Phases
Zach Whitman is a student at the University of Oklahoma where he studies Theatre Performance. Born in Grand Prairie, Texas, he grew up with two loving parents, Sally and Arch, and his best friend and brother, Greg. Zach began writing and performing his own poetry at 15. His poems are largely autobiographical and cover a breadth of topics ranging from love and loss to civil rights and injustice. For the first time outside of a performance, his self-published, debut collection Phases allows readers a relatable glimpse at the life and times of a young artist. This collection of poetry is a small fraction of the material he has written and is sure to write in the future.      For the years that I’ve known Zach, I have always seen him as an artist, a creative thinker and visionary. When we sit across from each other, I find myself regularly surprised by the thoughts and ideas he shares and at the same time equally surprised by the way he expresses them. People are noticeably drawn to Zach, which works fantastic for him since he loves to be surrounded by people. Always eager to please an audience, be that on stage or in his home, he has the ability to make people emote with him and that’s what I think is so great about this collection.                         Joe Dougherty