Friday, November 21, 2008

Visiting Writer: Eric Morris

Where to begin? Eric was a senior Chef and Restaurant Management student at the Career Center when I began teaching in 2002. Now he is a first year Northeastern Ohio Universities Masters of Fine Arts student in the consortium. Among other things, Eric is a self-proclaimed failed rock star, teacher at the University of Akron, and (perhaps most importantly) appreciates a good hot deli Italian sandwich.

Eric braved the elements to visit my fiction class at the Career Center. The class felt very comfortable asking questions, and Eric was as comfortable answering them. The students appreciated Eric’s down-to-earth-ness, his Rural Mythologies, and his beard. At my request, Eric read a portion of his mythologies piece titled “Religion,” and chose his favorite—“Tomatoes” in which we were made to feel the difference between a hound and a dog, and learned that even though Eric might not like tomatoes, he writes a lot about them…whether hitting them (hopeful baseball-sized rotten fireworks) with bats, or in the form of ketchup-packet body calligraphy.

Eric’s poems are like multi-course meals for the head; they’re stacked with startling imagery, hilarious moments, clever turns, and distinct voices. In Morris’ poems we’re as likely to meet a sword swallower as a seemingly broken man in a powder blue tuxedo singing a tearful “Total Eclipse of the Heart” to his own reflection. Above all, Eric’s poems crack, sizzle and cook with originality.



If y’all can stand the cliche—Eric’s visit provided some much needed soul food on a dreary day. You rock Eric. Thanks for the reading!

5 comments:

Bob said...

How cool. I would loved to have been there! I've read some of Eric's writing--and he's a perfect visitor for your classroom!

Bob

marybid said...

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

(That's all I can say.)

Joshua Fabri said...

Wow sounds like an interesting fellow! Can you give me the reading he gave to the class last week? Would enjoy reading it.

Lalli said...

Skarl
You Rock! Bring the authors into your classroom--WOW

Hey gonna add "Baldhead" to your list of words?!

peace of JAH

Anonymous said...

Did you give him in-school suspension for old times sake? :) He wrote those pieces in my class. I love 'em!