A PREFACE TO THE POETRY
The following section contains poetry and lyrics by J Rainsnow (JRS) and various invited guests, as well as by some famous poets of the past whose work is now in the public domain.
Regarding his own poetry, JRS writes:
It is not easy to be a writer without turning one's world upside down. Conflicting loyalties may sometimes mar one's life, trapping one between one's art and one's social existence. Can beauty sometimes be a form of ruthlessness? What happens when genius goes to war with kindness? Can one commit adultery with the Muse? Does obedience to the glory of false perceptions make one a propagandist? Is surrender to the unconscious a form of abuse? Should we be in jail, or on a throne?
"Let he who has been blinded by the fire in his heart live with lions."
Some of the difficulties of writing honestly, and therefore with risk, are expressed in the preface to "Falling Off Love's Cliff" , and in the article "Honesty In Writing."
To the actors and actresses who so well played the roles I assigned them in my poems: I thank you for triggering my imagination with your divinity and your humanness, and apologize for sometimes stealing your reality to make room for the artistry which only misrepresentation can accommodate.
God Bless You All.
- JRS