Wisdom from a Portland poet: 'Be here now'

Poetry is a genre I've never quite felt with comfortable with. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a lovely piece of advice to high school honor students that comes from Portland poet David Biespiel.

In a recent talk at Cleveland High School, Biespiel urged students to balance their focus on the future -- with all the pressure it brings to get good grades and prepare for a career -- with a commitment to be, really be, in the present.

In high school, in college, in art, in life, there's always the pressure to be in motion. But sometimes the best course of action is be still, to be aware, to be here. Not to move, but to be. To be here now. "Don't just sit there, do something" may be a common American value, but I want to remind you that the imaginative level a poet seeks sometimes requires the contrary: "Don't just do something, sit here."

Biespiel is an award-winning poet who writes a monthly column on poetry for The Oregonian. Read his short piece: Advice for students and artists: 'Don't just do something, sit here'

And here's more, a Q&A interview with Biespiel, who earlier this month was honored at the Oregon Book Awards with the Stafford/Hall Award for Poetry for "The Book of Men and Women."