Mr. Crews is an English teacher here at West Morris Central, and I had the privilege to talk to him about his summer adventure. This past summer, Mr. Crews and his dog went to Upper Jay, New York, near the Adirondack Mountains. He spent five weeks in the cabin of a family friend.

He admitted that it was very “simple living”. Those five weeks were spent hiking and completing “the 46”, a compilation of the forty-six major peaks of New York’s Adirondack Mountains. Mr. Crews took this great opportunity to write poems about his hiking experiences. He said this project was a learning experience for him. He wrote these poems while waiting for the hikes that lay ahead.

When I asked him what he was hoping to take away from his experience, he simply replied, “nothing”.

He said he just wanted to absorb his surroundings and have fun doing so. He admitted to being sad when he left and the project was finished. I don’t blame him. This adventure sounds like a dream that we all would love to live. To be able to get away from reality and just write poetry in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains seems like pure tranquility.

He said his favorite part of the trip was to “feel what it was like to completely be immersed in something”. I find that complete immersion in something is rarely seen today. People are always in such rushes that they forget to slow down and really absorb life.

I love the idea of complete serenity and making art out of it. When I asked Mr. Crews what his least favorite part of his journey was, he, of course, replied, “leaving”.

Now that he’s back at home, he is still very into hiking. In fact, he is currently still hiking the forty-six mountains, and he has already completed thirteen of them! And, just for the record, these mountains aren’t easy to hike! The longest hike completed was 21.9 miles over three mountains and took him 13.5 hours to complete!

Through hiking, he has improved his skills, and he is determined to continue improving. I truly admire Mr. Crews for going out and doing something people only dream of doing. Many people just think about their dreams and what they would love to do, but never actually commit to them.

Mr. Crews is planning on publishing his poetry chapter book titled High Peaks, which focuses on the hiking of “The 46”, in March of 2015.

Also, on April 10 of 2015, West Morris Central will be hosting a poetry festival in the library where there will be both a guest poet and Mr. Crews himself talking about their poetry! Don’t miss this one!

Additionally, Mr. Crews has a new collection of poems published called Circadian Rhythm, and you can get your own copy in his room for $15. I recently bought Circadian Rhythm and read all twenty-seven poems in one sitting. Each one of his poems tells its own beautiful story. My two personal favorites are “The Other Man” and “Hiking at Night”. My favorite line in “Hiking at Night” is: “It’s difficult to imagine steps that feel not entirely your own…”

These poems honestly blew me away and sent me to tears. They are very beautifully written, and there’s something in there for everybody. Each poem is one I can relate to, even though the way I interpret them may not mirror Mr. Crews’ initial purpose.

But, in my opinion, that’s the sign of a true poet: when their poems are written so passionately, they feed everyone’s creative hunger. These poems have a personal effect on me, and I hang onto every word. I highly recommend everyone to seize this fantastic opportunity to grab Circadian Rhythm and read Mr. Crews’ wonderful work.