Bryan Knowles is one of the bravest surfers around. Not because he gets pitted deeper into the hollow of the wave than anyone else at Mavericks (he surfs big but not that big). No. He's brave because he dares to put into words the feelings and sentiments that many surfers feel but never articulate. He writes about the emotions of surfing. Most surfers have strong feelings about waiting for waves and riding them. But they don't talk about them. It's somehow too personal, too deep, too intimate. Knowles, 26, writes about those feelings and he writes well.
Growing up surfing on Cape Cod, Knowles now leads a life possessed by surfing in California. When he's not in the water, he's either shaping surfboards under his label Ride Anything or reinterpreting surfing through words on his blog SurfPoetry.com. Whether reflecting on the sensation of a New England duck-dive in February or the haunting mind warp that accompanies surfing Northern California's sharkier breaks, Knowles posts a new surf inspired poem every week or so. In collaboration with several up and coming surf photographers, he has produced a one of a kind Surf Poetry Calendar for 2011, featuring a collection of his poetry paired with first rate surf imagery. It can be purchased for $12.99 at http://www.surfpoetry.com/shop
"Spooks in Suits"
Bryan Knowles
October’s offshores reign
As almond eyes open upon crisp mornings
Tempting he who goes there.
Bobbing in the lineup,
Back to Cali’s rolling hills and golden landscape,
Facing corduroy lines as far as a wavering horizon permits your view.
To feel in tune with something so vast
Sends chills like those that leaky rubber lets in
Along with thoughts of vulnerability.
A matchless thrill
Feeling alive as the sea you’re in.
With angst of what passes beneath
Surrendered to back of mind
Devouring perfect waves
You join in a food chain
Whose kingdom we don’t throne.
Inevitable this time of year
Are humbling tails of spooks in suits
Who mix with our predation.
