Christopher Locke, Poet, Epping

Laconia native Christopher Locke believes that poetry should be as accessible as possible and wishes to reach as many people as he can through gatherings where all can share their own poetry. He wants his poetry to act as a catalyst to encourage poetic expression among his audience members. In describing his ideal and the format of his report to the NH community, he says, “I’d like to offer local citizens the opportunity to also read their poems, regardless of education, ability, background, or allegiances. Not only would folks read their own poems along with me, but they’d also get the opportunity to take the podium and discuss poetry and poetics and how the art informs their lives.”

The Fellowship, he says, will help provide crucial support to his family as he enters a period of part time work. He says, “I always believed that poetry had the ability to save my life, and over the years, I think it has, but never has it had the opportunity to do so in such a real and tangible way.”

Of his work, he says, “My poems are about finding a way into truth through redemption. … my poems detail the struggle that exists in being a fallible human being, and those small moments of epiphany that lead the speaker away from the intangible and into the redemptive. My poems, though not obsessed with finding ‘a way out,’ as it were, are definitely concerned with discovering another chance. This may include another chance with a relationship, or even just another chance at living. Hope is not a four letter word, and my poems aim to resolve the common discourse between the spirit and the flesh with the least amount of casualties.”

Click here to read one of Christopher Locke's poems

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Last updated: August 23, 2007