Beautiful Dead Dragonfly Why – Poetry Reading by James Gaynor

 

Performed by Val Cole
1) What is the theme of your poem?

Is there a moment of clarity preceding the final darkness that is either night or death?

2) What motivated you to write this poem?

My friend, the photographer Andrew Guest,  took a picture of a dead dragonfly that I found oddly beautiful. I started thinking of the insect’s life, one defined  almost completely by  constant aerial movement, now finished, attested to by still and iridescent corpse on the ground.

3) How long have you been writing poetry?

More than 50 years

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

Sushi with Jane Austen

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

I hear my poetry read by a voice inside my head. Oddly enough, it sounds just like me. I was curious…