Diane started with her object poem about a table her sister, now deceased, made. It was a touching tribute full of feeling and loss. Bernie then read a poem about her daughters from her published book. She preceded her reading with an extended explanation of the events surrounding the poem. For some, this took away from her reading which was unfortunate b/c it was such a beautiful poem.
A spirited discussion began after a new member, Dan (?) talked about the rawness of some poetry and how it is alive for the writer in the moment that it is written and that no amount of critique could change that raw energy and spirit. John S. countered that some poems need a certain amount of emotional distance from the writer in order to better convey to an audience the emotion in the poem. Dan suggested that poems he wrote he wrote for himself and it was important to be able to say the things he did- and not have anyone judge him for those. We agreed that there is value in that, and only added that we were here to help others write their poems through support and positive critique.
John S. and Patrick read longer works of theirs, John's based on some objects he found on a spirit hike through New Mexico hills, and Patrick's about the anxiety of waiting for a date that never showed. Connie brought in a poem of hers that she wrote for a co-worker having a hard time (she finds her inspiration in writing for others and has been exploring how to share her works in the greeting card industry).
Next month's meeting will be on Wednesday, August 12th at 7 p.m. Contact me (andy.schuck@westlandlibrary.org) if you would like a copy of the writing assignment handed out at the July meeting. As usual, the writing assignment is there just to get you started, it is not required.
Keep writing and see you at the library!
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