The poet
Cheryl Unruh
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
“POETRY or music?” I asked. “If you had to choose, which one would you do?”
“Poetry, I guess,” Kevin Rabas laughed, “At least there’s a retirement plan with that.”
Rabas, 34, teaches poetry and other forms of creative writing. He and Amy Sage Webb co-direct the Creative Writing Program at Emporia State University.
At Town Crier’s recent Author Extravaganza, Rabas sat at a table on the sidewalk. He was stationary for a couple hours, so between customers, I had the opportunity to visit with him about writing.
Rabas has a stack of college degrees in creative writing, but is also a jazz percussionist, and can be seen playing drums at events around Emporia. He grew up in Shawnee and has performed his poetry and music on the Kansas City jazz scene as well.
His second book of poetry has just been released, “Lisa’s Flying Electric Piano.” Rabas’ wife, Lisa Moritz (owner of said piano which once flew out of the bed of a pickup truck in Kansas City) is also an exceptional poet, turning some of her writing into lyrics and music. Together they have a young son.
In Rabas’ first book, “Bird’s Horn,” his poem “Reseed” hits on death and dying and he expresses a desire to become fully alive, “God, give me back wolverine passion… .”
And he wrote, “Bring sky. Settle my mind. No, fill my veins with red ants.”
That’s the Velcro line for me. I could visualize, even feel, red ants running in my own veins. And when a writer creates an image that sticks with me for months, I’m going to seek more of his or her work.
In his new book, “Lisa’s Flying Electric Piano,” Rabas writes on a variety of topics: drumming gigs, jazz connections, past loves, Lisa, and his son drawing with chalk on the sidewalk.
For me, his most powerful poems are in the section “Head Injury Blues.” During his first marriage, Rabas received a brain injury while playing basketball. He hit the ground, his brain bounced inside his skull, his life changed.
“The paths in the brain had to reform themselves,” he told me. This brain injury sent his emotions flying in directions he could not control. “I went from fear to frustration to anger. Yoga and meditation seemed to help.”
He suffered from a medical condition, yet it was suggested that he check into Menninger’s Clinic. And he did. He was there for two days.
I asked Rabas about these personal poems and why he decided to publish them. He agreed that they were the hardest ones to compose, especially one entitled, “For Jodie, who would not eat.”
Because his stay at Menninger’s was only a couple days, “I felt like I was a traveler,” he said. “I felt it for all of us.”
His poem, “How it happened,” tells about the accident and its aftermath. “My wife left me. She took most everything in the house. I did heal, slowly. I wrote long-hand to remember. I went to Yellowstone, and I climbed the hills and mountains. I fished for trout. I lived in my sister’s trailer, and I watched the snows melt.”
Years passed before he was able to turn memories into poems.
“I felt like I should, but I didn’t feel ready. And then they started coming together, into focus,” he said. “More stories moved from the journal into something I could share.”
“The experiences 10 years ago - I’m ready to write about it, and about all the ripples and patterns those experiences have created.”
In addition to putting words together, Rabas enjoys teaching. “I get to talk about something I really love to do. I can talk about how writing can sharpen your perceptions during the day. I can talk about how all the poets speak to us.”
Poets do speak to us; they show us delightful ways of seeing things. “In Jonathan’s Office,” describes a visit Rabas had with K-State Professor Jonathan Holden. The poem includes my favorite image in the book.
“He motioned, and I sat down among the stacks of papers and books. One fan gust and the room would lift like a flock of pigeons.”
Kevin Rabas will be reading from his new book from 7 to 8 p.m. June 24 at the Emporia Public Library.
Cheryl Unruh can be reached at cheryl@flyoverpeople.net.