Gerald Stern and The One Thing in Life
- At November 28, 2022
- By Write in Community
- In Blog
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A month ago, I learned about the death at age 97 of poet Gerald Stern. I knew only a handful of his poems: “The Dancing,” “Waving Goodbye,” and “Stepping Out of Poetry,” but I loved those poems. They got me in the stomach, punched me with their emotion. And hearing of his passing, I knew that I needed to read more of his work. These last few weeks that is what I have been doing.
I read again “Stepping Out of Poetry” in which he reminisces about getting on “the old yellow streetcar” and going to the public library, the joy he found there: “What would you give,” he asks, “for your dream/ to be as clean and simple as it was then/ in the dark afternoons, at the old scarred tables?”
I found and read “Waving Goodbye,” about sending his daughter off to the next stage of her life, experiencing her loss “as an animal would, pressing my forehead against her/ walking in circles, moaning, touching her cheek…”
Then there is “The One Thing in Life,” a poem he considered as one which best described him and his life in poetry. Here are the last five lines:
There is a sweetness buried in my mind;
there is water with a small cave behind it;
there’s a mouth speaking Greek.
It is what I keep to myself; what I return to;
the one thing that no one else wanted.
How lucky he was to recognize that buried sweetness, to explore that small cave. How lucky for us to be able to read his poetry. And wonder about the wonderful one thing in life which exists for each of us. –Lucy Adkins
Writing Exercise:
- Read “Waving Goodbye” and “Stepping Out of Poetry”
- Think about some people or ways of life you have said goodbye to. Jot down a few.
- Think about some fond remembrances of the past and list some of these.
- Write, beginning with the phrase “What would I give……..” Go on from there and see what happens.
For more inspiration, check out our website www.thewritingandcreativelife.com.Or follow this link to purchase our latest book, The Fire Inside.
Poetry for These Times
- At June 15, 2020
- By Write in Community
- In Blog
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A poet’s work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep.—Salman Rushdie
The last two weeks have been ones of strong emotion and calls for change, the brutal death of George Floyd making it impossible to go on as before, to maintain what seems to have become the status quo in this country: systemic racism, social injustice, and police brutality. While we as a country may denounce such racism and the awful fruits of it, we haven’t done enough to make it stop.
Read More»It’s 2018–What Are You Reading?
- At March 05, 2018
- By Write in Community
- In Blog
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I have always loved book recommendations: the summer reading lists our teachers gave us each May, the books chosen for Oprah’s Book Club—remember those? And recommendations found in newspapers and magazines. So, each year when the Nebraska Center for the Book announces its “One Book, One Nebraska” selection, I pay attention.
This year, that “One Book” we are encouraged to read is Nebraska Presence: An Anthology of Poetry. It’s published by Backwaters Press of Omaha, edited by Mary K Stillwell and Greg Kosmicki, and contains poetry from over 80 Nebraska poets. These include former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, Ted Kooser, former and current state poets, Bill Kloefkorn and Twyla Hansen. As well as award winning poets Marjorie Saiser and Don Welch, and many others.
Read More»Finding the Poet Within: Writing Workshop Reminder
- At February 26, 2018
- By Write in Community
- In Blog
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Led by Lucy Adkins, the two part writing workshop, “Finding the Poet Within” will be held Saturday March 3rd and 10th, 1:00-3:00 pm in the Art Room at First Plymouth Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Explore the world of poetry in this workshop of inspiration and encouragement designed to help each participant find the poet within. Together, we will tap into the world of imagination, learn ways to jumpstart the creative process, and working from writing exercises, we will write our own poems. In addition, we’ll discover insights into ourselves and the practice of creativity, and discuss ways to make poetry and the writing of poetry a part of our lives.
Workshop cost: $40 per person
Registration is required. Contact addie@firstplymouth.org. or call 402-476-7565 , Ext 239 to register for the class. Hope to see you there! –Lucy Adkins
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