I've found it so hard, for so long, to have much respect for poetry. Don't know why, really, except for the fact that most of what I'd experienced had been amateur poetry, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Recently, however, that's begun to change.

It started with Nick Flynn last year (I highly recommend his collection "Some Ether") and was continued a few weeks ago when I heard Mark Doty read some of his newest work. That man is amazing. I'm not sure if it was his poetry or his delivery or a combination of the two, but at one point, I was nearly crying. It was a poem called "Heaven for Paul" that got to me, which I recommend to everyone in the world.

Something he said at the end of the reading, though, is what got me thinking in terms of my own writing style. He stood there and told us all that every piece of his writing is autobiographical, taken straight from his life. I'd always known that personal writing was strongest, but it took hearing his work and hearing his commentary on it to make me think that perhaps I should stop trying to couch things in metaphor and start simply being honest.

I'll keep everyone up to date on how that goes.

I was asked to read at a poetry jam tonight. Wish me luck.