Poet Stephen C. Pollock Explores Mortality in 'Exits'

Poet and former associate professor at Duke University, Stephen C. Pollock, shares with us his first book of poetry, Exits. Beautifully written and elegantly told, his collection is filled with thought-provoking poems that center around life and mortality, nature and death, each paired with a work of art that complements the poem. When discussing the development of his book, Pollock said, “The poems were written sporadically and, sort of, unpredictably, whenever lightning would strike, and so they were each their own individual project and most of the ones that ended up in the book were written between 2003 and 2021. My original idea… was to put together a book of my best work and that was going to go into a book called Line Drawings, but as I was going through and selecting the works that would be included, I noted that really an unusual number were related to the theme of mortality and the cycles of life and death, and I decided that instead of just putting together what I considered to be my strongest poems that I would curate a more concise, themed collection, and that’s how Exits was born.” The addition of the artwork associated with each poem also provides the reader with a deeper, enhanced experience. Pollock explained, “I thought it would resonate in interesting ways with the poetry… most of the artwork was selected because it provided a different perspective or a different slant on the topic that was being discussed and the hope was that that would then evoke more thought and, kind of, expand the topic so people would think of the poem not only by itself but also in relation to this artwork…”

As he’s creating poetry, Pollock often finds that working in solitude helps him focus solely on the words he’s assembling for each piece of writing. “For me, what’s most important is the words on a page. I look at it as word art and that’s the most important thing is to make the poem as good as possible, both on the page and off the page, when it’s spoken. So when I’m writing, you’ll also hear a lot of sounds coming out because I’m testing out what sounds good in the air… form is critically important to me… not only does form inspire me but it also, I find it paradoxically liberating. I come up with ideas that… I would’ve never thought of it if I was writing in free verse.” For Pollock, the significance of poetry in society is also more than just conveying artistic expression. He reflected, “I think it does provide insights into the human condition. I think poetry provides so many different perspectives on so many different topics that in a way, it also teaches empathy, and it helps us understand more about our world and about the nature of our existence. So it is an art form and it’s enjoyable and I love the beauty of it but also the craft of it, but it does, I think, have a role in society as well…”