Post by alschwe35 on May 20, 2012 17:59:47 GMT -5
Matthew Dickman was born and raised in the poor suburb of Lents outside Portland, Oregon with his single mother and twin brother. Growing in a tough neighborhood as a child, Matthew was faced at a young age to the hardships of life such as losing his half brother to a drug overdose.
His poetry takes the reader on a life journey, his long-lined lyric poems are layered with references to popular culture, personal history, and class-based struggle that many people like Matthew Dickman himself relate to. Therefore, as noted by the Los Angeles Times, regarding Matthew Dickman’s style of poetry he “crystallizes and celebrates human contact, reminding us that our best memories, those most worth holding on to, those that might save us, will be memories of love.”
All-American Poem was renowned by Tony Hoagland, who chose Dickman’s book for the American Poetry Review’s Honickman First Book Prize. Matthew Dickman as well has received other awards including the 2009 Oregon Book Award for Poetry.
Matthew Dickman’s personal history is evident in All-American Poem, his poems such as “Snow”, “Trouble”, and “Grief” deal with the loss of his half-brother Darrin. Matthew creatively utilizes metaphors such as resembling grief as a “purple gorilla” to explain the sorrow he felt during his brother’s death.
All-American Poem, Dickman’s debut collection, wants people to understand the community that he came from, as seen in his poem called “Lents” in which he explains the environment he grew up in which was filled with gangs, drugs, and violence.
Not only does Matthew Dickman present his personal history in his poems, but connects effectively with his audience with references to pop-culture and class based struggles in society. Matthew Dickman creatively criticizes what society has negatively developed into, by using humorous phrases and references to many famous people like Marilyn Monroe and Walt Disney. Matthew Dickman successfully in All-American Poem expresses how all the characteristics we develop from society, make our identity as an American.
Tony Hoagland who awarded Matthew Dickman's first published book, All-American Poem, commemorates his work by stating, “We turn loose such poets into our culture so that they can provoke the rest of us into saying everything on our minds.” Tony Hoagland like many other famous poets, enjoy Matthew Dickman’s poetry because of the honesty expressed in his poems whether it came from his life struggles to even criticizing materialistic society.
Matthew Dickman’s poems allow the reader to become exposed to the negative and positive aspects of society, the effect of grief, and the importance of life. Through the up and downs everyone experiences in their own lives, Dickman idealizes the value of life and making the best of it. What makes Dickman’s poems so special is the connection the audience has to his poetry, how it is so simple to understand his meaning and the ability for the audience to relate to him with their problems and feelings. As stated in an interview with Matthew Dickman, “More and more I feel that I write poems to better understand myself, the world I live in, to understand happiness and grief.”
I would like to thank Matthew Dickman for being here tonight to share with us his wonderful poetry. With great honor, I would like to present Matthew Dickman.
Word Count: 543
His poetry takes the reader on a life journey, his long-lined lyric poems are layered with references to popular culture, personal history, and class-based struggle that many people like Matthew Dickman himself relate to. Therefore, as noted by the Los Angeles Times, regarding Matthew Dickman’s style of poetry he “crystallizes and celebrates human contact, reminding us that our best memories, those most worth holding on to, those that might save us, will be memories of love.”
All-American Poem was renowned by Tony Hoagland, who chose Dickman’s book for the American Poetry Review’s Honickman First Book Prize. Matthew Dickman as well has received other awards including the 2009 Oregon Book Award for Poetry.
Matthew Dickman’s personal history is evident in All-American Poem, his poems such as “Snow”, “Trouble”, and “Grief” deal with the loss of his half-brother Darrin. Matthew creatively utilizes metaphors such as resembling grief as a “purple gorilla” to explain the sorrow he felt during his brother’s death.
All-American Poem, Dickman’s debut collection, wants people to understand the community that he came from, as seen in his poem called “Lents” in which he explains the environment he grew up in which was filled with gangs, drugs, and violence.
Not only does Matthew Dickman present his personal history in his poems, but connects effectively with his audience with references to pop-culture and class based struggles in society. Matthew Dickman creatively criticizes what society has negatively developed into, by using humorous phrases and references to many famous people like Marilyn Monroe and Walt Disney. Matthew Dickman successfully in All-American Poem expresses how all the characteristics we develop from society, make our identity as an American.
Tony Hoagland who awarded Matthew Dickman's first published book, All-American Poem, commemorates his work by stating, “We turn loose such poets into our culture so that they can provoke the rest of us into saying everything on our minds.” Tony Hoagland like many other famous poets, enjoy Matthew Dickman’s poetry because of the honesty expressed in his poems whether it came from his life struggles to even criticizing materialistic society.
Matthew Dickman’s poems allow the reader to become exposed to the negative and positive aspects of society, the effect of grief, and the importance of life. Through the up and downs everyone experiences in their own lives, Dickman idealizes the value of life and making the best of it. What makes Dickman’s poems so special is the connection the audience has to his poetry, how it is so simple to understand his meaning and the ability for the audience to relate to him with their problems and feelings. As stated in an interview with Matthew Dickman, “More and more I feel that I write poems to better understand myself, the world I live in, to understand happiness and grief.”
I would like to thank Matthew Dickman for being here tonight to share with us his wonderful poetry. With great honor, I would like to present Matthew Dickman.
Word Count: 543