Douglas Rothschild shares his poetry at New Writing Series

By Kayla Riley

Posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009, 12:41 am

On Thursday evening, the jovial Douglas Rothschild shared his love of poetry with a small group of faculty and students on the University of Maine campus. The event was held in Jenness Hall as the final installment in the New Writing Series for the semester.

Before Rothschild began his reading, Steve Evans, coordinator of the New Writing Series and associate English professor at UMaine, introduced him. Evans gave Rothschild a lively introduction, explaining how they met in college and that Rothschild “can’t stop unfolding ideas. He’s one of those great poets who’s a walker. He’s peripatetic.”

When Rothschild stepped up to the podium, he began reciting in a deep, resounding voice that echoed through the small room. His first poem titled “Imminent Danger” was made up of one word: alarm. In his unique tone, he repeated “alarm” at a high decibel several times.

Most of the poems Rothschild read were excerpts from his latest book “Theogony,” released this year. He mixed in poems from a few other publications, including the ingeniously designed “Matchbook,” which looks like an oversized matchbook, and the politically charged “Minor Arcana.”

He was dressed in a white and grey pinstripe suit, red tie, shiny black shoes and a thick mustache. His work was exactly what is expected of great poets — rich imagery, intriguing language and a way with words.

Images like “a waterlogged carcass of a bagel forever out of reach” and “a lace curtain starched too stiff” jumped off the page as he spoke, while phrases such as “to think, all of it exists because some of it is possible is simple-minded” encouraged the audience to think.

One of the most remarkable aspects of Rothschild’s performance was his sense of humor. While not always blatant, it ranged from food for thought such as “off-white held no importance until bleach was invented, and bright white became the standard,” to the playful “so much depends on the not-red wheelbarrow.” During the question and answer period, he assured the audience “it’s OK to laugh.”

Rothschild said he is fueled by outrage and admiration. He finds inspiration in the beauty of nature and the anger of politics. He also gains inspiration from other poets.

“You start somewhere alive, interact with things, then think ‘Hey, that’s interesting,’” Rothschild said. “I’ll start there. I write things down, and I take away all the parts that don’t look like a beautiful poem.”

Rothschild urged the importance of emotion in writing poetry and finding a balance between drama and humor. “You put in these light moments where you come up for air. You’re leading people in a direction, but you don’t want to oppress them,” he said.

Rothschild has more to tell the world and will continue to write inspired poetry. As a line from one of his poems read, “I regret that I have run out of paper, as there is still so much to write.”