the Informer

Recently, English major and senior John Dudek received a letter in the mail informing him that he had been chosen as one of five undergraduate students for the statewide Connecticut Poetry Circuit. The exceptionally talented and humble student has been writing poetry for about two years and was a bit surprised that his work had been noticed. “I don’t write [poetry] thinking or hoping ‘the literary world is going to eat this up,’” Dudek confessed.
In terms of inspiration, Dudek believes that his “comes clearest…through early blues, folk field recordings or honest music in general.”

Rather than viewing the arts as fixtures in our lives and as “luxury” items, Dudek appreciates art, including literary arts, for its sensual qualities. “I like when it’s a coping device more than a luxury item,” he admits.
As to why the interest in poetry rather than another form of the arts, Dudek explained that while he is interested in poetry, his greater interest lies in music.

“I write mainly to make noise because I’ve never been that much of an [instrumentalist], try as I might. The immediacy of sound is fascinating,” he says and continues, “People can’t close their ears as easily as they can a book.”
It is clear that Dudek is a fairly charismatic person and enjoys forms for a culmination of their aesthetics as opposed to the shallow components that appeal to most people.

An interesting piece of information Dudek shared was his favorite class here at the University, which was a course on road narratives taught by Professor Bryan Sinche. They studied some of the work of Jack Kerouac, an American novelist whose writing, Dudek states, “depends on jazz forms and consciously tries to capture the immediacy of sound. He had a humble music career himself.” Perhaps Dudek will be following in those footsteps? Who’s to say?

When asked about the poems he entered with Dudek shared that one, titled “Song by an Itch,” is a parody of himself. He explains that the speaker is leaving and “[gives] away all of his possessions to ride the blinds.”

Dudek himself was “bourgeoisie-born” and very privileged, yet understands and appreciates the honesty of blues music. He confesses, “Despite my self-consciousness, I’m still restless.” After graduation one of Dudek’s goals is to see the Crazy Horse sculpture, which is still being developed in South Dakota.
His advice for other students interested in the English major is to not let their only inspiration for doing English be English.

He encourages them to “talk to your professors about what’s important to you besides English. They’re among the finest people I’ve ever met. I respect them as artists and scholars but more for being good humans.”

John Dudek as well as the other four Student Poets will be reading their work here on campus in the Wilde Auditorium on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 12:15 p.m.

Photo courtesy of John Dudek