Shea Shimmies His Way Into Our Hearts

On a particularly biting Thursday night in January, I made my way on foot to Prairie Lights, deciding to give my couch and I Love Money 2 a rest. Having heard that the poet was a graduate of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and had won the Fence Modern Poets Series competition, I was very intrigued to hear the works of this accomplished writer. A young, charming, (and somewhat cute) James Shea began his performance, and I knew at once that I was going to enjoy my night in with Shea and his new collection, Star in the Eye.

Shea’s style is one that I have come to learn and respect—short and sweet, quick to the point, relatable, and full of hidden depth. Unlike the long, heart-felt, emotional poems I once felt I had to write in order to achieve my goal, Shea never once got too sentimental, and yet managed to thoroughly engage his audience. The poet’s works were never too long, and always ended with a sort of punch line, making all of us crave for more without ever losing focus or causing me to wonder what I was going to wear over the weekend. His poems proved to be full of humor, not only to entertain us sitting there under his spell, but also to get across a common thought or idea in a different, more enjoyable, and quite sophisticated way. His humor never came across as young, stupid, or childish, but more the feelings of the everyday, average person.

One poem that made me laugh internally (while also cringe at its truth) was Shea’s “Hwan’s Condition.” “He wants to sleep / but he had to do / all this work, but / he wants to do / all this work, but / he has to sleep.” From the college students to the older adults present in the audience, I felt all of us could easily connect with that poem; we were able to laugh at its open audacity, while knowing inside we were all dreading the work we were putting off to be at the reading. Despite the breeziness of that particular poem, often times Shea would introduce more philosophical ones, causing us to think more abstractly. At times, the poems felt darker, or dream-like, but they were never too overpowering. Part of the reason for this can definitely be awarded to the style and lyrical set-up of the poem. As I am currently enrolled in Lyric Structures at Iowa, Shea’s poems made me appreciate my growing knowledge from that class for the restrictions and framing that can be displaced in writing. Through Shea’s shorter lines and simple words, he was able to do the opposite and write moving, reactionary, relatable poems that are both enjoyable to read and hear.

James Shea’s poems were exactly the kind I look for—on the shorter side, with a cultural resonance, written for himself and for others. His quirky, sometimes strange poems are easily grasped by anyone, giving them accessibility, while opening up a new meaning when delved into deeper. Whether it was his Iowa pride, his appealing voice, his physical appearance or simply his defined talent, I found his variety of poems to cause the time to fly by, leaving me to begrudgingly leave the warmth of Prairie Lights with an elated feeling about the performance I had just seen.

-Lucy Williams