Journalism

Journalism is the second collection of poems by Kevin J. O'Conner. Although some of the same themes explored in the first collection (Separation Anxiety) appear in this collection as well, there’s also more variety—in the form of weird dreams, peaceful vignettes, commentary, the occasional bit of humor, experimentation with poetic forms, etc.

Journalism continues O'Conner's straightforward approach to writing, which favors more direct, expressive language and simpler forms, making the poems more accessible than "typical" poetry. In that sense, this is poetry for people who don't otherwise like poetry.

As before, the contents are primarily drawn from O'Conner's personal journals, with many of the poems written as part of National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This time, however, the visual element is provided by sketches taken from those same journals. Writes O'Conner in the book's Preface: “Obviously, I’m not going to win any awards for my drawing skills; still, the sketches that I have included have their own peculiar charm. I mean, where else are you going to see the likes of the ‘Zapmaster X’ in action?” Indeed.