“ Clinging to JESUS Through MARY ”
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT : DR . MARK LATKOVIC
Who is Dr . Mark Latkovic ?
I ’ m still trying to figure that out . I ’ m a husband , father , and now a grandfather of a little girl , Genevieve . That ’ s a big part of my life . In terms of my professional life , I ’ m a moral theologian , a teacher , speaker , writer — all those things . In terms of my hobbies , I like working out — I used to like playing basketball , but I can ’ t really do that anymore . I walk about five miles a day . I ’ ll walk in the neighborhood , but it ’ s not just a waste of time . I ’ m praying , I ’ m writing , I ’ m thinking . Whether it ’ s scholarly papers or shorter reflection pieces or the poetry I write , I usually
collect ideas when I ’ m out walking . I really like walking . Walking just keeps me out of trouble , you know ?
You are also an avid blogger . Many of your recent blog posts have been poetry . When did you start writing poetry and why ?
I used to do it in my later teenage years . I worked in a paint factory . My dad was a chemist and he got me the job . It was a summer job that I started in the summer of 1980 , and it went through the summer of 1986 . I think I started writing poetry then , just as a way to keep my sanity .
I was working on a paint line . We would bale the cans and box them , and then I would work on the paint platform , making paint with my dad ’ s formulas . I started then writing poetry , song lyrics , and I would write them on the back of paint can labels . I would write at lunch break or break time .
Then I stopped for a long time , while I was in college and graduate school , marriage , kids . Probably the last eight to ten years , I ’ ve really picked it up again . I ’ m more serious about it now , even though I would just be considered an amateur . Writing poetry is not something I con-
28 Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Spring 2018