American poet (1945- )
When you're spontaneous, there's always the opportunity that you'll surprise yourself and discover something new.
WALTER BARGEN
Riverfront Times, September 29, 2009
When I started writing, I found that I composed poems as a rhythm of images. I think the style was a little too hermetically sealed from the reader. From there I gravitated toward narrative. I found that narrative allowed me to be more expansive, more inclusive, and was much easier to write a poem that told a story. But narrative didn’t always allow me to use my imagination as freely as I was prone to do sometimes, so I found myself writing prose poems with an intensity I hadn’t experienced before.
WALTER BARGEN
interview, Cavalier Literary Couture
In this country, land of the 24-hour news channels, it’s easy to "suffer" from news exhaustion, but for me there’s something in me that cries out when I hear about the suffering of others in these ultimately meaningless conflicts. How can I declare them meaningless when people are dying?
WALTER BARGEN
"An Interview with Walter Bargen", BkMk Press
Imagination is a double-edged sword. You get cut both ways—bleed happily, bleed nostalgically.
WALTER BARGEN
"An Interview with Walter Bargen", BkMk Press
Basically poetry is not only something enjoyable, but a reservoir for wisdom, and a mirror that people can look into and see something in their own life.
WALTER BARGEN
Riverfront Times, September 29, 2009