Arts & Leisure
"Riding in Boxcars" offers uniquely poetic views of life
By Jennifer L. Saunders
As these titles indicate, these are poems that cross boundaries, drawn from decades of living to create a patchwork of the human experience with settings that seem to come from as close as just around the corner, or as far away as around the world.
Glenn K. Currie, who happens to be a part-time York Beach resident and has even included at least one notable York site in his book, released his second book of poetry, "Riding n Boxcars," earlier this year through Snap Screen Press. "Riding in Boxcars," like Currie's first book, "Daydreams," creates connections with diverse readers through a unique style of poetry that intersperses the humorous and the poignant - side by each in the same volume.
As the book's title suggests, "Riding in Boxcars" uses the model of a train moving through life, and we, the readers, get to glimpse at it through Currie's poems.
The book is beautifully illustrated with Currie's photographs throughout - with the exception being the cover photograph by Susanne G. Currie of train tracks disappearing into the distance. Within Currie's book, each poem is matched with a photograph on a facing page that relates to the poem in an informative, illustrative or humorous way.
In his introduction to the 116-page volume, Currie writes, "We are all hobos, to one degree or another, arriving and leaving this world with nothing. We ride through life in boxcars of our own choosing… or otherwise… The poems in this book are views looking in and looking out as the cars rumble along the many tracks I have traveled…"
And as the introduction suggests, the subject matter within the 116 pages of "Riding in Boxcars" is wonderfully diverse.
There is Currie's poignant poem "Wandering in Cemeteries" - where even the caption opposite the poem, matched with Currie's solemn photograph of an ancient burial ground situated in the shadow of a hill- forces the reader to stop and think.
Currie's caption reads, "A quiet place, free from taxes and war and politics. A place to learn about priorities from those who know."
And then, there is his poem "Spring," filled with joyful images and hope, matched with a stunning photograph of flowers in bloom in hues of red, purple, pink and white.
There are moments of humor, introspection, glee and sorrow, told with evocative language and brought to life with imagery ranging from York's quintessential lighthouse, The Nubble, set aglow at Christmas, to illustrate a poem about the holiday to the Statue of Liberty with a pre-Sept. 11, 2001 view of New York City matched with the haunting poem, "Building Two."
Currie's poems are scenes from nature and from cities, from youth and from age, with each of his photographs perfectly matched with each subject.
His diverse travels are credited in part with the varied subjects reflected in his poems and photographs.
Life experience itself seems to add this depth of emotion - whether that emotion is humor or sadness - to each poem and image selected for this work. And, in learning about Currie, the reason seems clear.
He has been described as writing poetry ever since he was a schoolboy in the second grade and fell in love with his teacher. In the five decades since, his experiences have ranged from service in the Navy to his current career as a business and stock market consultant. He is also known as a humorist and essayist.
Throughout it all, however, he has been a poet - and, since his Navy days, has used those poems as an outlet for stress, to step outside the world of business.
"Riding in Boxcars," indeed, invites its readers to step outside the world where they abide, to peer into the past, to hope for the future, to view what Currie describes in his introduction as the scenes he has tried to paint - "some different scenes of life and the world, as they have rattled past the open doors of my boxcars."
Locally, "Riding in Boxcars" is available at Garfield's, Whispering Sands and Shelton's. For more information on "Riding in Boxcars" or "Daydreams," visit www.snapscreenpress.com.
