School Readings and Workshops
“Because Dave Morrison’s poetry showcases a wild imagination coupled with elements of off-beat humor and often an unabashed sensitivity, our young adults at Foxcroft Academy found it (and the author himself) easily accessible. Dave is a vibrant presenter, and we felt fortunate that he was able to come to us and share not only his writing, but his approaches to the art of poetry. It was a very inspirational program!”
Tom Lyford - Thompson Free Library
“Morrison's readings are much akin to performances; his presentations are dramatic and lyrical and betray his years as a rock-and-roll musician."
Ken Gross - Camden Public Library
“We'll be beginning our poetry unit again and your guest visit last year was such a hit that I was hoping to recommission you to repeat the performance this year. The kids were very much impressed with you as a guest speaker and spoke very fondly of the way you showed poetry to be accessible and ‘different’ than they'd thought of it. Mission accomplished!”
Jamie Gillette - Camden Hills Regional High School
"A tidal wave of outrageous creativity; a wild rift of lines that leave you out of breath, fascinated, manipulated, articulated. Watch out!" Elizabeth Garber, author of Pierced by the Seasons and Listening Inside the Dance
Dave Morrison has published four collections of poetry and his work has been included in several anthologies and published in such literary magazines as Rattle, Opium, Wolf Moon Journal, Santa Fe Literary Review, Void, Cerebral Catalyst, thieves jargon, Blue Line, Broken Plate, Void, Mad Hatters Review and others. Born near Boston he spent the first part of his life playing in rock bands in Boston and NYC. High school students are among his favorite audiences.
Greetings,
My name is Dave Morrison, and I’d like to offer my services as a visiting poet.
I’ve discovered that, even though my guidance counsellor Mr. Paskowski would never believe it, school has become a good place for me. In many high school students I see myself as a teenager - willing to give poetry a chance, but not quite knowing how to get a handle on it. Poetry has always been a part of our lives, and has so much to offer, but the mention of it usually starts young eyes rolling. As a reformed eye-roller, I get it.
What I have to offer is not an alternative to classic poetry, but a fresh perspective. I believe that as readers we can travel time and distance, discover new voices and familiar ones, find things, feel things, be less alone. As writers we can find our voices, blow off steam, make music, be architects of our thoughts, heal ourselves.
I don’t do Whitman, Dickinson, Frost, Stevens - other people do that far better than I can. My message is that while poetry may not be for everyone, it is available to everyone. You can put your experience, emotion and imagination into a poem. You can find poetry that speaks to you. You might even like it.
If you think this type of reading would fit into your curriculum please email me at writer_rocker@yahoo.com. I’d love to tell you more. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely yours,
Dave Morrison