Think of it as a High Wind. A Force that blows across the Universe scattering the night-burning stars. A Force of such beauty and power that no mortal being can possibly bear to stand fully before it without being torn forever from this Earth.Think of this High Wind as being the creative energy of the Cosmos. It is the omnipotent Source of all the enlightenment of the human spirit and, just as it has scattered the stars, it, too, has scattered the souls of a million poets into the infinite chill of the Void-a million poets and artists and musicians and all manner of others who have attempted to know its Power, its Beauty, and have recklessly dared to brave too much of its might. (And you thought Dylan Thomas drank himself to death.) The High Wind is the raw energy of a reality far more vast than our frail flesh can fully experience. It is the breath of a Truth that dwarfs the petty, man-gods to whom we cast our crude and desperate prayers. It is the deadly allure of Art. Hunker down in the leeward calm of comfort's shelter and you will only faintly hear its howling call. Stand slightly aloft of such complacent safety and, for a while, know with me the precarious world of the poet's earthly grasp and celestial dare. Join me in these Adventures in the High Wind.
About the Author: Robert Nichols is a former English teacher, truck driver, photographer, Maytag man, and carpenter-to name a few of the side lines he has pursued to support his family and his art. Currently, he writes full time when he isn't building a house, fixing a washing machine, teaching a class, or just sitting out in the backyard picking his banjo. Publishing History Eight book published (3 fiction, 2 history, 1 biography, 2 personal anthology poetry/ essay/philosophy etc.) A few poems and a short story One bumper sticker: Like reading bumpers? Try a book Vital Statistics: - Born: 1944 - Married to Carol Nichols from 1965 - 1981; and again 1991 - forever - Father of Kristin Nichols (born 1970) Writer's Statement I was fifteen when I determined I would be a writer. In the ensuing decades, my commitment to the art and craft of written communication has not lessened. Though practical considerations (like making a living) have laid claim to large portions of my time and energy, at the heart of all my endeavors I have remained steadfast to the calling of a poet. Regardless of literary genre, my words are driven by a soul-deep intent to fully experience the challenge and fascination of life and, most significantly, to communicate what is gleaned from this grand encounter. When I write a poem, a novel, an essay, a grocery list, or an e-mail to my insurance agent, I do so as one whose life is committed to a principle of writing with clarity, wit, and compassion. The goal of my art: to intimately express the Universal.