The Naked Poet

 

Through a friend, I came upon the movie, Dead Poet’s Society. Watching it, I found myself grinning, howling and being unable to sit in a position as the movie unwound itself before me.

When I came upon the scene where the introduction by Dr Pritchard Ph.D. was read in front of the class, I was astounded. "If this is right—if there is a graph on which poetry stands, if one needs to first understand the rhymes, rhythms and patterns of poetry, understand what the poet is telling before looking for my understanding of the poem—then I have no business with poetry."

Oh Captain, My Captain, in one word, told the class what he thought of the introduction: excrement

The shock on the faces of the students mirrored mine as I looked on. A man who is acknowledged worldwide, whose grasp of poetry is acknowledged by many, whose introduction has been read by many students and will be read by many more to come is pure excrement

But My Captain never lies. In fact, he told the first truth I had heard in the movie since watching it. A graph that told of how poetry is written and adheres strictly to that, cutting off everything that is a cannon ball to their fragile wall of expectations, is excrement

Most writers are afraid of being bare in their works since the thoughts that ravage their heads are too harmful for virgin eyes. Allow me say this: if you're writing poetry and you're not ready to meet yourself, you have no business writing poetry. It is true, vulnerability is a product of being bare. It is no lie that vulnerability comes with fear

The truth, if we are honest to admit it, is that we are too scared to see ourselves staring back at us from those pages, the memories we have tried to hide, the demons that we have locked up and willed ourselves to believe that the more time pass, the more non-existent they become.

Well, the Devil would have no business tormenting us despite being locked up way over six feet in hell, but look at where we are now. The demons calling out to you from those pages you crafted, another world is looking right at you, playing hide and seek; you would be better off getting acquainted with them.

Perhaps you could look at it another way, those pages are doors to liberty. Liberty in knowing that all versions of ourselves that were locked are opened to us, an adventure in meeting yourself over and over again. See yourself as a universe—writing in total honesty, with yourself is a boat that takes you through that universe. Writing isn’t simply a getaway. It is a get-together. It is revering in the liberty that in each page is locked within a present only you can gift yourself; the greatest of an all-true friendship with yourself.

Perhaps, what really scares you is that this gift of friendship you have given yourself has no business with the world outside of you. Maybe this is true, who am I to tell you to allow strangers to exist within your space? To walk within its boundaries and even spit at it? You might not be strong enough to handle it.

Anyway, the truth, if you will take it, is that you have no business whatsoever to do with creative writing if you're not mature enough to tell your truths in all the lines you add to paper and if you're too rigid to allow yourself be vulnerable.

Creative writing, and more importantly poetry doesn’t ask you to be naked with the world. No, far from it. Writing asks you to be naked to yourself—to it—when you write. And when you're done planting yourself in ink, when your demons and angels have found where to sit in your pages, you alone gets to decide who sees them.

Now, I am not the best authority to tell you how best you want to navigate this gift locked within those pages, and I won’t be the one to motivate you on losing your fear, but I can tell you one thing—no one locked within the arm of fear truly knows what lies at the other end.

© Miranda & Balogun Ayoola Joseph

Miranda is a Nigerian writer who has more than enough abandoned WIPs in comparison to the current ones, it to mention the ideas she's yet to tend to. She breathes good music, movies, fashion and photography.

Balogun Ayoola Joseph is a writer who has fallen into the habit of spelling all three names out when making a formal introduction. He's sure he love writing, eating and keeping to himself.