Rick Barnes's E-Mail Address: btlore@hotmail.com
Rick Barnes's Profile:
Well...I guess it's time to put a profile on here. I'm always so clumbsy at this. I don't
think it is because I am withdrawn or too guarded about revealing things. Quite the contrary,
I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve and tell my entire life story to a complete stranger
while seated next to him/her on a plane.
Perhaps it is that I find details served up without any real context to read like so many
ingredients without any recipe. There is another fear I harbour. I don't mind someone
getting to know me via the poetry, but I do object to someone trying to know the poetry
through me. People more concerned with motive than meaning should stick to law.
I think poetry transends the writer. If not, what's a poem for?
If you're still with me so far, (I really am trying), I started writing poetry at the age
of nine. My Grandmother, Alyce Marie Sparks, was a published poet and I grew up listening
to her recite. My fifth grade teacher was very fond of poetry and felt it important that
we learn to recite. While going through the text book of poetry I found a poem by my
Grandmother. I was so excited. It was an identity moment. My teacher assigned each of us
the task of writing a poem about our mother. I took the task very seriously and felt that
I had to live up to my new identity as Alyce Marie Sparks' grandchild. I wrote, re-wrote,
revised, tore up and wrote again until I wore that little poem out. Then something
very odd happened. One day I took the pencil into my hand and wrote as fast as I could,
a poem that was being dictated to me inside my little noggin. It was writing itself.
When I finished I realized I had written something that couldn't be said any other way,
and yet I had the strangest feeling that I hadn't really written it.
The poem received praise and was placed in a display case in the hallway. All of that
was rewarding and a little embarrassing. What I really wanted was to experience that feeling
of a poem writing itself again. I told my Grandmother this and she said, "Ricky, you've
been given a gift so you'd better get busy. Now that poetry has found you don't concern
yourself with being a poet. Work at being worthy of the poetry. Everything else is vanity."
I never stopped writing poetry. To date I have written four books of poetry and a fifth is
in the works. I have a book of poetry titled "Imposters" resently released by 1st Books.
It is available at Amazon.com and various other dot coms. I really enjoy posting poetry here
and have found it to be a rewarding experience.
Ohhhh yeah, I nearly forgot. I have long chestnut brown hair.
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Below you will see ALL of the Poems that Rick Barnes has published on The Poetic Link.
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Displaying Poems 1 to 50 out of 104 Total Poems.
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Click one of the following to display the: Next 50 ... Last 50 Poems.
If you would like to view all of Rick Barnes's Critiques just Click Here.
Poetry Contests Online at The Poetic Link
Click HERE to
return to ThePoeticLink.com Database Page!