Dobby Gibson has published 3 books of poetry and had 2 nominations for the Pushcart Prize – he realised that a lifetime of taking the same bus ride in Minneapolis meant it had become, for him, a type of poem, and he reads that poem “Beauty Supply” while riding the bus route.  Watch from 4 minutes 15 to 7 minutes 10 to hear the poem.

Also in the video, Dobby speaks about the respect or lack of respect in which poetry is held in America, how he came to write poetry, his conflicting standpoints (he wants to remove the personal ‘I’ yet wants to commemorate people important to him, specifically), and balancing the writing with a day job.  In fact, his 20 minute commute became an important editing time for him, as a regular time period when he can work on his writing.

I enjoy various lines of this poem, especially the one about his dad still living near the same route:

“I was born on this street, about a mile from here and can still take it almost all the way to the house where my parents live – just beyond Minehaha street, to my beautiful Dad in his beautiful basement, listening to the TV at a volume that would scare a soldier”

Creative Takeaway

Is there a regular journey you go on?

How about making it into a poem or video.