Thoughts on Garren Small

It's OK Mr.Small, I don't resent you for trying to call on me as I absent mindedly scratched my cheek after you read of one of your poems, and I certainly don't mind that you called me out on my apparent dismay at being noticed. Seriously though, that is something I am guilty of doing to my own audience members every time I have to give presentation and such. All kidding aside Garren Small was one of our most engaging and participation enthusiastic speakers that we have had the pleasure of hosting in this class to date. Having overheard some coffee talk before the lecture I was surprised that Mr. Small identified himself as having majored in political science, after all its not too often that we see a future politician turned successful poet.  Mr. Small was charmingly engaged with his audience, not seeing this as an opportunity to stand up on his soapbox in the limelight instead he actively tried to engage the audience in critique, open repertoire, and interpretations of his work and the works of his favorite poets. In short egocentric is the last thing that I would use to describe Mr. Small, after all it is incredibly refreshing to see such an established individual try so hard to interact with his audience, and on top of that be so amazed with the different off the cuff interpretations that his readings received. Mr. Small's work spoke volumes on the overall themes of our class, the title of his lecture "Fires Dared to Ignite" was something that he touched upon briefly yet deeply. According to Mr. Small the fires that are dared to ignite is the love worth pursuing, this imagery is not unheard of in any of the works that we've been exposed to. Its something about the unbridled force of nature, a burning flame, that inspires, scares, excites, and helps us relate to our own helpless emotions. A fire once ignited is not controlled, it can only be corralled to a point before it gets out of hand, much like the passion of one individual for another. You fall in love, you fall deeper in love, and then you get hurt, and you get over it, this cycle is like lighting a match and holding it between your finger tips, the flame first flickers to life, then grows to the point where it not longer is in danger of fizzling out, but then things get out of control and the larger the flame grows out of your control the closer it is to burning your finger tips. Eventually this cycle ends with the flame being forcefully smothered by the person holding the match or by itself if the person cant let go for some reason, either way it ends but it can begin again. However the cycle can never end or begin if it is the fire that wasn't dared to ignite, the love not pursued, the fall not taken, the chance not seized. According to Mr. Small being in love, falling in love, and opening yourself up to another person takes some courage,and that's why its a dare and not just a step or something spontaneous out of the blue.