The Poetry of Michael Easton

Although Michael Easton is best known for his acting, his poetry shows amazing promise and could be his richest legacy. His first volume of poetry, Eighteen Straight Whiskeys, was published in 1997 with a second printing following in 2003. It includes 54 poems that experiment with both form and language yet offer a consistent – and persistent – voice.

Easton’s work takes the reader on a rather dark journey. According to statements published on former official Web site, the

collection springs from a period of Easton’s life characterized by homelessness and substance abuse. The speakers of the works offer a vision of life replete with search for self and voice. The works touch on everything from disillusionment with life and love to frank explorations of the writing process that reveal the struggles of a young poet challenged to hold up an honest mirror to a world that is not always – or even often – pretty.

Despite its overall darkness, Eighteen Straight Whiskeys offers moments of hope and even celebration, although it is of an usual sort – the type of hope

that springs from knowing that you know nothing , the type that originates from the struggle to find ways to say what could not be said before, the type that originates from grasping hold of the truth and loving it because it IS truth. The result of Easton’s search is a dance of darkness and a unique light, a collection that is highly effective, both in terms of eliciting a strong emotional response and in serving as a springboard for introspection and thought.

The purpose of this Web site is to offer a forum for discussing Easton’s poetry. The poems will not be reproduced in their entirety; doing so would illegal and highly disrespectful to the poet’s art. Eighteen Straight Whiskeys is available at amazon.com and may also be available through your local library. If the only poetry you have read has been from a high school text, you are in for a pleasant surprise.

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About the

Site Host

Everyone who has read Easton’s poetry and is interested in joining the discussion is welcome to do so. It isn’t necessary or even desirable to have a background in literary interpretation. If you are new to such discussions, you might want to follow the Literary Criticism link. It might make your experience with poetry a little more fun.

You also may submit original poems or other creative work, and I will add them to the site as time permits. Work that is inspired by or in response to Easton’s work will receive top priority.

Please be aware that this is not a site for insults or personal arguments. Disagreement on the meanings of poems is welcome and will add spice to the discussions. But any message that says “XXX’s idea is stupid” or “XXX is an idiot” will not be posted. Any interpretation of a poem is valid as long as it can be tied to the text, and we will all respect each other’s ideas.

Also, this site will be devoted to a discussion of Easton’s poetry and the works of artists who inspired him. There are a number of sites devoted to his acting career, and I could not hope to match them in content or format. Of course, if you want to discuss characters Easton has portrayed in terms of his poetry, that would be great. For example, if “Love Letter” makes you think of how John felt when Evangeline left him, that would be fun.

All comments and original works can be identified by name, Web ID or anonymous and should be submitted as an RTF attachment to the following e-mail address:

debokeystuff@yahoo.com

I hold a master’s degree in English and have taught college literature and writing for over ten years. My literary emphases have been Shakespearean drama, British Romantic poetry, and twentieth century American fiction. I studied contemporary American poetry under Dr. Kevin Stein, the poet laureate of Illinois.

I also have completed graduate work in cognitive psychology with an emphasis on the mental processes involved in written communication of all forms. I am currently pursuing a PhD in English at Northern Illinois University.

-- Deb Okey

Look Who’s Talking

One important thing to keep in mind is that the speaker of the poem is not necessarily the poet and might not express the poet’s views. For example, Robert Browning wrote a poem that is basically a long quote of what one man told another about how he killed his wife. But Browning himself had not killed anyone and certainly had not contemplated killing his wife.

Therefore, we cannot assume that the poetry actually tells us anything about Michael Easton as a person. Those of you who are familiar with his background may see parallels and are welcome to point them out. However, it would be presumptuous to believe that anything we piece together is more than just a guess.

We also can never know what Easton was attempting to say in his poetry. Only he can tell us that. If he chooses to submit comments, we would, of course, be honored.

Updates

7/15/05 – “Individualism vs. Conformity in Easton’s ‘Tantalus’” by moori001

7/20/05 – “Let Your Voice Be Heard: Advice From the Poet in Michael Easton’s ‘Influences’” by Deb Okey

8/28/05 – “Girl” and “Boy” and Intertextuality by Deb Okey