My Name is Brendan David Creel. I'm an existentialist poet who likes finding rhyme in life, grief, and disbelief. I have over 250 original works to my name of which I am very pleased. These works were produced over multiple years and, together, they make up the eight chapters of Upon Another Why and When, a book of philosophy, poetry, and advice which I intend to publish in the near future.
What is this website?
I created this website as a resource for authorized publishers, editors, and reviewers to read my work and perform their necessary services. I'm looking for an established publisher of poetry who can manufacture, distribute, and perhaps even market my book, which has been a labor of love. While a website is not a replacement for holding a book in one's hands, I hope one day to share my book and its chapters with a larger audience in this digital format.
Eight chapters are summarized as follows:
The Balcony has alluring characters infatuated with evocations of love.
The Tower has a dungeon fraught with devices of captivity and control.
The Menagerie is a wonderland of animal allegories.
The Parlor is rife with failures of human virtue personified.
The Reliquary is a shrine of themes manifesting as common objects.
The Chapel is a controversial sanctuary where any soul may proselytize.
The Cemetery is an inexorably hallowed place where my darker work is buried.
The Vestibule is the most philosophical and tragic of chapters.
My work is not yet available for the general public to read; I am currently reviewing my options for traditional publishing. The contents of the webpage will made available if my publishing contract allows, or otherwise when the terms of exclusivity expire.
Are the stories in these chapters told from your perspective.?No. When my senses inspire me, I express the resulting ideas through fictional narrators. These narrators are sometimes fantastical, deceased, or non-human. Sometimes I agree with the narrators' perspectives and sometimes I don't. Occasionally poems are introduced in pairs because their narrators profess opposing positions. Sometimes a narrator's character flaws are obvious and deserving of ridicule; don't assume any particular narrator's statements or opinions are mine. The titular poem of The Balcony describes a "masquerade of characters"; they are my muses, and they are imperfect and complicated as I am.
I'd like to know more about a particular poem.All poems are preceded by the introductions, which you may tap or click to read. These introductions either explain the theme or my inspirations for writing. There are also afterthoughts, which are visible by default and sometimes poetry in their own right. This complimentary content helps readers better understand the poems without over-analyzing them. Some poems can have multiple or ambiguous meanings; in these circumstances, readers have the privilege of selecting thier favorite interpretations.
What kind of critical poetry do you write?While I write all kinds of poetry about feelings, stories, and observations, I also make poetic critiques. Critical poetry includes satire, ridicule, and deconstruction; such techniques are weapons against the tyranny of censorship, so they must be continually sharpened in defense of free speech. I don't shy away from poking the metaphorical sacred cows and white elephants whose keepers want them respectively worshiped or ignored.
My critical writings attempt to expose failed systems and the disordered thinking of the minds that defend them. Among the former are socialism, globalism, anarchism, and authoritarianism; the latter include the maladies of delusion, hypocrisy, servility, and fanatacism of both religious and secular varieties. They are scions of physical, intellectual, and ethical sloth. I intend to demonstrate their malignancy in graphic ways that cannot be forgotten. Since critical poetry is subjected to levels of scrutiny from which innocuous poetry is spared, it must be simultaneously striking and insightful to be effective.
When a mob is determined to hate an idea, no poet of any calibur can write anything about it that pleases them. If you take offense to something written, look inward and ask yourself what about it has bothered you. Offense is often no more than an allergic reaction to truth.
What is the significance of the corsage on each poem?My late father tended a garden. Planted there is the rose bush he gave to me as a child, which produced the large roses in the corsage. It still blooms to this day. The other flower is an alligator lily endemic to the marshy landscapes of Florida. The specimen in the corsage was relocated to the garden when its original location was under threat of destruction. A single alligator lily blooms about twice per year. The image of the corsage was digitally combined from photographs of both plants, neither of which were harmed.
Are you available for poetry commissions or recitals?I believe the best poetry comes from one's muse, and incentivized poetry is too manufactured to compete. I don't take poetry commissions out of concern it would lower the quality of my work. Under special circumstances I'll attend recitals featuring my own poetry or the public domain work of famous poets.
Do you sell merchandise?Not, but perhaps in the future. Do not contact me with sales pitches for products or services.
Do you accept donations?Instead, please consider donating to a charity that helps people who have no one.