Lakeland Poetry Awards Reception--Great Success

We had a fine time last evening at the Lakeland Poetry Awards (27th Annual!) Reception. Our judge and featured reader was John Repp, who drove in from Erie, Pennsylvania (and recited a fine poem set at Presque Isle in Erie). John is originally from Southern New Jersey, and also recited a terrific poem set in that area.

John Repp

Tobin Terry entertained us all with his hilarious poem "Nursery Crimes," featuring his real or fictional mother (we'll never know). Later in the evening, Tobin read Nate Harris's winning poem in the Lakeland Student category of the contest.

Tobin Terry doing "Nursery Crimes"

A wonderful highlight of the evening for me was Ellen McHugh giving the first place award in the General Public category to her sister, Mary Roulette. Both Ellen and Mary are extraordinary poets--unfair that such talent should be focused in one family. Their sister Katie Callahan was also there to see the presentation.

Ellen McHugh

So many other fine moments. Bill French, contest co-founder, reading his poems; Tom Hyland reading his.

There were readings by high school winners Ryan Campbell, Zak Martinjako, and Hannah Dickson. Readings by Lakeland College winners Kaylee Wells, Rhiannon Leslie, Lottie White, Shawntay Hardesty, and Taylor Metcalf. Readings by General Public winners Mary Roulette, Lee Chilcote, Katherine Willow-Peterson, and Bob Speer (who has wonderful narrative poems).

I served as Emcee for the awards and for once didn't read any poems (there were plenty of readers and this helped me relax some!). Thank you to all the fine local poets who submitted to our contest. Thanks to John Repp, our poet/judge, and my colleagues at Lakeland who helped with the reception.

Bob Speer

Lee Chilcote and Ellen McHugh

Katherine Willow-Peterson

Wonderful Poetry Reading at Lakeland Last Evening

We had our 15th annual Poetry Month reading at Lakeland Community College last evening, Kathy Fink was emcee, and the featured readers were Bill French, me, Alynn Mahle, and Tobin Terry. Open microphone readers included Bob Speer, Joy Christianson, Robin Crawford, Christopher Franke, Suzanne Ondrus, and others. The open mic readers are all accomplished poets in their own right and could easily have been featured. I read the following poems:

• "Still Life, With Grand Babies" [a poem for Linda]
• "Thanksgiving for Companions" [a poem especially for Kathy Flora and my St. Mary's friends]
• "Dream Haiku in Three Languages" [in English, Irish, and German, for Linda]
• "Short Memory Needed in Lake and Geauga Counties" [about our late-late snows in Ohio's snowbelt]
• "Klara im Zwielicht" [a poem in German--for an old friend]
• "Blood Root" [a poem set in the spring rain at Holden Arboretum, with thanks to K.O.]
• "Lucky (Stones) at Mentor Headlands (1964)"

In "Lucky Stones" I got to sing a bit of the Everly Brothers' song "Cathy's Clown," which is mentioned in the poem.

So many wonderful poems. I particularly loved Tobin's brilliant "Nursery Crimes," in which he sings, quite a bit, the somewhat twisted songs he learned at his mother's knee (a mother I would like to meet!). Alynn's final poem, which is about poetry and the writing of poetry, is flat-out brilliant. Bob Speer, one of the elder statesmen of the night, was exceptional with his narrative and dialect poems. Joy Christianson had wonderful linked haiku poems. Christopher Franke is one of a kind--he is very good and often wickedly funny. And Suzanne Ondrus read us a beautiful and sexy short poem from her new book, Passion Seeds. She will do a featured reading and book signing in a couple weeks--can't wait! Thanks to Kathy Fink for organizing and emceeing this wonderful event!

Kathy Fink

Bill French

Alynn Mahle

Tobin Terry

Bob Speer

Robin Crawford

Christopher Franke

Suzanne Ondrus

Bob Coughlin, Bill French, Alynn Mahle, Tobin Terry