Spring 2008, Volume 4

Poetry by Barry Spacks


Emily

Forbidden casual touch,
her doctor sought a diagnosis
at a distance from the doorway to her room.

Watching her shy self-display,
white-gowned her pacing about within,
He concludes:

Poet's Disease!
Prescription:
nakedness, and hugs.


BIO:  Known mainly as a poet/teacher, Barry Spacks has also been a painter for over forty years. He teaches at UCSB, was named the first Poet Laureate of the City of Santa Barbara in 2005, has published nine poetry collections, the most extensive being SPACKS STREET: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS from Johns Hopkins, the newest (both 2004) REGARDING WOMEN, winner of the Cherry Grove Collections Prize, and THE HOPE OF THE AIR from Michigan State University Press. He's also brought out three poetry-reading CDs, two novels, and over 400 individual poems in paper and pixel journals. His tenth book of poems, FOOD FOR THE JOURNEY, arrives from Cherry Grove Collections in August, 2008.