About

My name is Colin Dekeersgieter. I’m a poet and Ph.D. candidate at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with an M.A. in modern literature and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from New York University. Growing up, I spent many years on my own reading literature that I seldom understood but always found deeply intriguing. As a reader, this solitude is key early on, but discussion becomes integral after feeding the heart in solitude. And so, here are my icebreakers that will hopefully lead to some meaningful discourse if you engage.

These posts are entryways into my favorite poetry, poetry that often frightens readers due to the persistently repeated notion that they are too complex for the average reader and that only scholars can cull any meaning from them. This is untrue. While modern poetry is difficult it is not elitist and has never aimed to bar anyone. Modernism stemmed from an ethos of anti-elitism, a democratic attempt at leveling through exposing aspects of everyday life. The majority of the readings here provide background or context necessary for a fuller understanding. I also attempt to peel away the denotative layers of words and phrases so that the poems become more accessible. Occasionally I slip into subjective interpretation, but only when it seems that there is no other approach. I hope these readings help you better appreciate poems you’ve loved for years, draw you to new writers and, most importantly, provide you with some sustenance to sustain your heart in solitude or among friends. Thanks for reading!

You can find my professional website here: https://www.colindekeersgieter.com/

34 thoughts on “About”

  8. Lonely Daffodil's avatar

    I totally agree with you. I am trying to write poems that are more accessible to anyone. Your photo with James Joyce is cool 🙂 Thank you for stopping by my blog and liking my poem, Yellow!

  9. csquaredetc's avatar

    Hey Colin – I love the idea behind “The Broken Tower” (both your blog and the poem!), as it’s more or less the kind of writing I’d love to do one day. I really appreciate your checking out some of what I’ve written on “Shelf Reflections,” and I hope to start writing pieces of analytical depth like yours someday soon. Great work so far – and good luck with getting your master’s degree!

  13. toritto's avatar

    Thanks for stopping by and giving me a “like”! I’m 71, a CUNY graduate in Economics (during the reign of Tiberias when CUNY was free!!) and never wrote a word not related to business until several years ago. Never took a writing class; never read “literature” (history was my bag); never wrote a “poem” – nor can I define what a “poem” is. I will follow your posts and learn something. Regards and best wishes for the holidays and 2014.

    1. The Broken Tower's avatar

      Torritto,

      71 and a fellow CUNY grad, wow! It’s really great to (virtually) meet you. I was touched by your bio and am glad you’ve turned to writing poetry. I think most are at a loss when trying to define what a poem is, though we try. I have family in Plant City, Tampa and hope to visit soon. Thanks for following along, I’ve enjoyed your poems and so will do the same. Happy holidays!

      Colin

    1. The Broken Tower's avatar

      Anarette, thank you for your kind words. When the world of science collides with the world of poetry it often creates something wonderful. Keep writing and keep reading!

      All the best,

      Colin

  17. LClark & SDillman's avatar

    Thanks for checking out my blog.
    I sat in solitude as a child and young adult reading things I couldn’t understand. I think I’m starting to get the hang of it now.
    Laura

  18. awax1217's avatar

    I have delved into poetry and find it a way to communicate in my blog. My personal favorite is the writer O’Henry for I love the twist, sort of a Hitchcock approach. I liked Rod Serling who did the Twilight Zone. I graduated Brooklyn College when it was younger and known as brooklyn college. Taught for forty years. Good luck to you.

  19. quillfyre's avatar

    On reading your bio, I think you might enjoy the Modern & Contemporary American Poetry course offered free through Coursera. I’ve taken it two years in a row now. Starts with Emily and Walt and works through to the experimental poetry of Bok and Goldsmith. 10 weeks. I think the next one is in Sept. 2014. And no, I am not a spambot or anything, just an enthusiastic fan of the course. It is a MOOC, enrolment runs around 35000 students each time, so you get to know people from all over the world.
    And thanks for liking my blog post from yesterday.

  20. jjhiii24's avatar

    Colin,

    You are at the beginning of an extraordinary journey. Your education has clearly served you well thus far, and the level of your scholarship really shines through in your analysis and prose.

    That you felt compelled to acknowledge my poem is a gift for which I am most grateful. I majored in English Literature in college, but I have absorbed so much more from my private reading of all sorts of literature, and from delving so thoroughly into writing in all its forms.

    I hope you will continue to share these amazing insights about the poetry you love so much, and that you will strive to enrich the lives of all your students once you achieve your educational goals. It is very reassuring to see a young man engaged in such important work. The world needs this kind of attention to the great works of literature, and you are well on your way to contributing an important part to keeping the great works relevant, even in this age of the internet.

    Thanks so much for your thoughtful gesture…..John H.

    1. The Broken Tower's avatar

      Hey John,

      Thank you so much for your generous comments. I’ve really enjoyed the eclectic nature of your work. Your journey in exploring and expanding consciousness seems quite fulfilling. My brother suffered a traumatic brain injury while skiing in Lake Tahoe and we were lucky enough to witness his miraculous recovery, awakening us to a life ‘Infinitesimally brief in length’. In that excerpt from your time in Yosemite I was reminded of Joyce; his two heroes have finally met and as they study the constellations Leopold Bloom considers ‘the parallax or parallactic drift of socalled fixed stars, in reality evermoving wanderers from immeasurably remote eons to infinitely remote futures in comparison with which the years, threescore and ten, of allotted human life formed a parenthesis of infinitesimal brevity.’ I look forward to following you along your journey as you fill in the parenthesis.

      All the best,

      Colin

  22. laroseedespetiteschoses's avatar

    Thank you for stopping by my blog and for the “Like”. And thank you for sharing your thoughts on poems. I loved reading classic poems but never dare to compose one for fear I’d make dreadful mistakes…

  23. daveynorthcott's avatar

    Great work. I firmly believe that the thing with poetry is this: maybe not everyone / all of us understand the original intended meaning of the poet but each can take something different from a beautiful poem, be it the flow and rhythm of verse, the ingenuity of language or something deeper in terms of message. Poetry is open to all, even though all may not neccessarily be open to poetry …

  24. Aliew's avatar

    You have a wonderful tribute blog and writings. I love how literature inspires and the different ways we use our readings to express its beauty. Thanks Colin for liking my post.

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