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Not Aware of Their Own Beautiful Existence
Death Throes of the Broken Clockwork Universe is a collection of poetry that takes readers on a journey through physical space and abstract worlds of emotion. What inspires you to write poetry?
Since childhood I was a person who experiences life deeply through the senses. Being this way can be overwhelming, and for years, my daily life was a standing question of how to successfully manage this condition.
Writing became a path of sense-making, or simply making sense. It was a long time before I realized that certain writings were poetry.
Today I tend to think of my writings as dispatches: short reports of elements seen externally or felt internally. Occasionally these reports are verbatim, but more often they take a tangential, indirect approach.
What most captures my attention are (so-called) ordinary people, cultures, cities, nature, and the near limitless catalog of human experiences. As much as I wish, my poems may never carry the full weight of how certain moments feel. They are just one snapshot of many possible angles.
What themes do you find your poetry often explores?
Astronomy is an endless source of fascination to me. Poets have, of course, been writing about the heavens since Gilgamesh (before the Bible), and in doing so, they have raised innumerable questions on the nature of time and power of love. I feel perfectly at home in this lineage.
Except in my lifetime, astronomy has undergone through several revolutions, thanks to huge leaps in technology. Tremendous new discoveries about stars, exoplanets, and galaxies occur on a routine basis. Our understanding of the universe is continually being upended by new information. This fills me with a sense of awe and expansiveness.
And yet, as inspiring as these other worlds are, the stars are not aware of their own beautiful existence. Human beings can be. It is a wonder to be alive. Reflecting on these concepts pull me beyond my daily dramas, which feel ever urgent, but in fact are very local in the grand scheme of everything.
Perhaps the center of gravity in most of my poems is a sense of astonishment.
My favorite poem from this collection is ‘MATRICES’. Do you have a poem that stands out to you from this book?
MATRICES is a wonder, and each line contains a story in itself. The dream of vanishing numerals was an actual experience in 2012. The image of the full moon came from a car ride at dusk through a mountain valley in late autumn many years ago. The poem’s framework came in 2019 while studying linear algebra for an engineering fellowship. The poem itself is an act of infusion, compression, and imagination. Most of my poems follow this process.
My favorite poem is THE REBELLION OF SISYPHUS. The famous myth and its deep philosophy has both inspired and haunted me ever since I first heard the story from a teacher in elementary school. As an adult, it was the essays of Albert Camus which taught me how to contend with its reality. Camus imagined Sisyphus happy in the course of his travails. I always wanted to imagine Sisyphus free.
Do you plan to write and publish more works of poetry?
Yes. I write daily and abundantly. Publishing seems to take me a long time, yet Death Throes of the Broken Clockwork Universe was a positive experience. I emerged with a clear sense of voice and direction.
I have already composed new verses for THE ARIA collection. Other poems are ready for daylight. I am not sure if I will continue the astronomy and science theme, but I do hope to have a new collection out in couple of years. It will definitely be less than a decade!
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Combining choreological precision with playfulness, readers enter the mind’s eye of a poet standing along the shoreline of powerful forces that shape all lives: time, place, and love.
Written over a ten-year period, the collection calls to mind the poetry of Lorine Niedecker, Rae Armantrout, Larry Eigner, and Carl Phillips. Importantly, these poems resist thick, impenetrable themes, instead celebrating ordinal wonders of life that are hidden in open view. This spare book offers strong, memorable imagery and questions that will delight thoughtful readers.
Death Throes of the Broken Clockwork Universe
Death Throes of the Broken Clockwork Universe is Wayne David Hubbard’s first book of poetry. This is a collection of anecdotal observations from the author’s experience with change, time, and love. The book is split into two parts: Part One, The Time Studies, and Part Two, The Love Studies. Several of the author’s poems were featured in various journals, magazines, and other publications, though the majority of poetry included in this book is published for the first time as a part of this collection.
In Wayne David Hubbard’s own words, “these poems are portraits of where [I] have been.” I’ll be clear about the theme of the author’s poetry with the following disclaimer: this collection is not for you if you’re looking for an easy read. The author uses metaphorical wording and tackles abstract ideas and themes that will force the reader to think. If you’re a fan of mainstream poetry collections, you may initially find it takes a while to grasp some of Hubbard’s concepts and meaning, though it’s a worthwhile investment. Once you dive into the book, you’ll find his writings thought-provoking, providing interesting ideas to ponder as you develop an understanding of each poem.
As I became familiar with the author’s work, I enjoyed his style and how he approaches aspects of life from a refreshingly new perspective. His collection is shareable with anyone who enjoys a read that conjures a new way of thinking about life and experience from Hubbard’s personal perspective. He focuses on the universal and familiar topics from a new angle, without regurgitating standard ideas but instead breathing new life into subjects in such an evocative way that readers can connect with the unknown or an unseen layer of the familiar.
Death Throes of the Broken Clockwork Universe provides a great opportunity for readers to expand their impressions of the world around them and of themselves. I recommend this book for its creative originality and the author’s ability to recognize a deeper connection to humanity as a whole.
Pages 68 | ASIN: 1639884750
LITERARY TITAN 