I have to confess I was a bit of a ditz this month: I forgot to reserve the room for our meeting. My only excuse is that is was a date change from the third week to the fourth, and there are five weeks, and I simply got busy.

As a result, we had to wrap up our goodies, hope the coffee would keep, and move on down the hall to a smaller room where no food or drinks were allowed, following the orders of a very stern, rule-ridden librarian. There were almost fisti-cuffs there for a moment, but the poetic ethos prevailed.

The meeting then proceeded with the usual poetic enthusiasms, exhortations,and musings. Jeanette Maes presented a very interesting program on Philip Levine, who had been born in Detroit and devoted a good deal of his creative life to the ambiance, fervor, tenor, triumphs and tribulations of working people. She indicated that he was not a fellow who was very good at publicizing himself, and yet he had won a slew of awards, including a Pulitzer. Basically, she asked, who knew? And yet, it is our loss that we didn’t. He is an extremely talented and accessible poet worth knowing.

A number of Massachusetts State Poetry Society members won awards in the annual contest, including our dear Roberta Hung. See the MSPS site.

Happy Fall. It is past peak, but I think it is even more lovely, as the leaves try to linger, fading as they cling, and then fall. See you all at our next meeting, Saturday, Nov. 19. I am the one who is supposed to present a workshop. Oh my!