One thing that defines a poem is a way of listening and speaking at the same time, award-winning poet and Regents Professor of English at the University of North Texas told TR students April 11.
Bruce Bond read various poems he has written, beginning each with a short story or humorous fact about how he began his thoughts to write or title a specific poem.
“The laugh track got me thinking why don’t they have a cry track,” he said before beginning to read his poem “Cry Track.” “One of the most heartbreaking socializations is homelessness, and it confronts all of us. I’m interested in what it’s doing to our psychology. It’s like this enormous eye.”
Bond then read his poem “The Web” and explained how he’s fascinated by the Internet.
Happiness is a harder subject to write about, and it’s a matter of interest of character, he said.
In reference to his poem “People,” Bond said his inspiration came from his interest in empathy. He said the theme of empathy is interesting in ways of a culture’s influence on a person’s ability to feel empathy.
“Even when I write about people who may be labeled ‘evil,’ my first impulse is that I want to understand them,” he said.
To understand them or work with them, one must have empathy, Bond said.
When writing, Bond said it’s a huge challenge to try to see something.
Student Aubdlrahaman Kawsara said that although he was attending the presentation for extra credit, he also felt that it was an opportunity to grasp another author’s work of literature and try to comprehend Bond’s views of literature.
Student Malik Busoul came specifically to hear Bond’s poetry.
“He is an amazing artist of words,” Busoul said. “I like to expose myself to new poets, and it was an amazing experience.”
— Stephanie Swain
