Poetry Reading: The Great Willow, by Kourtney D. Cooper

Performed by Val Cole

Get to know the poet:

What is the theme of your poem?

The theme of my poem addresses sorrow and the consequences one’s sorrows can beget on surrounding people, places and things. We tend to, as humans, have a strange genetic need to be amongst equals. The rich comingle with other likeminded wealth, the poor unable to escape their poverties, the happy with the happy, and if uninterrupted or thwarted, the sad with the sad. If uninterrupted, I’m sure the multiplicity sorrow could prove diabolic.

What motivated you to write this poem?

I am trying to expand my writing, to attempt other forms of writing so that I can grow and evolve as a writer. In their brief existence, poetry challenges a person to think and wonder profoundly by use of beautifully, deliberately arranged words. I want to master this skill.

How long have you been writing poetry?

I just began. My skill and technique is perhaps a few months old. I am training myself by reading other arranged works to help strengthen my own poetic muscle. Even in my writing this, I notice a difference in my writing.

If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?

As cliché as this answer may appear (hopefully it doesn’t relate to pathetic), the one person I’d want to have dinner with is Beyonce. Perhaps the overall reason is due to how much I idolize her hustle and talent. I would want to probe her thoughts on what drives her momentum? How does she challenge herself to attain the next level, to exceed even herself? Things that relate to her maintaining a consistent behavior that bears wealth in wisdom and evolved talent.

What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?

I want to hear my work voiced outside my own head, outside my own mouth—to see someone else interpret the emotion placed throughout the poem.

Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?

I do write other works: scripts, short stories, blogs, comics, and novels as of now.

What is your passion in life?

My passion in life is to one day write as a successful writer for Hollywood.