Frederick Turner

      I thought that the Frederick Turner event was very interesting. I must admit that I've never been to a poetry reading, so I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised with what he had to say. I often have a hard time following long poems and the ideas behind them, but there were a few things that caught my attention. A lot of his poems I felt dealt with the sense of looking back on life and pondering the past. I also enjoyed that he wrote from real life experiences it seemed in many cases.

     His first poem was intriguing to my because I didn't exactly know what was happening. He said there are many ways to interpret it, so it seems I was not alone. In my perspective, it was about a lonely traveler, or perhaps a ghost. I liked the part at the end about him wanting to pursue the dark haired woman he had seen long ago. Oftentimes, I look at people and wonder "what is their story?". Everyone has a story, and there are so many people in this world that I don't know. All it takes is a simple hello, and I could begin an everlasting friendship, but yet I often just pass people by, never knowing what kind of friendship I have missed out on. That is the sense that I got from this poem.

     His next poem about the Galapagos interested me because of the idea of travel. People often say "travel while you're young because later you won't have the chance". I try to live by this saying, because I don't want to be at the end of my life and regret all the things I could have done. If I were rich, I would certainly travel to as many places as possible. This reminds me of the time I wanted to study abroad in Spain. My mom has a fear of travel and didn't want me to go, but I had to defy her, follow my heart, and go to Europe. While there, I visited Spain, England, Portugal, France, and Italy. I must say that going against what my mom wanted was one of the best decisions I've made and if I didn't go, I know I would have regretted it. Also, I find it interesting how Mr. Turner combines scientific information with poetry. At times it felt like I was listening to a scientific study, and yet the words were still so beautiful.

     Next, when he read his free verse poem about the pear tree, it was so different from his previous two poems. He read it with such fiery passion that I couldn't help but be captivated by it, and I'm sure the rest of the audience felt the same way because of the loud applause following it.

    Finally, being a hopeless romantic, I loved his final two love poems. The Romeo and Juliet inspired one was funny and charming, showing the difference behind how men and women think. There was a line in it that went something like "You know I've given up so much to live with you." The Juliet figure says this line and it reminded me of my relationship. My significant otter and I are moving in together, and I could honestly picture myself saying this to him to prove a point.

   Overall, the Frederick Turner even was very enlightening and entertaining. Besides writing thought-provoking work, he seemed like a genuinely nice and funny guy. I'm glad I got the chance to attend his poetry reading :)