Captive Audience: A Haibun

by

John J. Dunphy

(Originally published in the Spring 2020 issue of Cantos, the annual literary publication of Missouri Baptist University)

I prepared for weeks by rereading books and articles that I had used during my research. I committed entire passages of these works to memory so that I could quote them without consulting any notes. I even rehearsed my responses to any possible questions that I could be asked.

I was well-prepared — possibly even too well-prepared.

***

defending my dissertation

another committee member’s eyes

glaze over

John J. Dunphy’s poetry collections include Zen Koanhead, Touching Each Tree, pagan rites, Dark Nebulae and Stellar Possibilities. He owns The Second Reading Book Shop in Alton, IL.