Please join Synkroniciti in welcoming back Californian poet David Holper with “Just Maybe,” a poem about white privilege. David acknowledges that the capacity to overcome tough times in his life was bolstered by the way American society viewed him as a white man. He speaks of “how impossible it would have been/ if my skin were black or brown. I am reminded/ how impossible whites would have made such simple things/ as driving a car or voting or getting a decent job.” He speaks boldly and clearly about how deeply prejudice runs in society, sometimes almost unconscious but never passive. If the white establishment can learn to listen and give back to black and brown communities, rather than running its mouth and being defensive, maybe, “Just maybe,” we can come to a deeper understanding benefitting all people.
Read “Just Maybe,” in Synkroniciti’s “Belonging” issue, available here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
David Holper has published three collections of poetry, Language Lessons: A Linguistic Hejira (Deeper Magic Press), The Bridge (Sequoia Song Publications) and 64 Questions (March Street Press). His poems have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies, and he has won numerous poetry competitions, including the Synkroniciti contest for “Broken” September 2023; second place in relationships for Write from the Heart Anthology 2023; the Barbara Curiel Award for a poem titled “Depaysement” in Toyon 2018; the Noctua Review poetry contest for spring 2017; the Rotting Post humor competition for fall 2016; and the Jodi Stutz prize from Toyon 2017 for his poem “Cana de Azucar.” Additionally, he has been nominated for a Pushcart by Relief Journal for a poem called “Doubt.”His fiction has appeared in various quarterlies, including Grand Street, the New Virginia Review, and Callaloo. He lives in Eureka, California, where he served as the City of Eureka’s inaugural poet laureate from August 2019-August 2021.