Feature Story

Friendly Readers,
The Beacon News, owned by The Chicago Sun Times Group, featured this blog in their Friday, August 23, 2013 issue. I am very flattered. Below is that article:


Blog Log: James Woods, The Dashboard Poet

By Joy Davis For Sun-Times Media August 21, 2013 3:22PM

Yorkville resident James Woods, 60, shares his poetry on his blog, The Dashboard Poet. | Submitted

Updated: August 23, 2013 9:35AM


James Woods published his first poem in 1970, in his high-school literary journal. More than 40 years later, he’s still at it. Woods, 60, now shares his poetry on his blog, The Dashboard Poet.

Woods, of Yorkville, grew up reading classic poets like Byron, Keats and Browning, and says he has been writing poetry since he understood what poetry is.

“For me, poetry is the stream of life. The longer I wade in that stream, the swifter is the current,” Woods said.

Woods is inspired by various elements of life, from love to death to mystery. Readers of The Dashboard Poet can find a wide range of poems about any of these topics, some sharing intricate details, while others offer a more cryptic and metaphorical view.

Because Woods finds inspiration in his life, many readers will relate with similar feelings of love, trauma or loss.

“The ordinary stuff of life often carries the most profound weight. I just received a new granddaughter. One lives with me. I cannot interact with them without knowing I am in touch with one of life’s greatest wonders,” Woods said.

“A sunrise in New Mexico goes down as one of the best few seconds of my life. That kind of light endures for a moment.”

The Dashboard Poet has readership in 22 countries. Woods considers his writing to be constantly evolving, allowing readers to accompany him as he grows.

Woods is working on his first book of poems, featuring 80 of his pieces, and is also working on a novel, titled “The Bone Tree.”

To read his poetry, visit his blog at thedashboardpoet.blogspot.com.

Yep.....I blushed. But not enough to not share it with you.