I am slowly but surely working on the final poem for my next poetry book, Mask: Persona. It will be the second book in the Masks trilogy, full of poems and lyrics through the voice of Joe Doe. I am hoping to get it done and released this spring. Depending on how busy I get with this semester of school, however, it might not come out until summer.
This poem (working title “Moloch”) is inspired by Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and roughly follows the events of the 1927 film Metropolis but placed in a modern day context. I am watching the movie and writing along. Oh yes, there will be edits.
It is amazing how the issues addressed in this film were still relevant in Ginsberg’s time, and sadly even still today. Perhaps even more than ever. Every generation needs a Howl, so when I’m done I want this poem to fucking scream as a voice for the marginalized and disenfranchised in our society.
Joseph VanBuren 