The Lobster

Peter Grandbois is a poet, playwright, essayist, and novelist. He's an editor. A creative writing professor at Denison University. Lately, he's become a fencing coach.

A look at his writing reveals a man finely attuned to how fragile life can be. In his poem "Sometimes I think the worst," Peter writes

Like when my daughter calls at 3 AM

and I think of the raven's wings

collecting sorrows at the end of the world

or when my son responds with a grunt

when I ask about his day at school

and the great horned owl settles in the back

of my throat, waiting patiently for its prey.

In the following short doc, filmmaker and member of the Denison men's fencing team Will Barnes explores the philosophy Peter uses to hold all the different strands of his life together.