poetry

     I write poetry to remember, to capture in words and the arrangement of words what seems true or important about what has happened or is happening in my life. I also write poetry to play with ideas, to pray, to discover deep parts of myself, to grieve, to capture dreams . . . and sometimes because something, it might just be me, something, takes over part of my brain with a few odd words, an idea, a memory, an image, or a part of a story and demands I stop everything and “write a poem” – that I get it down, see it, capture it magically with some words and the reward when I’m done is a poem that helps me remember and re‑experience that moment, that feeling, that idea, that story . . . and, if it can do that, sometimes it’s also a poem worth sharing.

     For me, an important part of staying active as a poet has been meeting regularly with other poets to read my poetry and hear their poetry. Since 2015, I've been a member of Rockport Public Library Poets‘ Corner, which meets twice a month and I'm also a member of Thomaston Public Library Poets’ Corner, started at the end of 2022, which also meets twice a month. Please click the Poets’ Corner website links above for more information about meetings, events, poets and poems.

Both Public Library Poets’ Corner groups host special Poetry Month events during April in lieu of regular meetings, and also sponsor the Midcoast Poetry Calendar to help connect Midcoast Maine poets, poetry groups and poetry organizations and to help poets plan and promote public poetry events. At the end of 2024, the groups also started the Midcoast Poetry Journal to create and maintain a printed and online journal for Midcoast Maine poets and poetry.   read less