“We couldn’t have done it without the poets.”
A lifelong lover of poetry, Paulus’ workshops and gatherings are characterised by heartfelt recitals.
Having committed many hundreds of poems to heart and memory, he “kidnaps them,” personalising them with small alterations.
His most-loved poet is Mary Oliver, who refers to him in her 2008 piece, To Begin With, The Sweet Grass:
Some day, I’m going to ask my friend Paulus, the dancer, the potter, to make me a begging bowl which I believe my soul needs.
And if I come to you, to the door of your comfortable house, with unwashed clothes and unclean fingernails, will you put something into it?
I would like to take this chance.
I would like to give you this chance.