There are small poetic moments in our everyday lives, that tend to happen in the corner of our eyes --the way the dog curls up on a chair, the way a simple vase with flowers catches the light in the kitchen window, the sudden uprising of sparrows from a bush, a girl riding a tricycle in her tutu-- and then there are those larger moments that seem to embody all of the smaller ones.
This weekend two of those moments have come together and though one is not at all related to the other, I see them as complimentary. First, and probably most importantly for the Washington DC area, the National Symphony is celebrating the start of Christoph Eschenbach tenure as Music Director. My sister, Rachel, is a cellist in the NSO and after one rehearsal is feeling more inspired than she has in years. If you click on his name above, you will be taken to a promo that left me welled up and reminded me again of the power of music to reach inside us and fine tune all the settings that make us human.
Simultaneously, our son Liam and our daughter Eliza are competing in the National Whitewater Slalom Championships this weekend here along the Potomac in Dickerson, MD. Paddlers from all over the country (and the world) will be racing tomorrow in this small sport. The Washington Post gave it very nice coverage today, as did the Baltimore Sun. Our kids were thrilled that someone was paying attention. Several years ago, when asked why she liked the sport, Eliza answered "It is like dancing on water" and the picture on the front page of today's Post speaks to the beauty of the motion of boat and paddler and the water as partner.
As I picture the kids racing tomorrow, in my mind I see the arcs and turns of their boats, their pivots and their rolls all against the backdrop of the Mirant Power Plant, accompanied by the powerful and evocative sounds of the orchestra under the baton of Eschenbach. Water music!
September 25, 2010
September 03, 2010
Back to School and Beyond
Oh, the lazy days have passed. The books, the painting projects, the plans. We hop from one storm to the next. Only the seasons change. Blizzards and hurricanes.
I am back at work readying my room for students, painting my door, unpacking my things. This year as I begin with my students at The Lab School I will also be guiding a workshop for adults through Alexandria Parks and Rec. I am pleased with the response so far and am looking forward to interacting with my fellow Alexandrians this way. Perhaps they will consent to having some of their writing posted to this blog which is woefully out of date. (I apologize.)
In the meantime, I am trying to get back to writing. I can't seem to get away from the havoc the most recent storms wreaked on our area and I feel for the trees. So many are left standing raw and wounded. Look under POEMS for the most recent storm poem.
I am back at work readying my room for students, painting my door, unpacking my things. This year as I begin with my students at The Lab School I will also be guiding a workshop for adults through Alexandria Parks and Rec. I am pleased with the response so far and am looking forward to interacting with my fellow Alexandrians this way. Perhaps they will consent to having some of their writing posted to this blog which is woefully out of date. (I apologize.)
In the meantime, I am trying to get back to writing. I can't seem to get away from the havoc the most recent storms wreaked on our area and I feel for the trees. So many are left standing raw and wounded. Look under POEMS for the most recent storm poem.
August 10, 2010
Stormy Weather
Last week's storms were more the fodder for photos than for poems, although in this instance, seeing was not even believing. Telephone poles suspended in mid-air, branches piled a story high, trees like fallen giants between houses, groups of neighbors wandering the streets in the rain, tops of trees blown into other yards...But, nonetheless, the muse was not silent, so a pen and legal pad were employed. The result was a poem now posted on the corner of Stewart and Dewitt and on the poetry fence (the fence was damaged, but there are new poems there for young and old). See This Poem is Being Written After the Storm under POEMS.
We regained power on Saturday afternoon thanks to the efficient work of power crews from near and far! At a glance it was hard to know whether we were in a three ring circus or in the operating theater. In the end, I decided it was the operating theater. I watched from our porch and second floor as the crews strategized under a tangle of wires, telephone poles, and branches. Then the surgeon in the bucket snipped and tied with his rubberized hands, a switch was flipped and we had power!
As I write I know there are still those we are without power and who are in bad humor about the rotting food in their fridges and freezers and I know there are those who are agonizing about the cost of having trees removed and their homes repaired. I know there are those who would like to remove every tree they see in sight. I would recommend the opposite. Plant more trees! If you live where you can plant a shade tree, do! Trees help regulate the climate and provide shade and habitat! They give us far more than they take away!
We regained power on Saturday afternoon thanks to the efficient work of power crews from near and far! At a glance it was hard to know whether we were in a three ring circus or in the operating theater. In the end, I decided it was the operating theater. I watched from our porch and second floor as the crews strategized under a tangle of wires, telephone poles, and branches. Then the surgeon in the bucket snipped and tied with his rubberized hands, a switch was flipped and we had power!
As I write I know there are still those we are without power and who are in bad humor about the rotting food in their fridges and freezers and I know there are those who are agonizing about the cost of having trees removed and their homes repaired. I know there are those who would like to remove every tree they see in sight. I would recommend the opposite. Plant more trees! If you live where you can plant a shade tree, do! Trees help regulate the climate and provide shade and habitat! They give us far more than they take away!
August 04, 2010
TC Seniors Tackle Essays
I am ready to write my college essay! Not really. That is long, long behind me, but after helping out at the college essay workshop at TC this afternoon, I feel as inspired as the 25 or so students who showed up. A range of volunteers from TC staff and alums to journalism professionals showed up as well at the gentle urging of TC parent Karen Schwarz who is organizing the 4 session workshop.
We explored how to look at ourselves objectively from the outside and realized that with the right hook almost anything can be turned into a story as long as the writer inserts his/her personality. It's all about being specific, painting pictures, demonstrating passion and getting the admissions officer to ask more questions.
Used to working with younger students, I was not expecting the level of passion and commitment I saw in these students of all backgrounds. Never mind that at first they were painfully reluctant to offer their contributions publicly. Kudos to Karen for creating an atmosphere where students felt they could experiment without having their heads bitten off. Good food always helps too! Writing burns a lot of calories, believe it or not.
Good luck seniors!
We explored how to look at ourselves objectively from the outside and realized that with the right hook almost anything can be turned into a story as long as the writer inserts his/her personality. It's all about being specific, painting pictures, demonstrating passion and getting the admissions officer to ask more questions.
Used to working with younger students, I was not expecting the level of passion and commitment I saw in these students of all backgrounds. Never mind that at first they were painfully reluctant to offer their contributions publicly. Kudos to Karen for creating an atmosphere where students felt they could experiment without having their heads bitten off. Good food always helps too! Writing burns a lot of calories, believe it or not.
Good luck seniors!
July 19, 2010
Del Ray's Poetry Fence
On the corner of Windsor and Dewitt in Del Ray, there is a long gray fence. For several years now, it has been a home to poetry. Poetry lovers have hung their favorite poems there and the fence's owner keeps a dazzling array of poems on display both for adults (with appropriate content warnings) and for youth. It has become a quiet presence in the neighborhood.
I always stop to read what is there and have wanted to thank the fence's owner for sharing the fence and the poetry. Here is my homage to the poetry fence:
The Poetry Fence
The poetry fence has arms.
It reaches out and grabs you by the shoulders
and turns you so you are square to the words
hung there,
This week, ‘corsets’ and ‘breasts’ for those over eighteen,
and the Land of Counterpane for the younger set.
The fence is faithful, like a mail carrier,
steadfast in all weather:
“Western wind, when will thou blow,
The small rain down can rain?”
The small poets patter by with boots and umbrellas
in the shapes of frogs and ladybugs.
And the poetry fence calls out:
“Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home!”
The poetry fence is lonely though.
It invites you to linger just a moment longer.
“Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky…”
Just you and whoever is with you and the fence in its grey suit
with its heart of poems.
- Amy Young
I always stop to read what is there and have wanted to thank the fence's owner for sharing the fence and the poetry. Here is my homage to the poetry fence:
The Poetry Fence
The poetry fence has arms.
It reaches out and grabs you by the shoulders
and turns you so you are square to the words
hung there,
This week, ‘corsets’ and ‘breasts’ for those over eighteen,
and the Land of Counterpane for the younger set.
The fence is faithful, like a mail carrier,
steadfast in all weather:
“Western wind, when will thou blow,
The small rain down can rain?”
The small poets patter by with boots and umbrellas
in the shapes of frogs and ladybugs.
And the poetry fence calls out:
“Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home!”
The poetry fence is lonely though.
It invites you to linger just a moment longer.
“Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky…”
Just you and whoever is with you and the fence in its grey suit
with its heart of poems.
- Amy Young
July 17, 2010
Alexandria Arts Forum and the Alexandria Commission for the Arts Celebrate Summer
On Thursday, July 15th, Fort Ward was besieged by the Alexandria Arts Forum and the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. The annual picnic allowed for informal interaction between city council members, artists, commission members and members of the Alexandria Arts Forum. For those who showed up, there was cold wine and lemonade, fried chicken and a savory array of salads. Dessert ranged from cookies and watermelon to ice cream cake. (I brought a summer blueberry pie, my mother's recipe). The real food however was in the exchange of creative ideas and the sharing of concerns.
I enjoyed meeting new and old faces and discussing the need for more collaboration between artists. In one conversation the possibility of having an edgier, creative space on the West End was raised, perhaps in a warehouse or vacant mall space, a place where creation as well as performance could take place, large enough for dance and installations, but also a place where the public could gather for informal poetry slams/open mics/arts showcases featuring photography, dance, film...a space for experimentation.
I had a couple of conversations in which the lack of creative space for teens was discussed. Kudos to Convergence for making headway in this direction. Where can creative teens gather to be among themselves, where they won't be judged by adults around them and where they can be safe? The school/rec center umbrella is often perceived as too limiting and bureaucratic. What is the arts scene in Alexandria doing to reach out to younger generations in general? Is the art in the city addressing the issues and concerns of residents in their teens, twenties and thirties? I don't know what the answer to that question is, but based on recent conversations I am sensing that there is something missing and that this may be something to strive for.
I was happy to share with a number of people, my progress in making a slam team in Alexandria a possibility. Regie Cabico, a nationally revered spoken word artist and the organizing figure behind the DC Youth Slam Team, is eager to help get a team going in Alexandria.
All-in-all there was much to celebrate. These conversations were upbeat and encouraging! Let's celebrate summer! And thank you Alexandria Arts Forum and the Alexandria Commission on the Arts for providing an informal opportunity to mingle and connect.
To see the summer poem that accompanied my blueberry pie (and that I was later asked to read) go to POEMS.
I enjoyed meeting new and old faces and discussing the need for more collaboration between artists. In one conversation the possibility of having an edgier, creative space on the West End was raised, perhaps in a warehouse or vacant mall space, a place where creation as well as performance could take place, large enough for dance and installations, but also a place where the public could gather for informal poetry slams/open mics/arts showcases featuring photography, dance, film...a space for experimentation.
I had a couple of conversations in which the lack of creative space for teens was discussed. Kudos to Convergence for making headway in this direction. Where can creative teens gather to be among themselves, where they won't be judged by adults around them and where they can be safe? The school/rec center umbrella is often perceived as too limiting and bureaucratic. What is the arts scene in Alexandria doing to reach out to younger generations in general? Is the art in the city addressing the issues and concerns of residents in their teens, twenties and thirties? I don't know what the answer to that question is, but based on recent conversations I am sensing that there is something missing and that this may be something to strive for.
I was happy to share with a number of people, my progress in making a slam team in Alexandria a possibility. Regie Cabico, a nationally revered spoken word artist and the organizing figure behind the DC Youth Slam Team, is eager to help get a team going in Alexandria.
All-in-all there was much to celebrate. These conversations were upbeat and encouraging! Let's celebrate summer! And thank you Alexandria Arts Forum and the Alexandria Commission on the Arts for providing an informal opportunity to mingle and connect.
To see the summer poem that accompanied my blueberry pie (and that I was later asked to read) go to POEMS.
July 13, 2010
Welcome W.S.Merwin and Happy Birthday Alexandria
W.S.Merwin will be the next poet laureate of the United States. While my own laurels are the tiniest little green shoots, W.S.Merwin's leafy crown must be as weighty as gold. I have the Potomac River and a little bungalow in Del Ray and he has the Pacific Ocean and a pineapple plantation on a dormant volcano! The same ratio applies to our lives as poets, his being of far greater, depth, quality and quantity than mine. However, just as one person's suffering can not be compared to another's, one poet's passions and inspirations cannot really be equated to another's. I share W.S. Merwin's dependence on the natural world and his love of languages and translation. We both have a need to write poetry.
I was interested to learn that he credits his accomplishments in poetry to the discipline and art of translation, something he pursued in order to 'learn to write'. As poet laureate of Alexandria, one of my desires is to see some sort of cultural exchange of words occur between English speakers and English learners, much as the program Poetry Inside Out has accomplished out of the Center for the Art of Literary Translation in California. Translation provides a portal into other languages and cultures and by first translating works of established poets into English, non-native speakers can gain an appreciation for their own heritage and share their pride in their culture with others. Bilingual students who are native English speakers can engage in the new language and culture in an organic way. Eventually, the established poets serve only as models for the students to write and translate their poems with and for each other.
Mr. Merwin, I welcome you as my nearest poet laureate and am open to any advice you have for me in my role. Congratulations from this side of the Potomac!
On July 10th, Alexandria celebrated its 261st birthday and the skies paid homage, by opening up and pouring down on the city for much of the day without spoiling the afternoon and evening festivities. In fact, it was a beautiful evening with low humidity and gentle breezes. The Army Band played and the Town Crier cried. The Mayor spoke and civic heroes received awards. The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra played (boy did they play!) and the fireworks went on forever! I had the pleasure of reading "Praise Song for Alexandria" (See Poems) a poem written for the occasion. I used Mary McElveen's poem "City of Songs" as a departure point.
My hands began to tremble, something I had not anticipated and Mayor Euille stepped in to save the day, steadying the paper with the words of the poem on it for me. Thank you, Mayor! And thank you, citizens for joining in with your voices at the end:
"Let us sing.
Let us sing.
Let us sing!"
I was interested to learn that he credits his accomplishments in poetry to the discipline and art of translation, something he pursued in order to 'learn to write'. As poet laureate of Alexandria, one of my desires is to see some sort of cultural exchange of words occur between English speakers and English learners, much as the program Poetry Inside Out has accomplished out of the Center for the Art of Literary Translation in California. Translation provides a portal into other languages and cultures and by first translating works of established poets into English, non-native speakers can gain an appreciation for their own heritage and share their pride in their culture with others. Bilingual students who are native English speakers can engage in the new language and culture in an organic way. Eventually, the established poets serve only as models for the students to write and translate their poems with and for each other.
Mr. Merwin, I welcome you as my nearest poet laureate and am open to any advice you have for me in my role. Congratulations from this side of the Potomac!
On July 10th, Alexandria celebrated its 261st birthday and the skies paid homage, by opening up and pouring down on the city for much of the day without spoiling the afternoon and evening festivities. In fact, it was a beautiful evening with low humidity and gentle breezes. The Army Band played and the Town Crier cried. The Mayor spoke and civic heroes received awards. The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra played (boy did they play!) and the fireworks went on forever! I had the pleasure of reading "Praise Song for Alexandria" (See Poems) a poem written for the occasion. I used Mary McElveen's poem "City of Songs" as a departure point.
My hands began to tremble, something I had not anticipated and Mayor Euille stepped in to save the day, steadying the paper with the words of the poem on it for me. Thank you, Mayor! And thank you, citizens for joining in with your voices at the end:
"Let us sing.
Let us sing.
Let us sing!"
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