1) What is the theme of your poem?
The theme of the poem is a person’s disappointment with their own life, not life in general. Each sunrise is a “false dawn” and tomorrow will not offer new possibilities if the past weighs too heavily on a person’s mind. The poem could also be seen as showing the disillusionment with the life “important people”, impose on ordinary folk. The decision-makers of the world regularly announce “a new dawn”, but things remain more or less the same.
2) What motivated you to write this poem?
I found myself jotting down my feelings, and the words seemed to flow out of me. My motivation was firstly, to help myself cope with the burden of regret, and to share that feeling with people, to see if that feeling would register with them.
3) How long have you been writing poetry?
I have been writing poetry for a short time. “A New False Dawn” is the first poem in a collection I am working on at present.
4) If you could have dinner with one person (dead or alive), who would that be?
Dinner would be with Shakespeare. Many interesting questions to be put to him.
5) What influenced you to submit to have your poetry performed by a professional actor?
The price was reasonable, and it was interesting to have my work read by an actor who will have read many poems from established poets, to see how my work sounds.
6) Do you write other works? scripts? Short Stories? Etc..?
I write screenplays and stage plays as well. Several screenplays have won awards at film festivals.
7) What is your passion in life?
My passions in life are writing and painting. Writing is at its best when it expresses your emotions.
Watch the Poetry Reading:
Matthew Toffolo's Summary 