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

Chagrin River Review--Goes Live Monday, September 24th

Several of my colleagues and I have been developing an online literary journal, Chagrin River Review. The co-founders and co-editors of this journal are (besides me) Angie Weaver, Tobin Terry, Tom Hyland, Ellen McHugh, and Suzanne Ondrus--with some help from Byron Kanoti. We all brought something different to the task, and the fruit of our work will be revealed in the first issue this Monday at this web address: www.chagrinriverreview.com. We are all connected to Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio, but the college's role so far has been peripheral--so don't blame the college if any material offends!

One of my covert goals with Chagrin River Review is to develop a literature and mythology of our home--which is the Chagrin River drainage area of Northeastern Ohio: Lake County, Geauga County, Cuyahoga County, and surrounding area. This area is part of what the French Jesuit Exploreres and Voyageurs called "La Nation du Chat," the Cat Nation, the home of the Erie Indians.

Can we make any progress on such a mythology? This is the same kind of task that William Butler Yeats set for himself in Ireland over a hundred years ago. Was he successful? Of course we can make a start on this!

The journal will evolve as we learn to exploit the power of the internet--so we will include oral readings and more graphics in the future. And who knows--maybe some day a bit of video. Right now we have some excellent poetry and short fiction. Take a look at our new journal!

Link to Chagrin River Review

Lakeland's Poetry Contest--Looking Back Over 25 Years

Lakeland Community College's poetry contest has a deadline for submissions this Friday, April 20th (see the following blog post for contest rules, categories, and other information). Whenever the contest rolls around I think of the many extraordinary poet-judges and contest winners from the past.

One of the early judges was a poet from Hiram College by the name of Hale Chatfield. There are many Hiram alums and professors who fondly remember Professor Chatfield and his excellent poetry. Another of my favorite judges from the past is Kat Snider Blackbird from Burton, Ohio. Kat is an absolutely wonderful poet, and I believe she is teaching these days at Kent State University. Other judges have come from the Burton area, including Gayle and Jim Wohlken. Besides being a terrific poet, Gayle is a fine artist specializing in woodcuts. She has published several small chapbooks that feature her woodcuts and her poetry along with the poetry of many of her friends. At times this group of poets puts on performances that feature music and percussion accompanying the poems (they call themselves the "Drumming Poets").

Other fine local poets who have judged our contest over the years include Ellen McHugh of Painesville, Mary Roulette of Mentor-on-the-Lake, Tom Hyland of Rocky River, Michael Billings of Lakewood, Larry Aufderheide of Mentor, and George Bilgere, professor at John Carroll University. George Bilgere has a close connection with former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins.

The awards reception, which takes place this year on Tuesday, May 8th (7:30 PM in Lakeland's Library), will be a great time for celebrating poetry in Northeast Ohio. The featured poet this year is Suzanne Ondrus of Chagrin Falls. Several Lakeland faculty poets will also read, including contest co-founder Bill French, Lakeland professor of respiratory therapy.

Lakeland Poetry Contest Deadline Approaching--April 20, 2012

This year's poetry contest at Lakeland Community College is being judged by Suzanne Ondrus. Suzanne will do a reading of her work at the May 8th poetry awards reception (7:30 PM in the Lakeland Library). Also invited to read will be several Lakeland faculty members and the contest winners. This year is the 25th annual contest, and I have been here for about 23 of them. The contest and reading were started by Larry Aufderheide, former Arts and Humanities Dean, and Professor Bill French; I believe Professor Carlos Tackett was also involved. We have had many distinguished judges over the years. The contest winners read like a roster of the best poets in Northern Ohio (and often beyond the region!).

I am going to cut and paste below the text of the official announcement, with entrance procedures and criteria:

Lakeland Community College Announces . . .


The 25th Annual Poetry Competition for Students and Community Members

Categories and prizes:

Category 1 - High School Students

1st prize - $50
2nd prize - $30
3rd prize - $20

Category 2 - Lakeland Students

1st prize - $50
2nd prize - $30
3rd prize - $20

Category 3 - General Public

1st prize - $50
2nd prize - $30
3rd prize - $20


There will be a $3.00 (maximum) entry fee payable to Lakeland Community College for all three categories.

Submissions will be accepted until Friday, April 20, 2012.

Awards will be announced at a reception at the Lakeland Library, C-3051, at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 8, 2012. Winners will be invited to read at the reception.


SEND SUBMISSIONS TO:

Dr. Robert Coughlin
Lakeland Community College
7700 Clocktower Drive
Kirtland, Ohio 44094-5198

Each entrant may submit up to three poems. No single
poem should be more than two typed pages. Entrants
should include a separate sheet with name, address,
category, and title of submitted poems. No personal
identification should appear on the poems themselves.
Titles of poems should appear on each page (upper
right corner on second page). Manuscripts will be
returned if entrants supply a self-addressed stamped
envelope. The competition is not open to employees of
Lakeland Community College.

The deadline is next Friday--April 20th! So get your submissions in soon--and follow all the guidelines.