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The front of the display is iconic – something everyone can relate to. The back of the display is more personal – a journey through one’s life.
These messages can be found on display at the Thibodaux Library as Poet Rickie Bruce’s poetry installation. It’s an idea the Cut Off native is implementing to bring new life into the world of poetry.
“I taught for many years and whenever I read some of my stuff in my class, the kids always liked it,” said Bruce, a retired teacher. “I knew if I could get it to where people could actually see it, they would like it.”
The installation is making its way through the Lafourche Parish Public Library System, first in Lockport, and it is in Thibodaux through the end of August.
While the concept of poetry is nothing new to the masses, Bruce takes pride in his installation with hopes that it is the beginning of a movement to get people interested in poetry again.
“It’s bringing the poetry out from an obscure place into the center of a public square,” Bruce said. “What better public square than a library?”
Having others read his work is what makes his efforts worthwhile. “I was very soured about publishing in print,” he said. “I realized I was not getting many readers.”
In a more recognizable way, Bruce has his poetry on display with pictures to complement each combination of verses, but the staple of his work remains the poetry. The photos were taken almost 20 years after the words were drafted.
Despite the distance in years, the pairing of his words and the photos has attracted more people to his work than ever before.
“I’m a lot more pleased to have more people walking by and seeing it than having a few people pick it up off the shelf,” Bruce said. “People can interact with it anyway they want.
“It’s just like a book. You can open a book or close it. With this, you can do the same if you pass by without stopping,” he added.
When Bruce stared publishing poetry in literary magazines, computers were not yet in existence. In 1980, several of his poems were published in the “Kansas Quarterly,” and he still holds on to his original copy from 34 years ago.
Since the publishing market for poetry has never been as lucrative as many poets hope for, they often turn to other jobs to survive.
“You can’t choose your talent. My talent is short stories and poetry,” Bruce said. “I picked the two forms of writing that don’t sell.”
To create a steady income, Bruce turned to teaching, where he managed to make a lifelong career. His first three years of teaching were rough, and there were many times during those beginning years when he wanted to leave the profession. Now retired from the school system for 15 years, Bruce said if his health allowed, he would be in front of a classroom again.
“When I started teaching I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be there; now that I’m gone, I want to be there more,” Bruce said.
During his time as an educator, Bruce also worked with the LSU Writing Project, which developed the process many students use to write literary essays today. It is a simple process of writing a draft, fixing the content and errors, meeting in small groups to discuss, editing and finalizing the piece.
While working in the classroom, Bruce was continually thinking of new ideas to relate to his students.
“I started having fun teaching when I changed my techniques,” he said.
Now, Bruce is attempting to change the technique by which poetry is recognized and read.
“I’m trying to do what I can think of to make it more popular,” he said of his poetry installation efforts. “In the next 100 years, there will be an explosion of poetry and somebody’s going to make money on it some sort of way. I hope what I’m doing with my poetry installation is pushing that idea along.”
On Aug. 28, Bruce will host a live poetry reading at the Thibodaux Branch, and he hopes to meet those who have stopped to read even a word of his poems throughout the summer.
On that day, he hopes to explain the overall message of his poetry installation. “We can’t stop time. It passes us and it never stays perfect. Youth will decay.”
Bruce continues to write throughout his retirement and hopes that one day his work will be recognized in the poetry movement he predicts in the future.
“I was writing before my career as a teacher, and I am still writing after my career,” he said. “I wish I could be here 100 years from now to see what happens with poetry. I don’t want poetry to be forgotten.”
Cut Off native and retired teacher Rickie Bruce stands near a display of his poetry. The work is on display through the Lafourche Parish Library System, first in Lockport and, next month, in Thibodaux.
