Hearing master poets a sheer pleasure at Jacksonville’s Southeast Library

Sunset over the St. John's River.

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Tuesday evening I had the pleasure of reading poetry with some of Jacksonville’s finest writers. The library’s Southeast Branch organized the “Meet the Poets” event, with Michael Platzer coordinating for the library. A driving force behind the event was Florida poet Bonny Barry Sanders (Touching Shadows, 2005) who helped assemble the poets and publicize the event.

We had great attendance. Part of the reason I think involved the sheer number of participating poets, 9 in all, each of us with a different voice and different approach to style. The whole evening was pleasurable, but some phrases and poems stuck in my mind. Sanders had a poem about wood smoke, comparing it to the scent of cinnamon. Dr. Charles Feldstein had a line where he juxtaposed the cage and the canary motif. Jean Shepherd in one of her poems likened walking into a rain forest to walking into a fig. Dorothy Fletcher (Zen Fishing and Other Southern Pleasures, 2005) took a unique approach. All the poems she read started with the letter, “L”, including one poem about a beauty queen descending on Florida from the Midwest. Michele Leavitt read a wonderfully constructed sonnet. And those are just the parts that come to the forefront of my brain—all the poets presented interesting work.

I read poems from my new collection Notes from a Florida Village, including an aubade I wrote for my husband.

As I sat there listening, I thought how this same scene might have played out in ancient times, only instead of sitting at a table with a mic, and sipping mini-bottles of water, our ancient bards would’ve been grouped around a fire, with drums thumping an undertone as the stories were told. Last night was like a gathering of the tribes. It was amazing to witness the talent in that room. The whole audience stayed; no one left early.

That tells you the poets were doing something right. And kudos to Michael Platzer for utilizing talent close to home as a poetry resource.

Steven Ratiner’s book a window into the soul of poets like Donald Hall

I recently had the pleasure of doing an interview with former U.S. poet laureate Donald Hall for The Writer. In the preliminary stages of setting up my questions, I searched for books and articles about Hall, who happens to be one of my favorite writers. I came across the book ‘Giving Their Word, Conversations with Contemporary Poets,’ by Steven Ratiner. In addition to interviews with Hall, Ratiner includes interviews with Mary Oliver, Charles Simic, Seamus Heaney, Marge Piercy and a number of other poets. Ratiner’s methods of questioning enable the reader to feel as though you’re sitting on a sofa watching an incredible conversation take place.

I’ve added this book to a small list of works I recommend to aspiring writers. Although the focus is on poetry and poetics, the insight inherent in each article is applicable to good writing in general. One of my favorite responses came from poet Mary Oliver. Ratiner asked her about a person who may be a “pivotal figure” a writer remembers.

“No,” Oliver responded, “I truly feel that the pivotal moments for me were reading poems. I can remember the original excitement when I read poems and thought, my goodness, these are not chronological—these do not happen on Wednesday and finish on Thursday. These happen over and over…And I want to do this too.”

Oliver says she didn’t even publish until her late 20s.

I’d highly recommend this book for writers at all levels. It’s perfect for teaching creative writing in the classroom. Ratiner seems to know exactly what to ask these accomplished writers in order to elicit the best, most helpful responses. The answers aren’t just great; the questions are as well.

Note: Read my interview with Donald Hall in the December issue of The Writer.

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Join me and other poets including Bonny Barry Sanders, Dr. Sharon Scholl, Michele Leavitt and others for "Meet the Poets" at the Jacksonville Public Library, Southeast Regional branch in Deerwood Park on Tuesday, November 6, at 7:30 p.m.

FSU prof David Kirby's book nominated for National Book Award

It’s about time poet David Kirby receives the attention he’s due. The professor teaches at Florida State University, with specialties in poetry and 19th century U.S. literature. We were delighted to see his inclusion as a finalist in poetry for the 2007 National Book Awards for 'The House on Boulevard St.'

Months ago, I was link hopping poetry sites on the Web, and I came across the Florida page at the Academy of American Poets. Kirby happens to be one of my favorites. When I saw his name wasn’t listed, I emailed to ask how the poets are selected. I received an unmemorable response. I suppose it’s a system of shared aesthetics, maybe? And politics, maybe? Poetry is rife with that. To prove my point, on that same Florida page, no mention is made of FSU’s Creative Writing Program, viewed by any number of poets and writers as one of the best in the nation. Then again, AAP isn’t the end-all for American poetry; it’s one of many organizations dedicated to the genre. Since the awards announcement, it is my sincere hope the AAP page will receive a quick enlightened edit. Kirby is included in other pages at the organization site, just not on the Florida page where you’d think he’d be up front and center.

I’ve pitched a Kirby article to some of my freelance clients, and I still have hopes I’ll get to write about him. Maybe now I will.

So we’re sending this fellow, whom we’ve never met personally but did view personally at a poetry do in Tallahassee and whose poetry we have often enjoyed, our sincere congratulations. He deserves to win the award, but there again, this is poetry and the genre has never and will never be a meritocracy. I’d say American poetry at the moment comes closest to being an oligarchy.

Read one of Kirby's poems, "Ode to Myself as a Rough Draft" at the Southeast Review, an FSU publication.

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Tampa Review Poetry Prize—get those poems shined up

In Monday’s mail, a contest announcement arrived. The Tampa Review invites poets to submit manuscripts for the annual Tampa Review Poetry Prize. I’ve researched the contest and feel comfortable sharing the news with my readers. The fee is reasonable--$20. The prize is worthwhile—hardcover book publication, $1,000 in prize monies and selected poems published in the Tampa Review. This is one of the few contests I haven’t seen criticized by poetry insiders, so shine up your poems.

Steve Kowit won the 2006 prize for his collection ‘The First Noble Truth.’ Kowit is a poet whose work engages the reader because (1)the work is accessible and (2)emotion is always evoked. His book ‘In the Palm of Your Hand’ is a handbook I frequently recommend to poets when I speak and read. Kowit is also the very best workshop presenter I have ever encountered.

Read guidelines and get full information by visiting the Web page about the Tampa Review Prize. Deadline is December 31.

I’m tempted to enter it myself; I can’t seem to shake the lead out when it comes to submitting poetry. Conversely, I can’t seem to stop writing it. I think we poets are completely muddle-headed.

Writers find inspiration like a penny on the sidewalk

I came across this statue at Marywood Retreat as I finished interviews for a newspaper story. I'll gaze at the photo tacked to my bulletin board until, one day, my pen will begin to crawl across my notebook.

I was interviewing an author this morning for my Web Savvy column, and I mentioned inspiration. To me, the process is sort of like finding a penny on the sidewalk. Since I was a girl, I’ve checked first to see whether the coin was heads up or down. Heads up meant pick the coin up, pocket it and wait for good luck to follow. Sometimes I’d make a wish. Heads down meant pass on the coin.

Inspiration is very much like that penny on the sidewalk. You often encounter it unexpectedly, and you still don’t know what to expect from the encounter until you take a closer look. Despite the overwhelming creative bent, this is a key approach to running my business. I call myself a writer, but what keeps me working rests on the information I can provide and craft. The more unique the information and the more unique the style, the chances for publication rise. By unique style, I don’t mean writing the pronoun ‘I’ in lower case or paring away all the modifiers. I mean the way the piece sounds to someone’s ear, how the person’s brain perceives the information.

Poets and writers can often be on inspiration overload. Once you train the eye and brain, opportunities for creating a work of art from words abound. I’ve sold several pieces related to kumquats, all because I discovered those peculiar little fruits as a girl and many years later, bumped into a kumquat tree for the first time as we shopped at a plant nursery. A polychrome sculpture of the Virgin Mary in an art museum in South Carolina almost got me arrested. I sat for so long in the room containing the statue, the security guard began to hover. That experience led me to write a poem that is one of the only poems I’ve written that satisfies me, and it was included in my last collection. Newspapers and old cookbooks, my husband and daughters, my dog, my chicken and my cat have also spurred my pen to write poetry and prose. And the relationship with my mother is a veritable gold mine.

When I speak to groups, people often ask me if I get writer’s block. I have to say I don’t. It is true that sometimes I just don’t really feel very inspired. But if I gaze around my writing room long enough, something is bound to shine, just like that penny on the sidewalk.

To read a sampler of works I've published, visit my page at Media Bistro.

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Facebook group inspires quirky poem

Poems are ridiculous, insecure creatures. They show up at all hours with no warning, demanding immediate attention like a troubled friend who believes you exist for him or her on demand. I joined the "Poetry" group on Facebook recently, and noticed a contest. The challenge: write a poem beginning with the word face and ending with the word book. The impossible—for me—challenge: confine the poem to 8 lines. The reward: cash prizes.

So in the middle of what I can only say is an absolutely insane week of freelancing—multiple deadlines, Monday a holiday, end of the month means time to send invoices out, not to mention duties related to home and hearth—a single line of poetry came to me. Last night at 12:30 a.m. So I jotted those lines down and after finishing an article due Friday, I finally went to bed.

This morning, the poem showed up in its entirety, knocking in my brain and demanding admittance. I wrote and revised it twice. That is very unusual for me, because I usually revise with almost neurotic intensity. The poem “Facebook, Wall to Wall” will be part of my next collection. It's too long for the Facebook competition.

Had I not followed my older daughter’s advice and joined Facebook, I’d never have met this poem. Sometimes, the writing of poetry is a near-ridiculous process.

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Visit my 'Web Savvy' column at The Writer magazine; take a look at my column at Covering Florida.