Despite threats of an impending snowstorm, 12 poets and Georgia trekked to Quaker Street to the Willis' wonderful old farmhouse for an afternoon of food (!) and poetry discussion. The house is enormous (two kitchens, at least two woodstoves, and lots I didn't see) and crammed with interesting artifacts from Art and Judy's lives. I speak for all when I say thanks for having us. It was a great spot to be on a winter afternoon. Judy presided over homemade soup and Art was pushing his Irish tea in a pot that Linda Wolkenbreit had given him. We all ate ourselves full and I have some spinach artichoke dip that I am going to have for dinner tonight.
On the way out in Tom's car with Mike Burke, I pointed out local historical spots - a burned out nightspot from my youth(anybody remember The Swiss Inn?), a great diner called Gibby's you should all try - and exclaimed over the missing chicken. Did anyone else notice it was gone?
While Georgia and Judy had their own tete-a-tete, the rest of us gathered to share our favorite poets and talk about why we write. My impression (and strictly my own) is that some people missed the mark on what we planned to talk about and, as no one appeared to be in charge, it dragged. I should have brought the gavel. On the plus side, other people hit the nail and revealed themselves in good ways and I learned things about them.
In the midst of all, Gary and Mark broke the antique sofa.
We all left around 6 p.m. and, to the best of my knowledge, Tim made it safely home without hitting a deer and landing up in a field in a blizzard with no cell phone service.
Please comment on this blog! I would like to know your impressions of our Sunday.
Some of Us
Dennis Sullivan, Beverly Osborne, Tom Corrado, Edie Abrams, Art Willis, Alan Casline (all seated); Paul Amidon, Mike Burke, Tim Verhaegen, Mark O'Brien, Barbara Vink, Philomena Moriarty
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This was a great idea but with some bugs. I failed to indicate that I like dream-like poetry & often escape to neverland when life gets too complicated. Art & Judy were very gracious & the food & drink perfect. We either needed a shorter session or more breaks. It was interesting to hear how people feel about their work, criticism and the group in general. I may have failed to say that I am very fond of so many people in our group that they are like family & the social aspect is an important one. Thanks Dennis, well done. Cathy
ReplyDeleteYou hit the mark Barbara. Thanks for the great blog.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it very much. I think it was beneficial to get together off-site and changeup the regular routine. I got insights to members of our group that I wouldn't have received otherwise. Thanks again to Art & Judi for opening up their lovely house to us. I was getting a little fatigued around 5PM was but forced to stay because I was last.
ReplyDeleteMike B.
Hey!
ReplyDelete...I was just sitting there, minding everyone else's business, when GARY,(that old archaic bard from the way-way- way-back-machine) LEAPED-uP! and Jumped Ninja-Style on that poor, helpless armrest with the force of a Bruce Lee death-kick! ...crumbling that poor old roadshow- showstopper into shaker-style toothpicks.... !!!!
HONEST!
I was an innocent by sitter.... ;)
Markle.
(...did I take too much time here?)
Yes you did Mark. But at least you're smart enough to get Alan Casline's poetry. I've asked Mike Burke to teach me.
ReplyDeleteI finally realize I've had a terrible life, I have contacted a therapist. Thank you so much Cathy for the revelation. My therapist says I need a real therapist which reminds me,
I'm currently seeking a real poetry course by a real teacher at a real university.
I'm pressing charges of fraud against my previous poetry teacher. I paid for those six week classes!!!!!
Right now I am perusing my "Idiot's Guide to Poetry", its very useful which confirms I'm an idiot. I'm happy with it...well...because I'm an idiot.
My therapist especially thought I was an idiot since it seemed obvious to her I had a terrible life.
Now i'm very depressed, because I'm an idiot and i had a terrible life. I've got a lot on my plate.