Some Poetry for Your Soul

In the summer of 2010, less than a month after graduating from high school, I met a man named Gary Dop in a Summer Honors Creative Writing class. He was only my teacher for 10 days, but he made a major impact on my life. He gave me assurance in both my writing ability and my leadership skills at a time when I wasn't sure about anything in my life. He made me laugh and less than a minute later made me think deeply. He reminded me of the beauty in words and revealed such honesty in his poetry. So it shouldn't be any surprise that this year, with only 91 pages, he has touched my life again.

Gary Dop published his first book of poetry called Father, Child, Water this year. This book was filled with moments of delightful humor, deep pulls at your heartstrings, and insightful moments of what it is to be human. Even if you are not normally a reader of poetry, I can assure you at least one of his poems will speak directly to you. Dop uses clear images and plain speech to illustrate much deeper fears and hopes. It really is quite incredible. Just like back in 2010, I am astounded by the honesty in his poems. I was particularly fond of the poems "Guys Like Me"  and "A Brief Argument" that burst through with bravery and wit to challenge standards of masculinity. Even the poem that is, as a whole, the opposite of honesty, a poem created purely from a moment of imagination titled "Amish Man in the Andy Warhol Museum" (which is my personal favorite poem in the book) hits you at the end with honest confession. "But I wanted a poem. My lying, line by line, began/ as he disappeared down the uncobbled street, my back/ to Warhol's head: great, terrible, and looking down." 

Dop has an amazing ability to take small moments like buying a bomb pop at an ice cream truck or a mowing lawns in order to buy Cool Ranch Doritos and paint them into something absolutely extraordinary. I can't say enough about this poetry collection. My own book is full of marks and tabs and sticky notes and each time I read a poem again, I am struck by something new. I haven't written anything in a long time except this blog, but Dop's poems have inspired an energy in me.