I write poetry to explore the world and what it means to be male and connect with other men in American culture. I have been using poetry as a way to find spiritual balance and create a dialectic with the world since I was 17. Poetry is a way to cry out against misery, express grief, heal wounds and celebrate. Poetry is a way to pray. Poetry is my path to redemption. Poetry is a means to actuality and embracing your raw, genuine self, with all its beautiful flaws. I have engaged poetry as a way to reconcile with my angry father, and seek forgiveness for my ridiculous life. Through all the chaos and catastrophe, poetry has brought me some kind of calm.

ABOUT THE POET

Christopher Stephen Soden received his MFA in Poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts in January of 2005. He teaches craft, theory, genre and literature. He writes poetry, plays, literary, film and theatre critique for sharpcritic.con, EdgeDallas and John Garcia’s the Christopher’s poetry collection, Closer was released by Rebel Satori Press on June 14th, 2011. He received a Full Fellowship to Lambda Literary's Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices in August 2010. His performance piece: Queer Anarchy received The Dallas Voice's Award for Best Stage Performance. Water and A Christmas Wish were staged at Bishop Arts and Every Day is Christmas. In Heaven at Nouveau 47. Other honors include: Distinguished Poets of Dallas, Poetry Society of America's Poetry in Motion Series, Founding Member, President and President Emeritus of The Dallas Poets Community. His work has appeared in: G & L Review, Chelsea Station, Glitterwolf, Collective Brightness, A Face to Meet the Faces, Resilience, Ganymede Poets : One, Gay City 2, The Café Review, The Texas Observer, Sentence, Borderlands, Off the Rocks, The James White Review, The New Writer, Velvet Mafia, Poetry Super Highway, Gertrude, Touch of Eros, Gents, Bad Boys and Barbarians, Windy City Times, ArLiJo, Best Texas Writing 2.