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By Dawn Januszkiewicz
Dugan is the embodiment of a struggling artist, he is a local poet currently living in Rockville Centre, quietly living a poet's life. His living room is decorated with classic prints by Monet, his library includes compilations of poetry like The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry and Post Modern American Poetry, a number of books on political thought and his own book, Medusa's Overbite. Dugan's accomplishments include writing poetry for 26 years and being published by several literary reviews. He also wrote a column for Five Towns Forum, mostly regarding poetry. Dugan's days are quite busy doing what he loves, mainly writing and rewriting poetry, being involved in several poetry groups in Nassau County, coaching little league and basketball, fulfilling the role of a dedicated father and husband and periodically sneaking off to play a game of golf. His preferred occupation outside of writing was working as a licensed "lawn doctor" because he enjoyed creating life and keeping the environment healthy and beautiful. His poem Hey Bobby was entered into a competition while he attended Farmingdale State University. It was considered too dark to be printed, but did earn an honorable mention. He also submitted a poem called Autumn Twilight, that as he called it, is "poetry with a capital P." The poem utilizes nature imagery to symbolize the human condition and cycle of life and death. It is eloquent, gentle and vivid, but not Dugan's typical style. Dugan is very politically driven and appreciates artistic poetry, form, language and light impressionable reflective poetry, which he says is "ok because everything has a place." Yet he prefers to write dark poetry with meaning and substance. He has found that the public prefers generic love poetry and the poetry of former poet laureate Billy Collins, whose work is light, enjoyable, humorous and has insightful conclusions. Dugan is more influenced by writers like William Carlos Williams, Alan Ginsberg and Walt Whitman. "People just don't want to hear the dark side of poetry," he said. "People will read it, but don't want to hear it. A couple of poets will have a dark piece. I feel that poets don't want to get involved anymore. They're more into an art form and language. Things just happen around the house or in the street, but they only reflect how it affects them. They do not get concerned with the outside world and more, which is ok, but there's more to life. A poet should wake up society in the same way. We are a sheltered people; we worry about paying our taxes and our kids' grades." Dugan decided to focus on writing and poetry later in life. Though he "fooled around [with poetry] as a kid," he didn't officially start writing until 1990. "To tell you the truth I got into poetry by listening to the end of Knights in White Satin, then later Dylan and the Beatles," he said. He found he was a rising star at 30, at which point it was too late to really compete in academic poetry contests. Initially, he had aspired to become an engineer, which he had studied at the Virginia Military Institute. He then went to Farmingdale and began studying agriculture. There he befriended several of his English professors who had encouraged him to pursue a writing career, after all, "it came naturally," he said. That has not stopped him from contributing to various literary publications and having Medusa's Overbite published with Wysteria Press. Dugan grew up in a hot bed of politics, civil action and rebellion. The role of the media was pivotal to the stance of the average person, and he recalls several moments when he realized that he was betrayed by public opinion. "My biggest remembrance was of Martin Luther King Jr. being shot," he said. "My babysitter called him a black agitator. He was portrayed as a rebel. As a kid, you can be very perceptive always questioning authority. We were all for America in Vietnam, until friends and brothers are being killed. Then you find out they're a mess." To this day, Dugan is very involved in politics and finds political action to be an influence on his work. He had written a couple of poems about 9/11, one was a reaction piece written within four days and another a year later. Also, he "wrote a letter to President Bush agreeing with the war in Afghanistan but not to get involved with the war in Iraq," he said. He was sent a commemorative poster and a certificate for patriots. Neither Dugan or wife, Lisa, support the president and chose to avoid seeing his name on a daily basis by storing the keepsake in the closet. When asked how his political persuasion affected his poetry, he responded simply that "the way he acted was based on how he saw the world." He felt the country and county were largely run by superficial authority figures, and Nassau County was run like organized crime. "There is so much corruption, why even get involved," he asked. This question had imposed some natural rebellion, but summoned the conviction that sent Dugan to the Virginia Military Institute after high school, because he felt "America could still be saved." Just over a month ago, Dugan wrote Sleeping in Suburbia, which captures the typical suburban daily grind of commuters taking the train to work, returning home and following through their mundane chores. During his adolescence, he had become familiar with prejudice that surrounded minorities. He was aware of a flop house in Hewlett where kids would go and indulge in illegal substances. On one occasion, a newborn baby had been abandoned in a garbage can outside the house. The incident drew the attention of the press and a blurb was printed on page four of a local paper. Crack houses in black areas generally draw more attention. Dugan has contemplated writing a novel, perhaps a mystery, that would explore how minorities have been exploited by the government. One theory is that the government is more forgiving about drug use in black communities. Where is Dugan now? Several years ago he published a collection of poetry entitled Medusa's Overbite. Unfortunately, the book has not had a long run; several months ago it was decidedly made out of print. He works with local poetry groups: the Performance Poets Association and, a new group, Poets of Nassau. Dugan is a family man. He was raised in a large, yet close, family. He was the oldest of 10, and didn't think of becoming a father, but changed his mind after he got married. He wrote a poem for his wife on their wedding night entitled To Lisa, which is featured in his book. Since To Lisa, he has written a poem for his wife every year on Valentines Day. He takes a large role in raising his son. "Having a kid changes your life forever," he said. "You get more responsible...Once Kevin, [my son,] came around, I stopped going to a lot of poetry groups." But still, he writes, and encourages other poets as well. "You have to have either a thick skin, or be really convicted to what you're doing," he said. "You gotta have a love for it. You're not always going to be able to do it. You have to separate yourself from people at times. I don't know any poets who have normal lives," he noted in a celebrated tone. 0 9 . 0 4 . 0 6
Perpetual Toxins © 2006-2007 - All Rights Reserved |
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s poetry dead? Its reputation is challenged daily by angry teenage girls reading rhyming rants from their diaries during open mic nights. Does poetry exist outside of the classroom or coffeehouse? Contrary to popular belief, poetry is alive. There are poets out there, like Peter Dugan, who strive to uphold poetic integrity and say something worth hearing in their poetry and prose.
