Poet Spotlight: Steve Kowit

"I love poetry of compassion,
poetry about the state of the world, not just the state of the poet's family,
friends, personal memories and genital concerns. A poetry of compassion means
feeling deeply for other beings. We are, when all is said and done, a savage,
unappetizing little species whose most salient collective characteristics is a
murderous hatred of the outgroup...So it's terribly useful when we find poets
who can remind us to feel deeply for the rest of the world."

Steve Kowit (pronounced "Cow-it") was born in New York, NY just before World War Two. As Kowit recalls the Great War helped to profoundly shape his worldview, "I was born in 1938, at the beginning of the Nazi holocaust. The murder of six million Jews filled me with wonder at this species' limitless capacity for inhumanity." Kowit currently teaches at Southwestern College in Chula Vista. He lives near the Mexican border, in the San Diego backcountry.

This poem by Steve Kowit is entitled "The Prodigal Son's Brother"

who'd been steadfast as small change all his life
forgave the one who bounced back like a bad check
the moment his father told him he ought to.
After all, that's what being good means.
In fact, it was he who hosted the party,
bought the crepes & champagne,
uncorked every bottle. With each drink
another toast to his brother: ex-swindler, hit-man
& rapist. By the end of the night
the entire village was blithering drunk
in an orgy of hugs & forgiveness,
while he himself,
whose one wish was to be loved as profusely,
slipped in & out of their houses,
stuffing into a satchel their brooches & rings
& bracelets & candelabra.
Then lit out at dawn with a light heart
for a port city he knew only by reputation:
ladies in lipstick hanging out of each window,
& every third door a saloon.

If you are curious about how to write a poem dealing with the theme of social consciousness Kowit lists a set of steps to follow:

1. Start clipping articles and photos from your daily newspaper that sadden you, anger you, or in some other way move you. Keep the articles in a folder and the photos where you can see them.

2. List the social issues about which you feel deeply.

3. Recall an incident of mockery directed at someone for being old. Infirm, poor fat, disabled, homosexual, socially awkward, or "ugly."

4. Recall someone you knew who had been touched by war.

5. Recall encountering someone who was homeless and/or desperately poor.

6. Recall an injustice you witnessed.

7. Make a list of other "political" incidents or encounters in your life, things that have either happened to you or that you have witnessed that involved such issues as injustice, intolerance, exploitation, war, or cruelty.

Here several links with more info about Kowit:

An essay from Steve Kowit, entitled "The Mystique of the Difficult Poem"
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/press/kowit.html

Famous Poets and Poems -- Steve Kowit
http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/steve_kowit