As a well-known poet, William Ehrhart releases his inner thoughts to the public eye in every piece he writes. Yet even while doing poetic readings across the world, he refuses to let the intrusion of his mind bug him.+â-è
"I realized when I was still a very young writer that if I wanted to say what I felt I had to say, I would have to get used to a certain loss of privacy," he said.
Erhart is revealing some of those thoughts to Ball State University in a poetry reading titled "The Politics of Poetry in an Age of Terror." The reading will take place on Oct. 11, 2004 in room 175 of the Art and Journalism building at 8 p.m.+â-è
Ehrhart is primarily known as a "Vietnam poet." He served in the United States Marine Corps for three years, including 13 months in Vietnam, after graduating from high school in 1966. He joined the Marines for a couple of reasons. One, because he thought it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Two, because he watched a lot of movies starring John Wayne and William Holden.+â-è
"I wanted to be in a war and come home a hero. This was my chance both to defend my country and to star in my own movie. I had no idea what was really going on in Vietnam, nor did most people ... in the rest of the country," Ehrhart said.
His decision was a little more complicated than that, which is why it's one of the things explained in his book "Vietnam-Perkasie: A Combat Marine Memoir."
BSU professor Tony Edmonds was responsible for bringing Ehrhart for this poetry reading. Edmonds and Ehrhart met at the University of Wales Swansea in the early eighties, and they have been e-mailing and running into each other at conferences ever since. When Edmonds heard Ehrhart was doing a presentation at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., he asked him to come and do a reading at BSU.+â-è
"(Ehrhart) reads his poetry with a combination of intelligence and passion," Edmonds said. "He also has a wonderful sense of humor."+â-è
Ehrhart just tries to get a reaction from his audience. However, he doesn't care whether it's bad or good.+â-è
"Any reaction at all is a good reaction. What I don't want is to have somebody read my writing and have no reaction. That means I'm boring," Ehrhart said.
Despite his passionate readings and timely war poetry, Ehrhart does not really feel like he is making a difference in the world. It has taken him a lot of time to understand that he is just one voice in a big world.
"I do what very little I can, but have no expectations that any of it matters. So why do I continue to do what I do? Just because you can't change things doesn't mean you shouldn't try. I do what I do because I have to live with myself."+â-è
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