This year, it is someone else's problem (thank you, Amy Young) and when I spoke to her this week, she was busily explaining why she hadn't done more. And, with the wisdom bestowed upon me by not being in charge, I was able to look at Poetry Month with a bit more perspective.
Instead of looking at what we haven't done (during my tenure and Amy's) maybe we should be looking at what we HAVE accomplished. Five years ago, nobody celebrated Poetry Month outside a classroom. This year, there were poetry readings, posts on Facebook, events advertised in the newspapers. Freed of my obligations, I (with the help of other enthusiasts) initiated a reading of the works of Alexandria's first poet laureate, Jean Elliot, at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House--and we pulled in a reasonable audience for not only her, but for Amy, me, and three other area poets. The Athenaeum played host last night to a poetry gathering that concluded Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day, and people actually showed up with poems in their pockets. There is at least a semi-regular poetry slam event in town at the Lyceum, and that is in itself quite an accomplishment. There is a three-year-old Poetry Expo at Mt. Vernon High School--largely due to the efforts of a magnificent English teacher there--and I've had the privilege of participating in it. There is a well-known 'poetry fence' in Del Ray, and this year, I copied that idea and I hung a 'poetry line' on a bench outside my garden wall, and provided cards and pencils and clothespins for people to post favorite poems. And they did! In the works, according to Amy, are plans to produce an interactive map of the city, with poems about streets and locations. And a repeat of Dog Days of August--with poems (and pictures) honoring the dogs of Alexandria. With postings at dog parks. Not too shabby for a city that had no official poetry presence not so long ago.
While (with some exceptions) these events are not directly attributable to poet laureate efforts, it is safe to say that most weren't around before those efforts began. What I think we've done as a city--and as poet laureates--is create an atmosphere of acceptance of poetry, a place where it can grow and not be subject to ridicule or mockery. While we are not a great poetry mecca, we have made it clear that Alexandria respects the literary arts, and that poetry is, indeed, spoken here. We owe a debt of gratitude to the City Council--and especially to retired councilman, Ludwig Gaines--for that.
And while we're talking about expectations--and living up to them--and since it is still poetry month... a little poem on the subject:
Piecrust
Round I go,
pinching carefully at the piecrust edge,
attempting my mother's facile fluting.
It's not the same.
The dough crumbles under my inexpert fingers.
I patch with scraps, but
cannot hide the seams.
It will taste fine,
but I stubbornly see the flaws.
It's been a long time since I measured myself
against my mother's yardstick,
but there are other standards to fall short of,
and it's taken more than sixty years
to know, to really know,
that my piecrust life,
patched and seamed and poorly fluted,
cobbled together and imperfect,
is worthy of its filling
and is, in fact,
absolutely fine.
Round I go,
pinching carefully at the piecrust edge,
attempting my mother's facile fluting.
It's not the same.
The dough crumbles under my inexpert fingers.
I patch with scraps, but
cannot hide the seams.
It will taste fine,
but I stubbornly see the flaws.
It's been a long time since I measured myself
against my mother's yardstick,
but there are other standards to fall short of,
and it's taken more than sixty years
to know, to really know,
that my piecrust life,
patched and seamed and poorly fluted,
cobbled together and imperfect,
is worthy of its filling
and is, in fact,
absolutely fine.
