Portrait of a Young Man

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In this collection, the young author Oliver Barnes paints a portrait of himself in twenty-six poems through a series of lessons he received from his teacher Robert Perry over the past four years. A student of remarkable talent and curiosity, Oliver was introduced to poetry from around the world, including his own traditions both East and West. In weekly sessions, he was invited to read and study the work of well and lesser known poets and respond with poems of his own. For example, his first lesson was "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams from which Oliver conveyed how, for him, so much depends upon / a glistening light.

These explorations led Oliver into an understanding of the creative process and endeavors integral to the art of poetry such as book design and publishing, editing and translation. He also encountered myriad sources of inspiration from nature and culture, history and philosophy, mythology and religion/spirituality. This extraordinary collection of poems stands as a portrait of a young man who became a poet of singular voice.