Jeanette Maes has offered to do a program on Philip Levine, new Poet Laureate, for our Sept. 17 meeting. Thanks so much, Jeanette!
I will send out a reminder before the meeting. Come with your own poem(s) for gentle critique, a little food to share, and the willingness to offer your services, as Jeanette did, so that we can all learn a little more about the craft and art of poetry.
Apparently, some of you relied upon the information in this blog’s Contests page to send poems to the Mass State Poetry Society’s most recent contest. I am sorry. I have been blatantly absent for some time from the blog, but I just updated the information. Gertrude Callis, former contest chair for the MSPS, died this year. She is missed for her enthusiasm for poetry, for her quiet determination, for her sense of humor, for her generosity, and for her hard work on our behalf. In her place as contest chair for the MSPS is Roberta Hung, another wonderfully kind, gracious and hard-working poet. Those of us who are also members of MSPS are lucky to have her.
I have also updated the meetings schedule for the Forum….with almost no information! We neglected to set a program for this coming year. So, please join us on Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Beverly Public Library, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ish, with some poems from a favorite or new or interesting poet we may not be familiar with so that we, too, can learn and enjoy. Please also bring a poem or two of your own, with copies, for gentle critique. And, be prepared to volunteer to give a program over the course of our next year at the Forum.
Some of you know that my husband died in April. This is one of the first times I’ve actually said that, and I don’t think I will ever get used to it….the saying it…the absence it only declares. In any case, although I may have shared this poem by Jane Kenyon before, it is the one I chose for my husband’s service.
BY JANE KENYON
…
…
…
…
There are a plethora of activities to celebrate National Poetry Month. Besides the one hosted by the Massachusetts Poetry Festival folk on April 14 (see prior post), the Tin Box Poets are also hosting an event that evening. Here’s the scoop:
CCAE’s Writer’s Life Series
Our popular series for writers and readers continues. Join us for three Wednesday evenings of informal discussions with local writers, focusing on a) anthologies and group publishing; b) writing about one’s own family; and c) narrative journalism.
A) When: Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 at 8:00pm
Who: Doug Holder, Dan Mazur, and Barbara Ross
What: Anthologies and Group Publishing: Learn about what’s behind group publishing from three writers who
have both edited and contributed to anthologies of poetry, comics, and crime stories.
Where: 56 Brattle Street, Harvard Square , Cambridge , MA , 02238 -9113
Price: $6
Phone: 617-547-6789 x1
Web: http://www.ccae.org
B) When: Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 at 8:00pm
Who: John Freeman, Katrina Kenison, and Marianne Leone
What: Writing About Your Family: Respecting Boundaries, Taking Risks – An intimate discussion of the choices, challenges, and rewards these authors faced when writing about their loved ones.
Where: 56 Brattle Street , Harvard Square , Cambridge , MA , 02238 -9113
Price: $6
Phone: 617-547-6789 x1
Web: http://www.ccae.org
C) When: Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 at 8:00pm
Who: Ethan Gilsdorf, David Valdes Greenwood, and Paige Williams
What: Narrative Journalism: Not Just The Facts, Story Too – Whether it be immersion journalism or creative non-fiction, this deeply personal genre transforms everyday reporting into a captivating novel. Discover the worlds inhabited and paths traveled by these writers.
Where: 56 Brattle Street, Cambridge , MA , 02238-9113
Price: $6
Phone: 617-547-6789 x1
Web: http://www.ccae.org
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————– And, most importantly, from the standpoint of the North Shore Poets’ Forum, is our own event, on Saturday, April 16, 11 a.m. to 1 or 2 p.m., at the Beverly Public Library. Hope to see you there.
Claire Keyes, who is well known on the North Shore for her own poetry and for her years as a professor at Salem State, sends along this invitation:
You are cordially invited to a poetry reading and fundraiser for the Massachusetts Poetry Festival on Thursday, April 14th at 7:30 p.m. at the Paul M. Scott Library in the main building of Montserrat College of Art,
23 Essex St. Beverly. Fred Marchant of Boston and Carla Panciera of Rowley will be the featured readers. Donation: $20 or $10 for students.
You can read more about Fred and Carla on the Masspoetry.org website. Here is the link:
http://masspoetry.org/2011/03/13/a-pre-festival-celebratory-reading-and-fund-raiser-on-april-14/
We will also have some scintillating raffle items for the poetry-obsessed, so please bring your wallets!
Claire Keyes
cjkeyes@verizon.net
April is National Poetry Month, and the North Shore Poets’ Forum is celebrating on Saturday, April 16, with readings by the winners of our Naomi Cherkofsky contest followed by an open mic. We have been doing this for probably six or seven or eight (how many?) years, and it has always been a wonderful time. We hope you will join us at the Beverly Public Library, from 11 a.m. to about 2 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. And, if you write poetry, please bring up to three to share.
In the meantime, you can discover new poets and enjoy a poem a day in celebration of National Poetry Month by clicking on this website, provided by Knopf Poetry, a division of Random House:
http://poem-a-day.knopfdoubleday.com/2011/04/01/welcome-to-poetry-month/?ref=poemaday_email
Enjoy!
April is National Poetry Month, and once again the North Shore Poets’ Forum is celebrating with readings by the winners of its annual Naomi Cherkofsky contest followed by open mic on Saturday, April 16, 11 a.m., at the Beverly Public Library.
Just to keep you posted, we had a fantastic meeting last week. Melissa Varnavas presented a program on inspiration which was, well, inspiring! Many of those present came up with some pretty great raw material for polished poems. As Melissa reminded us, quoting Thomas Edison, I think, genius is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent work.
And, all of us at the meeting hope you will join us for the annual Poetry Reading next month, which is National Poetry Month. The Forum’s event is always a great time — a time for sharing poetry, food and friendship. We look forward to greeting you there.
In addition to our friend Amy Dengler, we recently lost our good friend Gertrude Callis, for whom there will be a memorial service on Saturday, March 12, 2011, at 10 a.m., at the Swampscott Church of Spiritualism, Burrill Street, Swampscott.
Her family invites you to join them.
The church is next to the Swampscott Public Library and across the street from the Swampscott Fire Station.
Melissa Varnavas is writing a poem to be published soon in this blog in memory of Gertrude, who gave to new poets and new members the encouragement to stand up and be heard. Those of us who knew her feel lucky, even while we miss her.
Gertrude has not been coming to meetings much in the last few years because of failing health. Mostly, she just didn’t want to be a bother to anyone. She hated to talk about her ailments, wanted nothing to do with doctor-talk or health advisories. She was a stubborn, proud, independent, feisty woman with a sweet, soft voice and a huge heart.
When you looked up, there she was — in your corner, smiling and sending good wishes your way.
Thanks, Gertrude.
UPDATE: one more poem added, from Marcia Molay.
The North Shore Poets’ Forum gathered at the Beverly Public Library on Saturday, Feb. 19, for its usual February meeting, but with a different plan than usual: we would spend part of the time remembering our dear friend Amy Dengler, who died the week before.
Some of our members had gone to the Celebration of her Life the prior Thursday morning in Gloucester, and were able to share the beauty of the service, which was planned entirely by Amy.
“I felt as though Amy was my hostess,” said Beverlee Barnes about the care and attention to detail evident throughout, which was typical of the graciousness intrinsic to Amy.
Claire Keyes had felt a tiny bit reconciled to Amy’s death when various people chosen by Amy read some of her poems. Keyes then led Forum members in reading from Amy’s book “Between Leap and Landing,” so that we all would know Amy is always with us — in our memories and in her poems. (See some excerpts from her book on this website under “Introducing Amy Dengler.”)
Amy had also put together another volume of poetry, which we are hoping to receive soon and share with some of you, if her family permits. In the meantime, here is one of Amy’s poems that was read at the celebration of Amy’s life, which Roberta Hung has forwarded.
Valentine
It was only a button, a device
to fasten one side to another yet
it kept reminding me that my winter coat
was missing its middle fastener. The coat,
still draped over the kitchen chair,
was one button short, brown thread trailing
from the empty space like a memo:
get to this soon. Instead
I wore the blue jacket with the zipper.
On Wednesday while I was out,
he found the sewing kit, brown thread, a needle,
and reattached the button, size of a quarter
and made of bone or horn or something durable
that didn’t mind fingers, didn’t mind the in and out
of its intention, didn’t mind the simple work
of holding things together.
February 2008
Amy Dengler
……………………..
Here is a poem by Roberta that she shared with Amy and the other Forum members at our annual summer outing in Gloucester:
Shelf Life
My bulging bookshelf threatens to mutiny
against the crowded conditions.
Some amigos will have to go
where expatriots get sent.
I hope they’ll be valued in their new homes.
…
A fellow poet recently humbled to Amy Dengler.
He’d paid a pittance at a resale
for her book, Between Leap and Landing.
His apologia suggested that he rescued it
from landing in the fire.
…
Personally, I think it leapt to a new shelf
to set more hearts aflame.
Good books are like the phoenix.
Amy, mon amie, my copy is a signed keepsake
of a lovely mentor and friend.
4/17/10
Roberta Hung
And, we also have the poem to which Roberta is referring, by Lee Eric Freedman:
(© 11/16/2009: Lee Eric Freedman, Tin Box Poets – Swampscott, MA)
Amy wrote poetry that made you smile.
There was a message but it never
hammered you; instead it made you aware
of daily tasks as you use simple kitchen tools…
a mixer, a chair, a spoon to lick.
…
She teased that she wrote about
the usual poet’s themes: crows, the moon,
utensils, family. Despite her persistent,
recurrent illness, she wrote poetry that
delighted and read them with a soft,
soothing voice that made us smile back at her.
…
Her generosity was legend. Encouraging
less experienced writers was part of her character.
No worry about who would shine,
she helped, based on her long experience with words
and her intuition about what the new poet
could absorb.
…
Amy Dengler is one of our featured poets (see her poems on this blog), and she has proven herself over and over again to be both a wonderful poet and a wonderful woman. Those of us who were lucky enough to share some time on this earth with her are all very sad to learn that Amy died this weekend.
I refer you to her obituary in the Gloucester Times. We will miss her so much.
Please. Time is running out to enter the North Shore Poets’ Forum’s annual Naomi Cherkofsky contest. Just click on Contests, above, to get the details. Deadline is March 1. I can assure you, we always have a great time at the reading in April, listening first to our winners and then proceeding to open mic. Our winners have been such a collection of wonderful poets each year. And open mic participants often become winners in subsequent years. In any event, each and every one of our participants has been wonderful, and so are their poems. Please send in a poem or two or three and join the fun!
After all, you are probably spending a good deal of time indoors, hiding out from storm after storm, taking well-deserved rest from shoveling walks and driveways, clearing off cars and even roofs. So, put on a pot of tea, or maybe cook up some hot chocolate, pull out your pen and paper and create!
Perhaps this winter, with storm begetting storm, it seems, will become a topic for your creativity. Or, maybe you’ll choose sunnier topics while waiting out what might be a winter for the record books. In any case, it will be one to remember.
I must say, one of the nice parts of the winter for me has been, unbelievable as it may seem, the ride to work. I happen to take the scenic route to Lowell, where I have a new job, a route that takes me through Topsfield, Boxford, North Andover, Andover and Tyngsboro. The roads are graced with these snow draped trees. God, they are so gorgeous, with snow snuggling in the crooks of their arms and nestling comfortably in the laps formed by their main branches. The white highlights the limbs. It highlights broken things, too – large branches cracked and waiting for a big wind to toss them to the ground. The trees speak of hardship and death, for sure. But, they are so old, so full of grace and forbearance, they speak of everlasting things, they speak of eternity. I love my drive. Maybe I’ll try to write a little poem about it.
Best wishes to you all. Keep writing, and send in your poems!
North Shore Poets' Forum 