For Marty Pasco, what started out as a cathartic way to navigate a tough year has become a dream come true.
Holding the physical copy of his self-published book, Indulgence, at the Base, Pasco says he’s been writing poetry for almost a decade and that he never thought he would have a published copy of his works.
“When I first had these books on hand, I was the happiest kid,” said the Golden local.
“It’s been a dream for a long time, as a big reader myself. It started as an experiment to get my art out there and to try to put some feelings down on paper to see what happens.
“It feels really good to have this book in hand.”
The book is separated into three chapters. The first, titled Decadence, is focused on indulgence and the indulgence of quality of life.
The middle chapter, titled Babe in the Woods, features poems on love.
The final chapter, titled Please Stand By, is more of a miscellaneous grouping of Pasco’s personal favourite poems, which didn’t fit into a the first two chapters or into a certain theme.
“I hope that those are the ones people appreciate the most,” said Pasco.
The book is incredibly personal to Pasco, with most of the poems being written between spring 2018 and spring 2019, a year that he says was difficult for him personally.
The poems deal with love, loss and all sorts of character defining moments that happened to him during that period.
The poems are mostly free-verse with no defined rhyming scheme, saying that the words on paper are just what needed to come out of him at that moment.
“I find it more freeing, rather than using a particular structure,” said Pasco.
“Some of it’s a bit gnarly, a bit nasty, but there’s a lot in there that I hope you’ll laugh at, or maybe even cry.
“Some are heavy and some are playful – not every poem is for everyone, but I think everyone will find at least a couple poems in there to enjoy.”
Pasco first started writing poetry just under 10 years ago, when he was still in high school in small town Ontario.
He says he first got into writing poetry through his love of music, citing Jim Morrison and The Doors as what first led him to poetry, before expanding into Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg and beat poems.
He also cites the Tragically Hip as an important influence. That music and musicality is important to him as inspiration for his writing.
“There are so many influences in music that I find very poetic, especially when you sit down and read the lyrics rather than just listening to them, it’s a totally different game,” said Pasco.
Pasco says he’s been getting positive feedback on the book, with old friends and family reaching out to him.
He also hopes his book can help get the poetry scene going in Golden, helps inspire others to give it a try and put pen to paper.
“It’s such a beautiful place full of inspiration,” said Pasco.
“I love to support local, as a lot of us do. Poetry isn’t as big of a thing as it was back in the Mark Twain days and I would love to start getting people stoked on poetry again and get some poetry slams and get people writing new poetry in Golden.”
While Pasco has been enjoying some downtime since the release of his book, he says he’ll be looking to continue his writing and get a second book out, this time through a publication company. He says he also wants to give short stories a try.
Indulgence, at the Base is available for purchase at Bacchus Books.
