Tillinghast climbs to the top in 'Mountain'

By Priti Desai

For the Daily

The climb to the peak of a mountain requires much patience, endurance and the facility to undergo several taxing encounters. A six-mile mountain, however, is an incredibly long and challenging hike, but through his poetry, Richard Tillinghast reveals the heartfelt emotions and genuine experiences faced by those determined enough to attempt this feat. "Six Mile Mountain" is a compilation of powerful, vivid poetry, composed and collected by Richard Tillinghast to demonstrate his ascent to the zenith of his own mountain.

Although at first read one might find Tillinghast's poems to lucidly describe the stepping stones in his life in terms of place and objects, it is the way he searches for his place in life with such anguish and emotion that touches one's heart as one reads. He delves into aspects of human life that everyone can relate to as he writes of jealousy, infidelity, chaos, responsibility, sorrow and of course love.

As this is his seventh publication, Tillinghast has a lot of experience expressing himself through his words and thus, he definitely succeeds in driving his audience to search their own souls to uncover those buried emotions. And fortunately for us, he teaches in the Master of Fine Arts program here at the University. But if you don't get a chance to meet this talented poet, at least immerse yourself in heart-wrenching anecdotes from a journey up the six-mile mountain of life.