From alcoholism and suicidal desperation, splake is living proof that the poem is a lived thing and not merely "on the page." This is the meaning of authenticity. Poetry is a tool of protest and self-assertion against a world that ignores that "still small voice" within us that is also "great within us." In the words of Audre Lorde, "Nothing I accept about myself can be used against me to diminish me." Poetry is a creative measure that borrows from the the stuff of life and nature. Nowhere will you find this relationship as deep as in the poetry of t. kilgore splake. I am sure readers of this volume are familiar with splake's life story so it does not need repeating. The relationship of life to art is a volume in itself. Poetry also paradoxically creates and usurps life. In the words of Oscar Wilde, "Life imitates art far more than art imitates life." The creative prowess reveals and also creates the magic of life.

splake writes, "like driven poet's invisible creative muse" telling us that there is a muse behind this entire project of living. Something must stimulate and divine the world we in. In another poem splake reveals why he eschews titles, "difficult emotions with titles unnecessary". The frequent absence of titles suggests the depth of emotion splake induces and draws in his writing.

These aspects of his craft indicate that splake is authentic as a poet, human being, and person sculpting and shaping his life for himself.