.By g emil reutter
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“… every Saturday morn, I lay upside down on my self-upholstered wrought iron radio bench to listen to opera from New York City even though I knew that a boy, plus opera, worried my third generation farmer father.” – Tom Taylor
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Tom Taylor is a painter/poet, a child of the 1940s he grew up on a farm, learned at a congregational Sunday school, active 4-H guy and Boy Scout. At an early age he knew he was different. His road would be difficult and different from many he grew up with. He embraced his sexuality at an early age and fought the battle that many fight when afflicted with mental illness. He escaped to Los Angles where he became known as Thoss W. Taylor- Painter. He gave up the L.A. lifestyle and returned to Colorado later in life with his partner.
Taylor’s beautiful images populate this 118 page memoir of his life. Surreal and real he is an exquisite creator as a painter as when one looks upon the images, one feels the artist’s passion, pain and joy. Coupled with the images are the poet’s words, like his paintings are devoid of fiction, excerpts that roll from page to page boldly revealing his life without any pretense.
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He tells us:
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“Gravity wants me back but I’m not ready to eat dirt—just like all the previous
times when I face the door to the end. Though the worldwide rubbish of
deception and discontent mount, there’s too much beauty and revelation in
rare moments of universal connection and clarity that set me up to soldier
on—such positive insight seldom prevails more than two winks and a nod.”
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“I am a rambling maverick man. I’ll be sleeping with new light to maintain my
stance against the knives and when this cloth becomes too-small, my sword is at
my side.”
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This memoir of images and words by a “maverick man” is a must read for all those who have lived a full life, who know the struggles and joys, who take the hard stand to be who they are no matter what the hardship. It is not just a memoir for those who are gay or those who struggle with mental illness but for all who live a full life and overcome the obstacles the brutal reality of life throws at us. I for one am glad that Taylor has avoided gravity and is not ready to eat dirt. This memoir is a gift to all of us and we are better off for Taylor’s continued living, creating words and paintings.
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You can find the book here: REVEALING SELF in Pictures and Words – Poet Spiel
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g emil reutter is a writer of poems and stories. He can be found at:
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North of Oxford 