Voices from the fringes: I,began,to,Grow

Today’s poet for National Poetry Month was born in Manila, Philippines, in 1908. José García Villa’s early literary works got him in trouble with the Philippine government (which is to say: the American colonial government) for being to racy. In 1929 he was both convicted and fined for obscenity by the Manila Court of First Instance, as well as winning a 1000 peseta prize, which he used to emigrate to the United States, where he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico and did graduate work at Columbia.

One of his signature styles was the insertion of commas as an integral part of a poem’s meaning. This is evident in “Divine Poems (134)”, today’s entry.

“Divine Poems (134)”

When,I,was,no,bigger,than,a,huge,
Star,in,my,self,I,began,to,write,
                    My,
               Theology,
             Of,rose,and,

Tiger: till,I,burned,with,their
Pure,and,Rage. Then,was,I,Wrath—
                    Ful,
               And,most,
            Gentle: most,

Dark,and,yet,most,Lit: in,me,an,
Eye,there,grew: springing,Vision,
                    Its,
               Gold,and,
           Its,wars. Then,

I,knew,the,Lord,was,not,my,Creator!
—Not,He,the,Unbegotten—but,I,saw,
                   The,
                Creator,
             Was,I—and,

I,began,to,Die,and,I,began,to,Grow.