A JOYOUS DEFIANCE
ost in the clutches of a fantasy novel or scouring the pages of journals and composition notebooks, gifted by his mother, are fond memories of Charles McCaskill Jr.’s childhood. As he grew older, roaming his neighborhood in Warrington, taking in the world around him and being shaped by the women raising him, he first discovered poetry in high school. Soon after, McCaskill would nervously read his first poem at an open mic at End of the Line Café, cementing a new era of his life and the community of writers he found himself within. Today, many people may know McCaskill from his involvement in the Pensacola Poetry group. When the group of poets expanded from End of the Line Café into the now shutdown Sluggo’s, McCaskill stepped up to find the new venue at Constant Coffee & Tea. Serving as a regular co-host and a staple at the poetry readings, he formed intimate friendships and a support system for his writing. This year, after being selected as a finalist for the Poet Laureate of Northwest Florida, McCaskill released his third book On a Random Bookshelf in My Mind.
The Poetry of Charles McCaskill by Dakota Parks Photography by Guy Stevens
“I just wanted to get my words out there,” McCaskill said. “My first book came out when Black Lives Matter was gaining traction again. I was witnessing all of these horrible things happening in the country, and I needed to say something. I couldn’t stick to the old, fluff-filled, love poems I was writing—I had to say something. The title of the book, How to Lose Friends and Alienate White People, comes from a Facebook argument. I wasn’t saying anything controversial. I just was explaining experiences and issues that I witness in my identity as a black person in this country. That’s only divisive, if you want it to be divisive.” McCaskill’s first book of poetry, released in 2018, is saturated in the American political
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