At a poetry reading at Chapters Literary Bookstore in D.C. (now defunct) I didn't know what to expect. Jennnifer L. Knox was one of the readers, and what she read helped me see poetry in a different way. Her poems were funny, crazy, but also had depth. I had been writing poems that were kind of gimmicky, all about the scenario, not about the characters or emotions. Knox was able to do everything at once, and her book "A Gringo Like Me" (which I bought at the store) shaped my work to come. A poem like "Jeff" in The Art of Dissolving wouldn't have been possible without her models. I also had a chance to talk to her after the reading, and her explanations of the competitiveness of the poetry world made me realize what a big expedition I was on with poetry. Below is a link to one of her poems. I urge anyone to pick up any of her collections.
Pimp My Ride
Jennifer L. Knox
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