Never overlook a janitor as a prodigy.
Before you start getting images of Will Hunting secretly
scrawling answers to advanced fourier systems across a dimly-lit
chalkboard, it should be said that janitors can make great poets,
too.
John Cross, a 2002 UCLA alumnus, has won several awards in the
past few years, including the 2002 Poet Laureate Prize (UC
system-wide, first place) from UC Berkeley and the Mary Roberts
Rhinehart award from George Mason University’s national
poetry competition. Cross has also garnered some notice for his
work among UCLA professors and students, making many believe he
just might be one of the next great masters of words to rise from
the university.
Like Will Hunting’s path to math, John Cross’ road
to poetry was a long one. He graduated from high school in 1980,
and he worked as a janitor for 13 years at a church in
Hollywood.
“I dealt with the homeless; the pastor was afraid of them
and he kind of threw me out there and said, “˜OK, you deal
with them,'” Cross said in a phone interview. “So
I had them write me poems in exchange for food and
clothing.”
It was only after Cross read an article on Los Angeles beat poet
Charles Bukowski in 1986 that he discovered the pull of creative
writing.
At the time, though, Cross was still considering a career as a
studio musician.
“I played bass in like a million insignificant rock
bands,” he said. “I never took poetry seriously until I
enrolled at the Pasadena City College. One of my professors was Ron
Koertge, and he took the craft seriously.”
Cross transferred to UCLA from Pasadena City College in the fall
of 2000, where he studied for three years. His work as a poet
quickly started to come together.
“Soon I started winning all of these fabulous awards that,
in the scheme of things, are meaningless,” Cross said with a
laugh.
His encouragement to begin applying for many of the awards came
from UCLA professors Ethan Yenser and Cal Bedient. Cross found
himself winning prestigious literary awards, including the 2001
Fred and Edith Herman Memorial Prize from the Academy of American
Poets.
“I got home one day and there was a message on my
answering machine from the English department at George Mason
informing me that I had actually won,” Cross said. “At
the time, I thought it was an elaborate hoax.”
But it was not a hoax. It was no joke either when Cross was
awarded the 2002 Poet Laureate Prize from UC Berkeley, and when he
was also chosen to represent UCLA at the Los Angeles Poetry
Festival as a part of the “Poets to Watch” series. His
work has been published in literary magazines such as Volt and
Pearl, and now he is trying to make additional contacts to get more
of his poems published.
In true poetic fashion, Cross can only speak abstractly about
the subject matter of his poetry.
“The subjects vary so much,” he said.
“Sometimes my writing comes from personal experiences, and
sometimes I turn to ancients like Sophocles and Ovid …
Aesthetically, I’m trying to find middle ground where I can
embrace both the avant garde and the personal or the
human.”
Now, having just graduated from UCLA, Cross is working at an
elementary school while he applies to schools for his MFA. He still
keeps in touch with Cal Bedient and his other professors and
friends at UCLA, and they continue to inspire his work.