As an avid poetry reader, I have developed a list of favorite authors over the past few years. These authors became my most cherished the more hours I spent relating to their words and finding solace in the notion that I was not alone.
In any bookstore I walk into (which is basically every chance that I get) you can always find me in the poetry section. In fact, I once had a friend that I would meet up with in a quaint bookstore and he never had to ask me where I was inside. He simply walked straight to the section he knew I would be in saying “I knew you would be here” as if we both had an understanding of my world.
While I could sit down and talk to you for hours about poetry and various authors within the genre, today I am writing about one author who has stood out to me through my journeys; Tyler Knott Gregson.
Tyler Knott Gregson is a poet, author, and professional photographer based out of Montana. He incorporates his photos in each poem that he writes which adds that extra flare to the words that he inspires with.
As I always find understanding the authors life and perspective something that deepens my connection to the text, I did some research. I found out that he is everything I hoped he would be. While I don’t personally know him, I feel like I have met him. (I know this is starting to sound like creepy fan-girl here so I’ll get to the point)
He found an old typewriter in an antique store and spontaneously typed a poem. He said “I just did it all at once and it was like stream of consciousness, I didn’t plan it or think it through- I just let it go.” – Tyler Knott Gregson, The Yellow Sparrow. His incentive to write comes from his ideal that poetry is not dead but rather something that should hold more value.
The first book I ever picked up of his was titled “Chasers of the Light: Poems from the Typewriter Series” from then on, I was hooked. As I felt such a sense of connection and belonging from his first book, I sought out more of his work. This led me to his next book “All the Words Are Yours” which is composed of Haikus on love. Both books brought me exactly what I needed at that time, and still continue to fuel my restless nights, and endless coffee shop visits. No matter what you are experiencing; pain, grief, confusion, love, acceptance, happiness, curiosity, Tyler Knott Gregson wrote a poem for you.
His most recent book is scheduled to be released on March 28th, 2017. It is titled “Wildly into the Dark: Typewriter poems and the Rattling’s of a curious mind”. Now, I’m not usually one to preorder books BUT Gregson is donating the extra cost to pre-order his latest work to the “To Write Love on Her Arms” foundation.
Incase you haven’t heard of this foundation. TWLOHA is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. Their mission is to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.
Poetry provides the words you always wanted to say, but never knew how. Tyler Knott Gregson is able to put those words on paper. He literally writes himself into his books. Poetry is the purest form of getting to know someone. Writers are at their most vulnerable and you get to take that journey with them. I encourage you to pick up a book and see for yourself. I hope that he inspires you just as much as he has inspired my life.
(Pre-oder your own copy of “Wildly into the Dark” here: http://tylerknott.com/post/158626741572/wildly-into-the-dark-is-out-in-a-week-i-cannot )
Just to give you a sneak-peak, here are some of his previous poems: