Keyholes.

Abstract

Drawing upon influence from the observational tone of Frank O'Hara's poetry and journalistic writing, and the confessional voice of Billy Childish in conjunction with the people-poet aesthetic of Charles Bukowski, the poetry collection Keyholes examines the verisimilitude of overlooked intimate moments in life. Throughout Keyholes, these moments are framed in a fashion similar to the view through a door's keyhole. This collection is divided into three sections to show the range of this approach, from voyeuristic to narrative to observational. Relying on voyeurism portrayed in a narrative voice, "Untitled 2013" takes an ekphrastic look at the early photography of native Tulsan Larry Clark. Within this section, the photographs are discussed through metaphor driven description, narration of back story for the pictures, and homage to Clark's work as a film director. "Landlocked," depicts coming-of-age and the experiences encompassing living in the Oklahoma City metro. Frank O'Hara's influence leads this section with the attention to acute details in rendering the subject. The exclusion of the author in most of these poems attempts to create objectivity, like that employed in journalistic writing. The collection's final section, "Messages from a Megaphone," mirrors the focus of the preceding section, but shows a differing perspective. In the commentary and criticisms made in these poems, the compositions are a poetic effort to shed objectivity, while maintaining the strict and controlled focus on a subject.