What's in a poem by Brendan Cowell

Award-winning writer, actor and director Brendan Cowell reflects on the comforting power of poetry as part of his 30in30 poetry commission for Poetry Month 2021.

POETRY TO ME. Well, if things get too static and overwhelming in my life, I write a poem. When I was young I was on my own a fair bit. Poems helped me feel less alone. And you don’t really know what you feel about something till you write a poem about it. It’s amazing what’s in there, if you just let it rip. I’m not interested in hearing people read other people’s poems. I’d rather listen to a truck driver read out a poem about his truck, than the world’s finest actor read out the world’s finest sonnet or such. It’s about the poet for me. Allowing me access to something they wrote down just for themselves, sharing it with me live, their attempt to understand the sublime and the simple at once.

Read Brendan's latest poem 'Boyd Cordner'.