With Gratitude: Honoring the BetterAuds Review of “When Men Writ Poems
- Aura Valehart
- 6 days ago
- 1 min read
We’re genuinely grateful to the BetterAuds Team for taking the time to read, reflect on, and so thoughtfully review Christopher Vaughn Messer’s poem When Men Writ Poems. Third-party recognition like this matters, not for validation, but because it shows the work is landing where it’s meant to land: with readers who take language, faith, and craft seriously.
Before Chris was a songwriter, before film, before any public recognition, he was a poet. As a boy, he wrote words and drew pictures as a way to process a difficult childhood, quietly, privately, honestly. Those early sketches and verses became a refuge, and eventually a bridge. It was through that inner work that he found his voice, and later his vehicle for expression: songwriting, alongside childhood friend Tom CeCe, where story, sound, and meaning first converged.
When Men Writ Poems reflects that long arc. It isn’t a departure from his work in music or film; it’s a return. A distillation. The (2017) poem carries the same spiritual wrestling, patience, and earned clarity that have marked his journey across mediums. To see that recognized with such care and literary insight is something we don’t take lightly.
Thank you to BetterAuds for engaging the poem on its own terms and honoring the discipline behind it. And thank you to the readers who continue to meet the work with open eyes and open hearts. To see the full review click here. To read the Poem in its original form click here
-Aura