Daniel Ontengco

Portrait of a View: One Hundred Poems, 1993-2004 Daniel Ontengco

This book is a collection of poems that I have been compiling over the last twelve years. I began the book in 1993, and finally completed it in 2004. The poems are not entirely autobiographical but do include a large amount of myself in them. There is reality that is masked and fiction that is realized. The reader can judge which is which. The majority of the poems are one page creations with a focus more on originality rather than structure. Although many of the poems do experiment with differing rhyme sequences and poem types, the emphasis is on creating something that is different and in my own style. Originally, I was just writing for my own pleasure and satisfaction. However, after several years, I started to feel that I would like to publish the poems as one book. I wrote a few at a time when I was feeling inspired. I never wrote unless I had the creative itch, and had what I thought was a good enough idea. I hope that the reader will enjoy at least some of these ideas and not judge the rest too harshly. I was never trying to impress anyone but myself. The title for the book, Portrait of a View was inspired by a trip I made to the Salvador Dali Art Museum in Florida in 1993. However, the central concept of the book is that words and ideas can be used not just to paint a picture, but also to create something that is real and that has an existence all its own. I hope that at least in some small way, I have accomplished this in my portrait of a view.