Ohio University alumnus James Ragan revisited his old stomping grounds last night - sharing his poetic journey with the students and faculty at Galbreath Chapel.
The reading, which featured selections from his new book of poetry, Too Long a Solitude, lasted well over an hour, as the pews overflowed with avid listeners.
Ragan understands that words are both powerful and sacred
said Dinty Moore, director of OU's creative writing program.
Between reading his poems, Ragan reflected on his past experiences and inspirations. Coming from a family of 13 children, he often felt like the outcast in a family of scientists and doctors.
I was the impressionable offspring. ... I was the outcast because I was the only one who went into the arts Ragan said. (But) the first time they saw me being interviewed on television that's when things changed.
Among the things that inspired him were his time at OU during the 1970s and the Vietnam War.
I remember a time when I was here
and it was the worst of times ... we had just had a riot
and I was one of the rally speakers
he said. I remember hearing that four students at Kent State (University) were shot
and I was crying all the way up the hill
but I still had to go on with my rally speech.
Athens served as an inspiration for Ragan for his dissertation and thesis for his doctorate degree. His first book, In the Talking Hours, is a collection of those poems.
Something about this place catapulted me into a place in the world that I never knew
he said.
I never felt local. ...I always felt for the world: it had to be larger.
Ragan is an internationally known poet. He has performed in Carnegie Hall twice and at the First International Poetry Festival in Moscow with Bob Dylan and Robert Bly. He travels the world to prick the conscience of society.
We have to be more aware of what is happening in the world and the artist has to be open to his
he said. It's always about bringing down the borders.
As a poet, Ragan has won numerous awards including the Emerson Poetry Prize, eight Pushcart Prize nominations and a Poetry Society of America Gertrude Claytor Award.
People have always described (my poetry) in many different ways. ... It's lyrical because I love the lyrical nature of poetry
Ragan said. One of the goals I've had is I (always) wanted to move the minds of kings and do what I thought poets should do ... comfort the afflicted and afflict the comforted.
