Jaclyn Gonzales
Staff Writer

The lights dimmed as poet Don Kingfisher Campbell stepped on stage holding up a McDonald’s soft drink.

He explained that he was not politically correct since he was not drinking a bottle of water.

Campbell read 16 of his poems relating to love and social political issues. Following the reading was a Master Class in poetry writing on April 5 in the Cabaret Theater.

“Anyone can write a poem,” Campbell said. “I believe poetry should not just be heard but should be seen.”

As the founder of POETRYpeople, a youth writing workshop, he teaches his students this belief. The audience embraced his eccentric poetry with elements that ranged from emotionally charged words to light hearted humor.

One of the poems, “Some Deaths,” used vivid descriptions during a natural disaster.

“I was moved with the Katrina disaster; I decided to write about it so I can feel a little how those affected feel,” Campbell said.

Other social politically charged poems included “Disaster,” a poem inspired by the World Almanac that expressed contemplation with the power of the media and showed which natural disasters get the most news coverage.

The poem, “2,000 Dead,” was written with every other line providing a hard news fact while the remaining lines were examples of advertisements. It showed how newspapers have become filled with ads, which can distract the reader from the articles.

“Every poem is an idea,” Campbell said.

During the performance, he encouraged aspiring poets not to feel overwhelmed when writing poetry. He said that a poet can gain motivation from poetry topics of other writers. He encouraged the student poets to use those topics to create their own.

When reading the love poems, he briefly introduced each piece with a personal anecdote.

He laughed as he spoke about the archaically written “Breathe My Love To Sense Our Beautiful Day.”

“In 1980, I first found out about poems; I read a villanelle from a poet and I decided to write one,” Campbell said. “I was trying to get my wife to become a monogamist. The best thing to happen to me was when my wife divorced me. The poem made her confess her infidelity.”

On the upside from that poem, “Gifts For My Wife,” along with other titles were written for and about his current wife. It expresses his love for her.
Campbell had the audience in laughter as he read, “ULP! (The Ultimate Lovelorn Poem).”

The beginning half of the poem was filled with words of adoration for a woman.

As the poem approached the end, the words became negative and bitter.
He explained his inspiration for this piece. He saw a car advertisement in Newsweek that featured a car with numerous one-word stickers on it.
He took the various words and used them to make a fictional piece with one word on every line.

A brief question and answer period followed the poetry reading. One student questioned Campbell’s belief that anyone can write poetry.
The student asked that if the statement was true, why does good and bad poetry exist?

“There's judgment in the world,” Campbell said. “I'm not a huge fan of judgment; if people can appreciate other things different from themselves, this world would be a better place.”

Campbell is the publisher of the San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly, leader of the Emerging Urban Poets writing workshop and host of Monday Night Poetry in Pasadena.

He is also the recipient of numerous awards such as the National Writer's Association's Los Angeles Chapter of the Month Certificate and the Artists For A Better World Spirit of Youth Award.

“We brought Don to La Verne because he works well with students,” Kirsten Ogden, assistant professor of English said. “It lets them see how they can make a living in the arts and give back to the community.”

She explained the importance for writers and non-writers to hear from published writers.

“It gives a sense of community,” Ogden said. “It's important for non-writers to hear how another person sees the world.”

Audience members enjoyed themselves while they learned from Campbell's poetry.

“I liked the reading,” Linda Bays Montoya, junior psychology major, said. “His personality made it interesting.”

“I liked how humor can be mixed with serious topics,” Liz Wolfe, junior English major, said. “It made the topics approachable and easier to accept.”

Campbell provided a reason for anybody to write a poem.

“Sometimes things happen in your life that you want to remember. Record it,” Campbell said. “Your poem is your memory.”

Jaclyn Gonzales can be reached at jgonzales4@ulv.edu.