Welcome to DESK RAGE POET.
Have you ever visited a new place, only to be overcome by an eerie feeling that you'd been there before? That's the feeling I have here, because I have imagined this place, this day, a thousand times over the years, before I finally arrived here to put these words to page.
My life, like everyone's, has been filled with the business of necessities-- family, food, clothing, shelter, education, poetry, middle age crisis, and finally, senior citizen disbelief and denial. Still, it's all been part of a wild roller coaster ride around the inner rings of that huge, twisted cornucopia called life.
Now, it is time for a second round of necessities--fulfilling the need to grow, to mature and focus on those activities that define me, that make me smile inside; that make me believe hope for our collective survival depends on communication, and that good poetry, the artful, Spartan fusion of emotion and intellect, is the ultimate, effective form of that necessary communication.
Join me here, from time to time, to share your work, offer some input, and hopefully read some fine grass roots poetry that will touch you in some way. Young or old, published or unpublished--you are welcome here.
Qualifications required for submissions here are quite simple: honesty, sincerity, humility, sane language skills, and a passion for poetry. There are no penalties or criticism here if you do not have a B.A. or M.F.A., in Creative Writing. Neither will you be laughed at if you write what you think is poetry, and it may not be quite there yet by our standards--be patient: Here, you will find a friend or two, that nurtures you, gently points the way to making the most of who you are, and what you are trying to say. The rest, is up to you.
In the end, degrees and credentials are wonderful; hard-earned, and productive. But they can also be clinical, and lifeless. They do not automatically infuse you with "soul" or an inspired heart, so, do not be afraid or apologetic about your educational lineage, or your perception of what you think poetry is--that question has been bounced around for centuries, and it is still bouncing.
Part of our goal here, our passion, is to provide a safe-haven network for writers at various skill levels, and hopefully, give as many of them as we can a platform to display some of their work. We can’t publish everyone who submits work to us, because not every submittal will be at the minimum threshhold for acceptance, BUT, we can encourage them, show them by example what is possible. Together we can try to solve the riddles, catch and fine-tune that Muse that's running around inside your head-- or not, and just sit back and enjoy the view.
Wishing you all good things,
JOSEPH ROQUE, Editor
DESK RAGE POET