Visit Santa Monica College's digtal newspaper corsair
Volume LXXVIII Issue 3
www.smc.edu/corsair
By Jonathan Payne
Corsair Staff Writer
It must be quite depressing to have National Poetry Month arrive and have to spend hours analyzing a three-line poem. But thanks to Lou Versace, who has taught English at Santa Monica College, and his book of poetry, "Uncommon Poems for the Common Reader," people who wish to explore the world of lyrics can have an easier time this month.
"It’s common poems for everyone — poems about eating, living, death, places and moods," said Versace. "It’s for people who don’t know about poetry. I got tired of poems you have to understand and analyze."
It’s strange to hear such words from an English teacher, but Versace has taught English for 35 years. He said he feels students should be able to read poetry, and his book is a starting point.
Pasta
to Poems — Poet Lou Versace relaxes while cooking pasta in his
Culver City house. Making a Mediterranean dish inspired him to write one
of his reader-friendly, understandable poems.
Corsair photo by Stefano Paltera
Versace wished
to take everyday experiences and catch the reader’s eye instead of
scaring them off with complicated images and heavy subtext. The book is
divided into 44 sections focusing on certain topics, anywhere from "Stressors/Relaxers"
to "pasta."
"The purpose of this book is to show students that they have creativity,
whether it is music or dance," said Versace.
Versace took a leave of absence in order to work on his book. He wrote
a poem a day, for two years. When time came, he inquired to different
publishers throughout the states and after many rejections he found Pentland
Press Incorporated, located in Raleigh, N.C.
"I got used to the rejections, but I got printed and it was a gift,"
said Versace. "You have to keep at it. Don’t give up. I got
lucky."
When asked to choose his favorite poem, Versace looked through the table
contents and searched the sections of teaching and students. He located
a poem on essays. He stated that it was like a Shakespearean (or Elizabethan)
sonnet, which focuses on the "battles" his students had with
essay writing. He admitted it was a battle for him as well. The poem ends
with the following words: "Striving students, unite tonight for one;
For all — for freedom from ‘essay’ to kingdom come."
He pointed out a poem, similar to a poem by William Faulkner, who is one
of his favorite authors.
Versace has written since the age 16, and explored different genres such
as novels, plays, and even screenplays, but none of them worked for him,
he said. It wasn’t until he discovered poetry that he found what
worked for him, despite the fact he penned a play entitled "Tennessee:
The Kindness of Strangers, an evening with Tennessee Williams."
Versace has taught English at Beverly Hills High School for 20 years and
part-time at West Los Angeles College. Raised in New York, he received
undergraduate and graduate degrees from Princeton, Harvard and UC Berkeley.
The book of poetry is intended for everyone and no one is excluded. This
is especially expressed in the first pages of dedication: "For Everyone."