Tweetspeak Poetry

  • Home
  • FREE prompts
  • Earth Song
  • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Books, Etc.
  • Patron Love

Journey into Poetry: Dave Malone

By Dave Malone 4 Comments

Dex Westrum Dave Malone Poetry tweetspeakpoetry.com
Get me at a cocktail party. Get me talking about writing poetry. Get me talking about what made the difference.

Just a phone call.

In the spring of 1992—now, twenty years ago.

“What are you doin’, Malone?” in North Dakota vowels from the old Scandinavians, the voice of my undergrad mentor, Dex Westrum.

“Oh, ” I said, then answered. I trailed the long phone line out to the sprawling porch of an old Victorian in seedy, downtown Albuquerque.

“That’s bull shit. You need to get your ass out of there. You’re going to apply to Indiana State for graduate school. There’s a poet, Matt Brennan, you need to study with.”

Spring had already lifted the snowcaps from the Sandias.

“Dex, it’s already April.”

“Malone, ” he started. It wasn’t long before I dragged the phone cord back through the screen door, past the paws of my roommate’s cat and the stench of beer and enchiladas in the kitchen, and into its cradle.

With his PhD education, couldn’t Dex intuit my grand, poetic life? I was metropolitan. I lived with two girls. I drank jugs of wine with my buddy James, listened to Tom Waits, and wrote necessary, dark, nihilistic, existential poems. And I had proof. A smattering of them had been published in several not-so-terribly-awful literary mags.

In the cockroach-infested Victorian, beneath the giant transplanted oaks that shaded our lawn, and below those mountains and inside that city of light, I couldn’t shake Dex’s words.

In July, I sold my reliable, white Toyota Tercel, packed up an ugly yellow Ryder truck with a bike for transport at school, and I drove two days to Terre Haute, Indiana.

The last week of August, a fellow grad student held a party for the burgeoning new class of TAs, nearly thirty of us, representing the halcyon days of English graduate study at ISU. The classy brunette gal from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan snapped a photo of me. I wear what I did in Albuquerque: white T-shirt, blue jeans, and big black boots. Instead of red wine, I hold a glass of white. From behind my looming 50’s style eyeglasses, I stare off-camera. A slight smile.

The young man can’t know what I know. That he toasts a crossroads. And cheers a wake.

Photo of Dex Westrum, 1988. Post by Dave Malone, author of Under the Sycamore.

___________

Buy a year of Every Day Poems, just $5.99— Read a poem a day, become a better poet. In April we’re exploring the theme Candy.

EDP Immolation

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Dave Malone
Latest posts by Dave Malone (see all)
  • From the Poet: Blue of the Heaps of Beads - November 29, 2018
  • “Tiny Machine,” by Dave Malone - October 30, 2015
  • The Sacred Tree - August 28, 2012

Filed Under: journey into poetry, poetry, poetry teaching resources, writer's group resources

Write with Us

Comments

  1. L.L. Barkat says

    April 2, 2012 at 9:12 am

    I love that he saw this in you and said so. I love that you responded.

    Necessary poems. I like that phrase. Are your poems still necessary, do you think? 🙂

    Reply
  2. Dave Malone says

    April 3, 2012 at 12:49 am

    Thanks, Laura. Indeed, I was lucky that Dex saw then (and always has) that potential in me. Don’t we need to surround ourselves with those kind of folks? 🙂

    Ha! Necessary today? Nah. Like Alan Watts, my goal is to entertain . . . unnecessarily. 🙂

    Reply
  3. L. L. Barkat says

    April 3, 2012 at 10:09 am

    I think your poems might still be necessary. If only for you. (Of course, others might say the poems are necessary for *them.* 😉

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Poets and Poems: Dave Malone and “Tornado Drill” - Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    April 19, 2022 at 7:30 am

    […] Journey into Poetry by Dave Malone […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cute Comic

😊

The Sadbook Collections

A stick-figure human sure to capture your heart.

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our June Menu.

Patron Love

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world poetic.

Your Comments

  • Dheepa R. Maturi on Poet Laura on the Moon
  • L.L. Barkat on Poetry Club Tea Date ✨ The Color of Eyes
  • Beverley on Poetry Club Tea Date ✨ The Color of Eyes
  • L.L. Barkat on Poet Laura on the Moon

Get Every Day Poems

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Stay in Touch With Us

Categories

Coloring Page Poem Printables!

Get all free coloring page poems now

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

Explore Work From Black Poets

About Us

  • • A Blessing for Writers
  • • Annual Theme 2022: Perspective
  • • Annual Theme 2021: Generous
  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions
  • • The Write to Poetry

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems—Subscribe! ✨
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poet-a-Day
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • 50 States Projects
  • • Charlotte Perkins Gilman Poems Library
  • • Edgar Allan Poe Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2023 Tweetspeak Poetry · FAQ, Disclosure & Privacy Policy

We serve poetry with our cookies. Because that's the way it should be.
We serve poetry with your cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you... accept the cookies with a smile.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
update cookie prefs

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT