Visiting poet finds sublimity in Brooklyn
Juliana D'Amico
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: Arts
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "Everything in creation has its appointed painter or poet and remains in bondage like the princess in the fairy tale 'til its appropriate liberator comes to set it free."
For visiting poet Daniel Tobin, busy city life does not distract him from liberating his masterpieces. It is the center of his inspiration.
This week Tobin was at Hillsdale sharing his inspiration with students in lectures and workshops.
Known internationally for his poems and awards, Tobin's favorite piece is his book-length work "The Narrows," which is about his native city Brooklyn, New York.
"I always wanted to write about where I grew up in Brooklyn," Tobin said.
He said "The Narrows" took him 17 years to complete.
"No one has written as fully as they might on the poetry of immigrant America," he said.
Senior Ester Terry said she thinks Tobin's poetry has a very human quality and that he is a very compassionate author.
"Even if he writes about things that most people don't notice, he still writes it in such a way that is accessible - so that you recognize [the poetry in it]," Terry said.
Tobin said the constant influx of people coming to the United States and leaving in New York City intrigued him.
"What I do is try to pay attention," sad Tobin. "I try to find an attentive spot inside oneself in order to be open for the possibility of making poems."
Although growing up in Brooklyn inspired Tobin to write, he did not grow up in a book-oriented house. It was not until Tobin's early teens that he began to write.
"[A love of writing poetry] hit me pretty hard, and I began to write in high school," Tobin said.
Tobin read what poetry he could find and taught himself to learn from example. Tobin recalls John Donne as his favorite poet when he first began to love poetry. With the great poets' masterpieces as his only guide, it was Tobin's Spanish teacher who first encouraged him to continue to write poetry.
For visiting poet Daniel Tobin, busy city life does not distract him from liberating his masterpieces. It is the center of his inspiration.
This week Tobin was at Hillsdale sharing his inspiration with students in lectures and workshops.
Known internationally for his poems and awards, Tobin's favorite piece is his book-length work "The Narrows," which is about his native city Brooklyn, New York.
"I always wanted to write about where I grew up in Brooklyn," Tobin said.
He said "The Narrows" took him 17 years to complete.
"No one has written as fully as they might on the poetry of immigrant America," he said.
Senior Ester Terry said she thinks Tobin's poetry has a very human quality and that he is a very compassionate author.
"Even if he writes about things that most people don't notice, he still writes it in such a way that is accessible - so that you recognize [the poetry in it]," Terry said.
Tobin said the constant influx of people coming to the United States and leaving in New York City intrigued him.
"What I do is try to pay attention," sad Tobin. "I try to find an attentive spot inside oneself in order to be open for the possibility of making poems."
Although growing up in Brooklyn inspired Tobin to write, he did not grow up in a book-oriented house. It was not until Tobin's early teens that he began to write.
"[A love of writing poetry] hit me pretty hard, and I began to write in high school," Tobin said.
Tobin read what poetry he could find and taught himself to learn from example. Tobin recalls John Donne as his favorite poet when he first began to love poetry. With the great poets' masterpieces as his only guide, it was Tobin's Spanish teacher who first encouraged him to continue to write poetry.
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