RYAN HAGEN
News Assistant
At the Seaver information booth, Morris Williams jokes with campus visitors, informing them on Pepperdine and sometimes sharing a poem from one of the three anthologies he’s published.
“My position at Public Safety has allowed me to collect my thoughts,” said Williams, who has been a Public Safety officer since 1995 and a writer since 1975. “It allows me to be creatively expansive.”
Co-workers and several students said they appreciate that creativity, according to Williams.
“Numerous students have said they liked this poem, could relate to that one,” he said.
The Pepperdine bookstore carries his second two books, “Poems for my Friends” and “A Bum’s World,” published in November of 2005.
Williams’ first book, “I’ve Got Something to Say,” was published in 1978.
“Even back then, my state of mind was that I needed an outlet for expression,” he said. “I didn’t have much experience in life in general. I thought I’d keep gaining experience to improve my writing.”
Williams joked that he’s not sure experience made him any better, but he has more-definite opinions on how time has changed the country.
“[It’s] completely gotten worse,” he said. “Our leadership has taken us down a dark alley.”
Disparities in power and wealth are increasing, he said, inspiring poems on homelessness and war. The situation also gave his new book its title, which he said he considers his best title because of its aptness.
“As we go into the future with technology and everything,” he said, “people without are being left behind. It’s becoming a bummer.”
But not all of his poems are negative or political. Poems of love and friendship mix with confrontations of social issues. One poem is about Pepperdine’s John Tyler information booth, another on Michael Jackson.
Titled “Lonely,” the poem was written while Williams was head of security for the pop star.
That poem was not the only one to draw the attention of the famous.
After Williams wrote a poem about the 1979 peace accords led by President Carter, the poet received a letter from White House aid Landon Kite.
He has also been recognized by the Ruth Lily foundation and been featured on radio shows.
While his public poems have attracted more attention, Williams said his favorite collection is the more personal “Poems for my Friends.”
“I’ve been into literature, and poetry in particular, all my life,” he said.
Richard Wright’s “Between the World and Me” and Langston Hughes’ “A Dream Deferred,” both of which he read in high school, inspired him to begin writing in college.
He hasn’t stopped since, and already has written several poems and lyrics for a song book since publishing his most recent book.
“I write when I’m inspired,” he said. “Anything can inspire me: wind, cars, the ocean [or] a beautiful woman.”
Writing a poem can be unpredictable, he said. “I revise and revise until it becomes a complete outlet,” he said. “It can be one sitting or a couple weeks to a month to finish what I want to add or take away.”
Williams said he wants to dispel the misconception that “no one reads poetry anymore.”
“People who have time and are intellectual and just want to cuddle up by a warm fire like to read, too,” he said. “I hope that the Pepperdine campus can find some peace of mind and solace in reading my book.”
02-22-2007
