Friday, October 7, 2016

Poetry Camp

Violet Nesdoly hosts the Poetry Friday Round up today at Violet Nesdoly / poems. Meeting Violet was one of my favorite moments of Poetry Camp. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of us together!

I seriously thought I was going to post this earlier in the week. Ha! What was I thinking? I have managed to unpack (although I still haven't found my night guard mouthpiece, yipes!) I haven't washed clothes yet. I haven't grocery shopped yet. (So grateful for a patient husband and a daughter who brought shepherd's pie that lasted two nights!) I did teach five yoga classes and I think I've mostly caught up on my sleep.

First let me just say Poetry Camp was amazing. My ride from Seattle to Bellingham was with Janet Wong's husband, Glenn Schroeder and Louisiana poet, Brod Baggert. Both have lawyer backgrounds, so I stayed entertained in the back seat listening to these two. Of course, my Eastern Time Zone body was screaming three in the morning! When Brod asked who were my favorite dead poets, it took a minute to remember their names. Theodore Roethke, Christina Rosetti, Gerard Manley Hopkins. Ask me next week and I might come up with three different names.

I swiped this from Janet's Facebook page, so I have no idea who gets the photo credit.
I was both surprised and delighted when I stepped of the elevator at Western Washington University's library and Janet Wong said, "Hi, Doraine!" I mean, I knew who she was and I'd never seen her in person, but didn't really expect her to know me. Then there was the S'mores gauntlet greeting from Nancy Johnson's children's lit students.


After a tour of the library, Janet led forty poets in a discussion that ranged from performance poetry  to poetic forms and everything in between. Watching Janet's deft facilitation was as instructive as the discussion itself.

I love these two ladies, Irene Latham and Jeannine Atkins.
There was lunch with poets and the lovely connections we all made or renewed. There was a session on marketing/branding and social media. There was a session on conference proposals. There was talk about traditional and artisanal/boutique publishing. (We are deleting the "self-publishing" word from our vocabulary from here on!) Honestly, it was a bit like drinking from a fire hose.

Julie Larios led a writing workshop using Oulipo techniques for getting out of a writing rut. Basically it meant giving yourself specific constraints with the understanding that the constraints themselves force your brain to operate in a different way, letting the poem lead you. I was in a song-writing workshop earlier this summer where this same concept was the basis for creating a song.

Here's an example we actually worked on: Write a five line poem. The final vowel sound in each line must be a long a, e, i, o, and u.

How can she stay in this sun-deprived place?
She watches leaves on the elm sway in the breeze
and lifts her eyes to the graying sky,
weighing the distance she must go.
She spreads her wings and lifts toward blue. 

A fun first draft that I wouldn't otherwise have written. Maybe it will go somewhere, maybe it won't. Maybe I'll salvage a phrase or two. Who knows?

If you read my post yesterday on friends, this should have gone on that post, but that didn't happen. On the way to dinner with April Halprin Wayland and Nancy Bo Flood, I wrapped my arm through April's and said, "Help me out here. I'm feeling a bit like a fraud after sitting in the room the all those amazing poets." She just patted my arm and said, "We all have our own level of fraudulence to deal with." Maybe it never goes away, that feeling that you're just pretending to be a poet. But there's nothing for it but to keep writing.

New friends and other wonders! Nancy Bo Flood and Jone Rush MacCulloch.

Then on Saturday when the conference actually began, I stood as Janet called on the first twenty or so of us to stand and read our PFA poem. Mine lasts about ten seconds. Janet asked me to read it a second time. I was startled, but I read it again. Later a teacher came up to me and asked if I had read the "Our Blended Family" poem. "Yes," I told her. 
"Thank you so much," she said, "for writing that poem. Most of the students in my school come from blended families. I am so grateful to have a poem to read to them where they can see themselves."

I don't remember her name. I wish I hadn't been so surprised that I forgot to ask about her school. She made my day.

I told Janet and Sylvia that on Friday I felt a little like an imposter in the middle of all these rock stars. By the end of Saturday, I felt a little like a rock star, too.





 There's more, of course, but I'll save it for later.













25 comments:

  1. Hi, Doraine, thanks so much for your lovely write up. It was so wonderful to meet you in person! I think EVERYONE felt a bit "I'm not worthy"-- I know I did-- but then swept along with all the poetry love. So glad you felt celebrated and validated-- me, too! LOVE the photo of the two of us together! Thanks for sharing!
    Sorry your trip home was a bit rugged-- hope things have settled down. If it's any consolation, I haven't done laundry yet either! :-) Who cares, right? Savoring the moments first!
    Take care and stay well and I hope our paths cross again soon!

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    1. Thanks, Sylvia. Right. Who cares about the laundry? I am still basking in the glow of poetry camp.

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  2. You are definitely a rock star, Dori!

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  3. Wonderful to read your reactions, Doraine. Children's poets are the friendliest, most supportive of the bunch. Glad you enjoyed PC and got to meet online friends in person for the first time.

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    1. I agree. Children's poets are incredibly friendly and giving. Hope to meet you in person one day, Jama.

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  4. You ARE a rock star, Dori. I had to chuckle a little when I read the part about you not expecting Janet to recognize you. I think I probably would have reacted the exact same way! It's kind of an odd thing, all these close relationships I've cultivated with people I've never met. I loved this recap, though, and hope to meet you, myself, one day.

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    1. Thanks, Michelle. I am looking forward to meeting you one day. We aren't so far apart. You would think we could manage it!

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  5. I know you had a struggle getting home because of FB, but so glad you are home now & wrote this sweet piece. I've read a lot of them today, and while some repeat a few things, each one is unique, just like yours, Doraine. I always love the pictures, of course, but you have the best last line-beautiful!

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    1. Yep. That trip home was quite the journey. But oh so worth it all!

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  6. Sounds like an inspiring meeting of kindred spirits, supporting each other and sharing knowledge and passion. What a wonderful experience!

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    1. Kindred spirits is right. It was a wonderful weekend.

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  7. Oh, so much fun remembering the great weekend here and elsewhere -- but I love your ending so much -- sweet moment with dear Robyn, but waving with Sylvia at the end, claiming all we are. Beautiful.

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  8. Oh, so much fun remembering the great weekend here and elsewhere -- but I love your ending so much -- sweet moment with dear Robyn, but waving with Sylvia at the end, claiming all we are. Beautiful.

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  9. Forget to say-- swept away by your ending -- how much I also loved hearing you read "Our Blended Family." A chill ran through the hall.

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    1. Thanks, Jeannine. I was probably too self aware in that moment to notice any stillness except my own. Don't we love it when our words impact others? And yours so often impact me.

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  10. Thanks for the nice sentiment, Doraine! There were a couple of things on my wishlist for the weekend and meeting you was one of them. So special! (I kicked myself for not hauling out the camera and getting someone to snap when we were together. So an event like this has to happen again.)

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  11. Dori, I know precisely what you mean about feeling like a fraud, and yet when we hobnob with those who are our models and inspirations, no matter how experienced we may be, we're humbled. Your line about drinking from a fire hose made me LOL! : )

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  12. I loved the fraud part. That made me smile. And drinking from a firehose...oh my. Such a magical experience. So good to meet you. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed the picture of us.

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  13. Doraine, I'm catching up too! It's late Tuesday afternoon and I'm scrolling through Poetry Friday contributions. What captures me in your post is the beauty of belonging....to a family that allows you to catch up and a community of poets that welcomed you to camp. What a lovely experience. More than ever, I want to see this happen on the east coast too!

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  14. You absolutely rock, Doraine. Loved having some catch-up time. XO

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  15. I'll echo the "you rock" comments, Doraine, because you do ... really and truly. Thanks for the lively and honest post. We loved hosting Poetry Camp and experiencing the total joy that seeped into every aspect of the weekend. Hoping our paths cross again ...

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