Five Lessons Poets Can Learn From Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins has had one of the most varied careers a creative performer can possibly hope for. He has worked as a singer/songwriter, spoken word artist, movie and television star, comedian, author and poet. While he had never achieved blockbuster success in any of his chosen fields, he never lacks for opportunities to work and perform. Here are five lessons poets can learn from Henry Rollins.

Write about yourself honestly

I can’t really explain it, but I feel as long as I tell them my dark sides there is nothing they can dig up. – H.R.

Rollins’ spoken word performances mostly take the form of a personal memoir. He tells stories of unflinching honesty about his life, whether it portrays him in a good or bad light. The ability to look at yourself and the world around you with absolute honesty can come with a price. Allowing the world to see the true you is not only difficult, it can be downright painful, but it allows you to connect with your audience in a way that few poets ever manage.

Be open to change

I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention. To not be like your parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself. To cut yourself out of stone. – H.R.

One of the qualities that has kept Rollins in the public eye since 1981 is his ability to move on to new projects. Rollins spent the first five years of his career as the front man for the band Black Flag. When it broke up, he went out and formed his own band. He also began to tour alone as a spoken work artist. He then began a film career with minor movie rolls. This eventually led to his becoming both a radio and television host. Over this stretch of time, he has also written numerous books. While his career has varied, Rollins personality and voice has remained remarkably steady.

Hard work will be rewarded

I just get things done instead of talking about getting them done. I don’t go out and party. I don’t smoke, drink or do drugs and I’m not married, that leaves a lot of time for my work. – H.R.

One of the reasons Rollins has had such a long career is because he has worked so hard. He is constantly releasing new material, touring and performing. He stays in the public eye because he always has something new to show people. The world can’t forget you if you never go away. Prolific writers may not be better writers, but they get more chances to succeed because they always have something new to show you.

Self publish if you have to

If I lose the light of the sun, I will write by candlelight, moonlight, no light. If I lose paper and ink, I will write in blood on forgotten walls. I will write always. I will capture nights all over the world and bring them to you. – H.R.

Rollins began writing books while he was front man for the band Black Flag. Like many beginning poets, his first efforts at self publishing amounted to photocopied sheets of paper. He later moved up to publishing chapbooks and eventually started his own publishing company. Rollins did what it took to get his voice heard. Today, self publishing is a much easier task. You can publish on the web for free or next to it. Printers are cheap and powerful now, so publishing chapbooks is not an expensive challenge either. Print-on-demand services like Lulu now make it fairly easy to release full-sized books of poetry and even sell them on Amazon.com. There are no more excuses. If you aren’t publishing, you should be.

Don’t be afraid to fail

Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength, move on. – H.R.

Not every poem you write is going to be great. It is hard to please yourself, and it is even harder to please others. Letting other people into the world of your work opens you up to their criticisms. No poet, no matter how good, is perfect. You can find fault with anyone’s work, and people will find fault in yours. Writing in general, and poetry in particular, is such a subjective means of expression that you can’t possibly please everyone. No matter how the good poetry you write is, especially if you become well-known, someone out there is going to hate it. Accept that there is no perfect poem and no perfect poet. Write what you can write and accept what comes.

Note: I am republishing this article of mine from another, now defunct, site.

05/16/2008 Writing Jobs and Links

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Little House on Reunion Road

The dirt swells up into a plume and flies past the frame
Of the half-built home across the street
Scouring the carpenters and laborers
Who have been pounding since five in the morning
Their faces covered with bandannas or masks
They resolutely continue to hammer

Construction debris and fast food wrappers
Collect in the backyard
Every few days someone shows up to take it all away
Every few days another house gets finished
Another neighbor travels deep into the desert
Miles from grocery stores and fast food
But freeway close to the two cities that divide my life
Tucson and Phoenix
An estranged couple
Grudgingly working their way together
For the sake of the commerce

When the wind shifts just right
You can smell the cows crapping
Stinking up the dairy farm down the road
We are under strict instructions to change the filters once a month
Otherwise the new air conditioner won’t last three years
Straining under the weight of the dust
That drifts down and around and through us
Leaving me with a wheeze that never quits
But is never quite bad enough to deserve attention

I have been planted in this middle class married
Double income no kids consumption driven world
I am surrounded by stuff
Too much stuff to keep track of
I need a home to house the stuff
I need a job to keep the home
I need a car to keep the job
I need loans to pay for it all

There are no street lights
At night the sky is full of stars
And it is so quiet my ears start to rumble
My wife and I can relax
Catch up
Connect
And I am not quite so worried about it all
It’s a good house
Comfortable
It’s a place to build a future
We can do that
As long as I can keep up