Greg Gerding

Poetry in Hell

Photo by David Alan

Greg Gerding studied English at San Diego State University and the University of Maryland at College Park. "After being crammed with collegiate bullshit," he happened upon a book, Love is a Dog from Hell, by Charles Bukowski. He finished that book in one sitting, and then finished four more of Bukowski's books within a week. "The fire had finally been stoked."

Gerding further explains his struggle to find his own voice, "I got drunk. I got drunk often. I got drunk by myself and bonded with my pen and paper. I went to bars alone and wrote on napkins simply about what I observed. I spent a lot of time doing this like I was some journalist writing an article on bars around the area." 

He began reading his work at poetry open mikes. Frustrated with the limitations placed on artists in established venues, he organized "Poetry in Hell," a weekly open mike at Club Heaven and Hell in Washington, D.C. Gerding says, "Hell has become a metaphor for my state of mind," and, as his writings reveal, equally for his body and soul.