Laid out on the page, stanzas of poetry become art. Take those same words and say them out loud, and they come to life, colored by the emotions and experiences of the speaker.
鈥淧oetry was meant to be spoken,鈥� poet and student activist Austin Davis said. 鈥淚 really hope that I can connect with people when I read it out loud and help someone feel less alone in what they鈥檙e feeling, maybe inspire them to fight hate and injustice.鈥�
Davis, who will be making a stop in Flagstaff on his first book tour, said he began writing in earnest when he was 12 as a way to process his emotions and determine 鈥渨ho I wanted to be, what I wanted to do, how I wanted to make an impact.鈥�
Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in creative writing at Arizona State University, Davis said he is lucky to have found a productive way to express himself.
His third book, The World Isn't the Size of Our Neighborhood Anymore, was released through Weasel Press on March 3 and he began writing it the summer after he graduated from high school, the process stretching through his freshman year of college. The result explores coming of age in the modern world, a place in which nothing is simple or black and white.
鈥淚鈥檝e been really interested in creating a narrative in this book, where each poem builds on the last and adds to the trajectory of the collection as a whole,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淔or me at least, putting them together, it鈥檚 interesting to see the same images repeat themselves in different poems. Weaving different threads and seeing them connect in different places. It鈥檚 kind of like putting a puzzle together.鈥�
In The World, Davis comes to terms with past and present, often finding inspiration when he sits down to enjoy a cup of hot Irish breakfast tea.
鈥淚 also really love taking walks. I think I write my best at night when everything鈥檚 kind of quiet and everyone鈥檚 asleep,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can be at peace with my thoughts.鈥�
While quiet moments are more conducive to his creativity, Davis鈥� subject matter is anything but, with poems exploring timely social issues such as toxic masculinity and school shootings.
According to Weasel Press, The World offers a 鈥渂lueprint of home, of the body, of everything that life can throw at you in small bursts. [It] is a book that shows how much life changes and grows and how exasperating it can feel when it's rough.鈥�
When he visits Flagstaff, Davis hopes to find common ground with attendees, and welcomes professional and new creators alike to speak with him afterward and share their own writing.
鈥淚 think that connecting with people through art is incredibly human,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e all experience happiness and love, pain, grief, guilt. I just feel like we鈥檙e all in this together, so to be able to share our art with each other, I think that鈥檚 really beautiful.鈥�