tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48655450858006607172024-03-13T09:15:22.964-07:00Effingham Poetry WorkshopsRobert Demareehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522563569403659475noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4865545085800660717.post-19440498723516959992012-06-29T18:53:00.000-07:002014-05-13T11:53:52.407-07:00Effingham Poetry Workshops<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">For the past four years, the Effingham Public Library
in </span></b><st1:place><st1:city><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Effingham</span></b></st1:city><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">, </span></b><st1:state><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">N.H.</span></b></st1:state></st1:place><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">, has
sponsored a poetry workshop, led by Bob Demaree, on the fourth Saturday of
June. The poets involved appreciate the hospitality and support of the Library.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Link to Library’s announcement of the 2012 Workshop:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://effingham.lib.nh.us/bob-demaree-workshop-poetry-and-personal-identity/">http://effingham.lib.nh.us/bob-demaree-workshop-poetry-and-personal-identity/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Link to the Effingham Public Library website</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><a href="http://effingham.lib.nh.us/">http://effingham.lib.nh.us/</a><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: maroon; font-size: 14pt;">Past Workshops</span><b><span style="color: maroon; font-size: 13pt;">:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<st1:date day="26" month="6" year="2010"><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">June 26, 2010</span></b></st1:date><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">: “Poets and
Publishing: The Amateur Poet and the World of the Small Press”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<st1:date day="25" month="6" year="2011"><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">June 25,
2011</span></b></st1:date><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">: “To See and See Again: A Peer’s View of the Process
of Poetic Composition”, examining in particular techniques of revision<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<st1:date day="23" month="6" year="2012"><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">June 23,
2012</span></b></st1:date><b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">: “Poetry and Personal Identity, Getting Experience Down
on Paper: A Peer’s View.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> We
discussed how we can use the medium of poetry to tell personal stories, come to
terms with them, and use them to provide meaning for a broader readership. We
discussed the techniques of Ted Kooser, Eavan Boland, David Baker, Jeffrey
Harrison, Jane Kenyon, Brad Leithauser, and the use of mythology in the
“persona” poems of Louise Gluck. Topics included poems drawn from childhood,
the coming of age of a child, and separation and loss.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">We discussed the various points of view the poet can use:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Write in first
person, not straying too far from facts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">First person,
changing facts a little, usually to compress poem<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">First person,
changing facts a lot, or making them up so that the first person is simply a
poetic technique <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Write in the
Third Person, but the persona is you (a way to distance yourself from the
facts, perhaps for emotional reasons)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Third person,
based on fact or not <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Some
people use the Second Person instead of the third.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Below are two quotations that did not appear in the
syllabus; they underscore, I think, the collected insights of our morning and
provide material for further thought, conversation and poetry:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Louise Gluck: </span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">“I
do not think that more information always makes a richer poem…I am attached to
ellipsis, to the unsaid, to suggestion…the possibilities of context.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">“I loved those poems that
seemed so small on the page, but that swelled in my mind.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: maroon; font-size: 14pt;">Poems by 2012 Participants<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Approval <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Barbara Bald<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">In my dream, I made a bright
red dress <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">with bellowed sleeves and
plunging neckline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Trying to get it all just
right,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I worked all day while mother
was away. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Adorning it with stiletto
heels<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">and shiny black choker,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">its taffeta skirt swished
with gentle movement <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">and its shade caught light
like a tulip in the sun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"> In case she didn’t like it,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"> I followed the pattern for a second dress,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"> a pastel, flowered affair, worn knee-length<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"> with white flats and a string of fresh water
pearls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Anticipating her arrival,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">wearing the flashy crimson
frock,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I readied myself behind the
front door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Turning round and round with
several sensual swirls,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I modeled it for her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Mother <i>oo-ed</i> and <i>ah-ed</i>, told me
that she loved me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">As I reached to take her
hand,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">the flowered dress muscled
its way between us,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">leaving red taffeta folds
puddled at my feet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Stillwaters<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Cheryl Cizewski<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">In the still, silent
backwater<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">of the river, a turtle has
hoisted<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">itself up on a log to take
advantage<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">of the heat of the sun, a
grey heron<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">legs still as the steel of a
double-barreled shotgun<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">stands motionless, a sentinel,
keeping watch,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The oars of the canoe slip in
and out<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">of the water, quietly,
respectfully.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">In the comfort of her
kitchen, Kathy,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">now fifteen years retired,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">relates updates on neighbors.
Sarah, she says,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">always said that her second
husband <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">treated her well—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">never hit her,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">never pulled her hair,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">never yelled at her or
anything like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">But still, Sarah and Bill no
longer live together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Sarah moved to </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Iowa</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> to live with her son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Kathy says she doesn’t know
what to think,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Says Bill is very well-to-do,
has a big, beautiful<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">house that overlooks the
river,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">says Sarah also told her that
there was a much<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">younger woman, who would
drive past<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">their house every morning,
flash her headlights<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">twice and, a few minutes
later, Bill<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">would drive off somewhere.
She does not know<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">where. Sarah took to drinking
wine. A bit too much,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">According to Carla, the neighbor-girl,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">who tried to help Sarah
around the house,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">until Sarah’s drinking became
a problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Carla is going to the
community college now,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">for Criminal Justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Sarah now lives in a nursing
home close<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">to her sons in </span><st1:state><st1:place><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Iowa</span></st1:place></st1:state><span style="font-size: 13pt;">, while Bill<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">still lives back East,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">still calls Sarah every day,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">still says he loves her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The grip on the oar slips.
The oar slaps<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">the water, the splash—a
signal—alarms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The turtle slides head-first
into the comfort<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">of the murky undercurrent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The heron squats briefly in a
sort of pumping<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">action, as if priming itself
before taking flight;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">much like someone who cocks
the release on a gun<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">to prime it, before<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">taking the shot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Never Underestimate the Power of Self-Hatred<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Jeanne Clark<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">It starts early<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">And never lets up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">There’s the sign<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Hung around the neck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">It says<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">“Defective merchandise”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The wearer is too young<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">To read<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The sign, of course<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Nevertheless it sets a solid<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Foundation for <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">What follows<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Don’t call what follows PTSD<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The trauma is not a one-time
event<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">It lasts a lifetime<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">There was no pre-trauma<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">No interlude between birth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">And the realization<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Of defect<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">And when the universe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Neglects to maintain the
stress<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The defective one<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Takes over the job<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The status quo is self-hatred<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The Journey<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Marge
Dahle</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I
walk the soft of</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Springtime
grasses</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">while
twilight sings</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">it's
song of fading day.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I drink the sweet</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">a
generous cup</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;"> now
offered</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">still
thirsting for</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">the
light that</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">cannot
stay.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Evening's
drift <span class="apple-style-span">enfolds</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">the wooded hillside</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">streaks of painted sky</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">turn into gray.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">No
flight of wing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">the
valley sings </span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I
continue on my way.<b> </b></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Question<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Beth Fox<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">May I have some time with
you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I’ll make an omelet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">With these black trumpet
mushrooms<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I found at </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Squam</span></st1:placename><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span><st1:placetype><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Lake</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> yesterday--<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Spring green tea, peeled
peaches<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Blackberry jam, still warm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Do you miss me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">You have something you always
wanted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">When your back is turned,
it’s gone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">There is no replacing the
magenta <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Loss of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Even as the green peel <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Slips from the cucumber,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">A hare’s paw clutches my jaw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I dreamed the baby was
outside <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">all night, alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Nocturne<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Naomi Lavori<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I murdered my diaphragm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I stabbed it with a knife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Not content,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I cut out its rubber heart<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">With a scissor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Then<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I had to go<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">To the doctor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">For another.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The nurse asked</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">What had happened</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">To the one you had.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Revisitation</span></b></div>
<div>
<div bgcolor="#ffffff">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pat Savage</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Death butt-slaps memory smooth, gets rid of the bumps, your imperfections</span></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the times when you were downright annoying. Deb got lost this morning</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">running on Coffeetown Rd, had to beg to use the phone at Mr. Mike’s. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You never let me go for a walk in the woods without my cell phone, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">never let me jump on my bike without a helmet. Deb says, </span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s a good thing. Someone in the family has to be that way. </span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You see what I mean? Every mention making you a hero.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The Usher</span></b></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Gail Hersey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">You dress up nice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The tails of your rented tux<br />
tickle the backs of your trousers.<br />
The snowy vest nips in your waist<br />
and that bright yellow bow<br />
is a welcome surprise at your throat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Pomade rubbed into your scalp<br />
this morning while you sat for the barber<br />
makes your hair shine<br />
in the bright afternoon sun<br />
while storm clouds gather<br />
over the mountain at your back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I watch you,<br />
a rehearsal of grace<br />
one hand resting on your spine<br />
and I think<br />
maybe now, right now,<br />
you are safe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"> Once, I thought<br />
you were safe in your room<br />
but instead, you were perched,<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4865545085800660717" name="_GoBack"></a><br />
a giant bird<br />
on the windowsill<br />
drinking anxiety and fear,<br />
smoking your way into sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">I would close my eyes<br />
and dream<br />
that you were safe<br />
cats pressed up against you in your bed<br />
their low purring your only narcotic,<br />
holding you in Nod<br />
until the telephone rang<br />
and I was dragged<br />
out of my soporific </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Eden</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> <br />
into an icy car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">But today<br />
you are Jay Gatsby<br />
standing in the courtyard <br />
your smile and boutonniere<br />
belying the curse of <br />
your adolescence, <br />
introducing your debut<br />
into the world of young men<br />
who waltz with their sweethearts<br />
and dazzle the world <br />
with the brilliance of their futures.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">You line up with the others<br />
beside the birch arbor<br />
listening to promises<br />
hypnotized by the shine of your shoes<br />
and I watch you<br />
and the hot sun heats up my bracelets<br />
until they burn my wrists<br />
and the clouds spill snow on the mountain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Interest Due, 1989<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Bob Demaree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Stoic, we do the needed
things,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Wait numbly for the clerk of
deeds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">To return from lunch,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Always some article found
later<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The tipping point of grief,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Her lipstick, his shaving
brush.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The bereaved should perhaps
hire surrogates<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">To go through bureau drawers,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">The safe deposit box,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Decide what to do with<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">That small bond she bought<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Thirty years ago,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Meaning to defray last
costs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(copyrights held by individual poets)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: maroon; font-size: 14pt;">Conclusions:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">We are first of all observers
and remembers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">“Poetry is the safest known
mode of human risk. You risk only staying alive.” --William
Meredith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: maroon; font-size: 14pt;">Next Workshop:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:date day="22" month="6" year="2013"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Saturday, June 22, 2013</span></st1:date><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<st1:time hour="10" minute="0"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">10:00
a.m.</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 13pt;">—</span><st1:time hour="14" minute="0"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">2:00 p.m.</span></st1:time><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Subject:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">“The Poetry of Time and
Place”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
Robert Demareehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15522563569403659475noreply@blogger.com0