Conversations with Skeletons

by Kirk DeMatas

Join author Kirk DeMatas on a journey back in time as he visits the seemingly autocratic world of the past in his new poetry collection, Conversations with Skeletons. Written over a three-year period, the poems chronicle the radical reenactment of past experienceseffectively dialogues between DeMatas and other versions of himself. This collection represents a gruelling exercise in psychological dissection through poetic discourse. DeMatas confronts the sources that feed his fears, his anger, his lasciviousness, and his insecurities, all with the hope of finally exorcising the metaphorical demons clutching his soul.

Accompanied by stunning photos by Tosin I. Arasi of TIA International Photography, the poetry written for this collection is occasionally raw, often intense, and always extremely revealing. Conversations with Skeletons collects one mans conversations with his personal skeletons.

Confronting the Grief of Years

On my thirtieth birthday, I woke to the sound

of bones rattling inside my closet.

The vibrations rapped against my naked eardrums

and lured me into the realm of the blues.

My consciousness rode the sound waves like a sea bird

scanning an abyss for some nourishment.

Beguiled by this rhythm, I understood the trap,

just as Josef K. does in The Trial.

I could hear the scratching against the heavy door,

and after what felt like one year, I stood.

My hand became a benevolent dictator,

ushering the darkness into the light.

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 11, 2012

About the author

Kirk DeMatas is a Toronto-based multi-disciplinary artist, dancer, actor, poet and the author of the collections Wordspeak (2008) and Conversations with Skeletons (2012).

In 2005, DeMatas began performing his poetry in Toronto’s open mic scene. Since then, he has appeared at multiple events across the city (for GladDay at Nuit Blanche, The Press Club), on radio (M&N Show, Denver) and on television (Toronto’s Talent, Rogers).

A life-long lover of music, DeMatas has recorded his poetry with original music to create new pieces. In 2010, he released his first single "Cloud Covers” in collaboration with musician Scott Taylor. In 2022, he recorded and released Conversations with Skeletons - The EP and the single “The Jaws of Temptation – Remix”. He promoted the project with three music videos.

The 2024 short film “Coffee, Black” featured DeMatas performing his original poem. Also, in 2024, he completed production on his first poetry film.