John Barton
John Barton
extra field goals points work
We work on extra points and field goals every day, every day. To have that let us down is very tough.
poems
To me many short poems read and write like beginnings that simply whet my appetite; I want to get over that.
time
You can never step into the same book twice, because you are different each time you read it.
cannot engaging fact happened notion personally point stop time
We are comfortable with the fact that we cannot know personally what happened in the world before we were born, yet we are uncomfortable with the notion that we will stop engaging with time at some point in the future.
obvious outset poems unfold
I have been told my poems unfold in such a way that it is not at all obvious from the outset where they are going or how they will end.
board caused deal great literary magazines member prominent submission
I have been told by a member of the board of one of Canada's most prominent literary magazines that a submission of mine once caused a great deal of controversy.
either poems remarkably unaware understanding verse written
Most victims of my autobiographical verse are either far too polite, remarkably understanding unaware that I have written poems about them.
audience censor others poets realise sensitive
Poets have to be sensitive to their audience, but it does not mean that they censor themselves. I realise my audience is diverse. Some will read with empathy and curiosity while others will take offense.
inevitably lives pull
Poets can't resist the dramatic pull of their lives and so inevitably write autobiographical verse.
form inquiry nature poetry procedures using
Poetry is but another form of inquiry into the nature of phenomena, using with its own unique procedures and tools.
absurd amused became colours decides hot intrigued
I became intrigued with colour theory. The absurd pronouncements of the Colour Institute, a group that decides what colours are hot each year or season, amused me.
experience obsessed passage vulnerable
I have always been very obsessed with time. Time's passage makes us all very vulnerable and because we all experience it in our own way, it can make us feel very alone.
combining intrigued meanings might seemingly unrelated
I have become intrigued with the combining of seemingly unrelated ideas or images, or the drawing upon the many, sometimes dissimilar, meanings a word might have.
easily expect poem poetry reader
No poem is easily grasped; so why should any reader expect fast results?