All posts by Melissa J. Varnavas

Unknown's avatar

About Melissa J. Varnavas

Melissa J. Varnavas is a poet living in Massachusetts.

Common Threads

Poetry

Wordcrafters poets, an affiliate of the Massachusetts State Poetry Society, hosted a lovely meeting last Saturday at the Salem home of Beverley Barnes. Roberta Hung directed the group in a reading excercise spurred by the Massachusetts Poetry Festival dubbed “Common Threads.” The purpose of the program was to get as many people in Massachusetts to read the same seven poems (written by Massachusetts poets); to have a community which could speak to these common points in a series of common poems. As there were just seven poets in attendance we each picked a poem to read. The poems included:

The “Common Threads” project offered several questions to help get the conversation about the poems going such as:

  • What do the dog and its name, Blizzard, suggest in the poem “Vita Nova” by Louise Gluck?
  • James Tate crafts the poem “The Lost Pilot” in tercets (three line stanzas) what effect does this have on your reading of the poem?
  • In the poem “Occupation”, by Suji Kwock Kim, the poet uses the metaphor of a house to describe something else. How does that metaphor connect to you, individually? What images does it foster? What is the impact of those images on your understanding of the cognitive meaning of the poem and your emotional awareness of its intent? 

We had a lovely, lively discussion of the poems and enjoyed Beverley’s hospitality. One thing I am still looking forward to doing from the project is taking another look at Pinsky’s poem “Samurai Song”. One of the discussion questions indicated that, as the title states, the poem is actually a song. Apparently, we should be able to count the number of syllables in each line and examine the number of stressed syllables and see the pattern to the beats that Pinsky created. Evidentially, there is a careful consistency of stressed syllables in each line although there is a slight differentiation of the number of syllables in each line. Roberta, who had attended a previous “Common Threads” discussion, said some poets thought the beat structure was reminescent of Cat Stevens. At any rate, I’m looking forward to taking an even closer look at this poem when I get a chance. Jeanette C. Maes, however, said she didn’t care for this example of Pinsky’s work but recommended we read “The Green Piano”.

Louise Bogan

Unfortunately I was unable to make it to Reading today, Saturday May 7, to attend the Massachusetts State Poetry Society meeting. If you were there please let us know how it went and send Cathy or I a few tidbits or lessons’ you may have garnered from the event. On the schedule was a morning workshop by Jeanette C. Maes on “Using Predictions” followed by an afternoon workshop by MaryEllen Letarte, director of the Louise Bogan Chapter, on the works of the chapter’s namesake. Letarte says that Bogan was a poet and critic who valued her privacy and was largely unknown to the general public but was held in high esteem by her peers. Listen to Bogan read her poem “The Dragonfly” online at The Academy of American Poets.

Wordcrafters meeting Saturday, April 30

Poetry, ,
Wordcrafters will discuss the creation of a contest in honor of Gloucester poet Amy Dengler when it meets on April 30.

Wordcrafters (like NSPF, a subset of the Massachusetts State Poetry Society) usually meets at the Peabody Library but this month on Saturday, April 30, at 11 a.m., will meet at the Salem home of Beverley Barnes due to construction efforts at the library. Roberta Hung will provide the presentation and there will be some time set aside for gentle critique and reading of one another’s poems.

 
Although she hasn’t finalized her presentation, Roberta had been considering joining in the Massachusetts Poetry Festival’s efforts to get more than 10,000 people to read the same seven poems during the month of April. The effort, dubbed “Common Threads”, features poetry from Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Pinsky, and Kevin Young, among others.
 
Also on the agenda will be a discussion of ways to honor fellow North Shore poet Amy Dengler who passed away earlier this year after a courageous battle against cancer. Roberta has been in touch with Amy’s family and was able to obtain a copy of Amy’s final collected works. The family gave Roberta permission to disseminate copies to beloved friends of Amy’s. Discussions are also planned for a possible memorial contest in Amy’s name. For information, e-mail Roberta, or leave a post here and we will forward along information as it becomes available.

Congrats to contest winners, thanks for wonderful meeting

general, Poetry

Congratulations again to the winners of the 2011 Naomi Cherkofsky Memorial Contestaward. We were blessed that so many of the winners were able to attend the NSPF meeting and open mic in honor of National Poetry Month last Saturday, April 16, at the Beverly Public Library. Awards went to:

  1. Lee Eric Freedman of Swampscott won first place for his poem “I Salute Myself,” a whimsical re-interpretation of Whitman’s “Song of Myself” retold from this unique poet’s musical dynasticism. We’ll see if we can’t get his permission to publish the piece here.
  2. Suellen Wedmore, of Rockport, earned second place for her poem “At Foley Stadium: Afghanstan-Bound”, as well as an honorable mention prize.  With her own son having served overseas on three tours, Wedmore says she penned her winning poem after reading a newspaper article regarding a gathering of hundreds of supports who gathered in Worcester’s Foley Stadium last year as a send-off for more than 600 service members in what the Boston Globe called “the largest deployment of Massachusetts National Guard troops since World War II.”
  3. C.H. Coleman, of Salem, earned third place for his poem “Absolute Last” which imagines the procreations efforts of the last man and woman on the planet and bizzare prediciament of needing assistance. Coleman, like Wedmore, also earned an honorable mention.

Additional honorable mention prizes were given to Diane Giardi, of Gloucester, for her poem “As Snow Falls”, Claire Keyes, of Marblehead, for “Sanctuary”, Richard Samuel Davis, of Byfield, for “Heaven to Heaven”, Maryellen Letarte, of Lunrnburg, for “Dragonfly”, and to Lucille Morgan Wilson of Des Moines, IA.

Don’t forget, the next NSPF meeting will be held Saturday, May 21, 11 a.m., at the library!

Don’t forget about Saturday’s reading and award ceremony

Poetry,

Greetings everyone,

I hope you are all looking forward to the annual Naomi Cherkofsky Memorial Contest award celebration and open mic in honor of National Poetry Month. We’ll be meeting this coming Saturday, April 16, 11 a.m., at the Beverly Public Library. This is always a joyous and entertaining event as members gather to celebrate the gift of poetry and congratulate our talented contest winners. So tell your friends and relatives, spread the word, polish up some of your best work and head on down.

This year’s winners include:

  • C. H. Coleman
  • Richard Samuel Davis
  • Lee Eric Freeman
  • Diane Giardi
  • Claire Keyes
  • Maryellen Letarte
  • Suellen  Wedmore
  • Lucille Morgan Wilson

Congratulations everyone!

I also wanted to let you know about a few other poetry events that are taking place this week.

The Gloucester Writers (GWC) hosts a local poets reading tonight Wednesday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m., at 126 East Main St., featuring readings by a few NSPF friends including: Nathan Cohen, Ruthanne (Rufus) Collinson, Ruth Maassen, and Sage Walcott.

The Tin Box Poets hosts their 13th annual open mic and National Poetry Month celebration at the Swampscott Library on Thursday, April 14, at 6:30 p.m. (doors/sign-up starts at 6 p.m.) This annual event draws spoken word artists of all abilities and disciplines from Swampscott, Marblehead, the North Shore, and beyond. The Tin Box Poets’ goal is to promote and encourage the appreciation of poetry in our lives.

Also on Thursday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m., at the Paul M. Scott Library in the main building of Montserrat College of Art, NSPF member (and contest winner) Claire Keyes hosts a poetry reading and fundraiser for the Massachusetts Poetry Festival featuring the work of Boston resident Fred Marchant and Rowley resident Carla Panciera. Suggested donation is $20, $10 students. For additional information, visit http://masspoetry.org/2011/03/13/a-pre-festival-celebratory-reading-and-fund-raiser-on-april-14/.

On Sunday, April 17, from 3-5 p.m., Elizabeth McKim hosts a house concert of Poetry/Story/Song at her loft in Lynn. The event features Kato Mele, Rozi Theohari, Eliz McKim, Don White, Walnut, Mike Mele, and others. Tickets are $15. Reservations are available by e-mail at jocelynalmy@tlguts.com or call 781-715-1445.