, Professor Ken Leslie’s book making class and Professor Neil Shepard’s poetry workshop, which White had visited the day before.
The two classes are soon to be embarking on a collaborative project in which poetry students will pair up with student artists to create a book of poetry and visual art. White came prepared with some examples of this type of collaboration between formerly published artists and poets, which he presented in the two classes.
In the classes White spoke in depth about poetic form, his main focus harkening back to the ancient Chinese poets who made use of the spondee, a poetic device where two words or syllables are both equally accented or stressed. White used phrases like “full-stop” or “moose track” to exemplify the spondaic form.
He emphasized the Chinese poet’s ability to capture what he called the “essence and action” of a certain moment and their concept of “first-thought, best thought.” These poetic ideas and devices were easily identified within White’s poetry, along with his subject matter, which seemed to reflect his interpretation of Chinese poetry and the connection between the human mind and the natural world.
For example, the first poem he read, “Essay On Beauty,” was about hiking in Yellowstone National Park and an intimate encounter with a female grizzly bear. While soaking in a hot spring the narrator sees a figure beyond the steam and calls to it, only to realize as it comes near that it’s a grizzly bear. As the bear gets into the water we enter the mind of the narrator, feeling the fear and almost funny realization that this might be the death of him. But as it goes on, he begins to talk to the bear, telling her about his past problems with women, and suddenly the scene is elevated into an almost surreal experience that brings new light to both human and animal nature. As an afterthought to the poem, White offered this quote by Rilke: “Terror is the first touch of beauty.”
Whether contemplating his father’s death, the memory of his mother’s antiquated underwear, or the “obligatory ritual” of submitting poems to literary journals, White has a tendency to use simple diction, though he uses it in a way that is often sensual if not tongue-tying.
He is also a poet with the sublime ability to connect the impossible, as in “Adams Extermination,” where he connects the name of a pest-control business to the garden of Eden, or in “Riding the River Rolling the Bones,” where the words printed on a girl’s shirt, “ride the river, roll the bones,” are likened to his experiences on the streets of New York City as a middle-aged man. These two poems also exemplify White’s use of “found poetry” from which he said, he often gathers inspiration.
The reading was well attended and judging by the audience’s enthusiastic reaction was well enjoyed by all.