Balancing his life between law and poetry, MSU associate clinical professor of law Brian Gilmore has increased the scope of his devotion to advocacy work.

After beginning to experiment with poetry during his college years, Gilmore said his work as a student activist in the divestment movement against apartheid in South Africa influenced his writing in many ways.

“When I got done with this advocacy work, I realized I didn’t want to just write, but I wanted to be a citizen,” he said. “I wanted to help out and actually try to make change and involve myself in this process.”

His experiences as an activist are demonstrated in his first two books of poetry that address cultural and political topics within music and society. In his second book “Jungle Nights and Soda Fountain Rags: Poem for Duke Ellington,” Gilmore addresses the history of Duke Ellington and his band, specifically focusing on the struggles they had to endure in order to share their music during times of racial segregation.

Gilmore said music is something that has always influenced him, which is why this theme is incorporated throughout much of his poetry.

“Music is really important for what I do. Poetry is like music itself,” he said.

With the publication of his newest book of poetry, “We Didn’t Know Any Gangsters”,, Gilmore said he strays away from the topics in his previous works, and takes a more personal approach.

He said the poems in this third collection focus on his parents, the neighborhood from his youth, and the “fun, yet mischievous kind of living” that he experienced while growing up in Washington, D.C.

“The message is the whole notion of loss of community. To a certain degree, I feel like a lot of cities have lost that sense of community where you had a family, but your larger family was within the neighborhood.”

Among his poetry, Gilmore has written numerous fiction and nonfiction stories, while also working as a freelance journalist for The Progressive Magazine located in Wisconsin, weekly dailies in Washington, D.C. and The Washington Post. Although he shifted his focus after becoming an MSU law professor in 2010, Gilmore said he will continue his advocacy work through both avenues of his career.

“I really have a great love for words,” he said. “It’s hard to say what’s the best about writing, other than knowing that people saw your work and appreciate your dedication to art. There’s a lot to say about that.”