MARCH 16, 2017

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Hardarshan Valia, Kathrine Flotz, Caren Von See, Rebecca Juergens, Beverly Stanislawski, Sharon Palmeri, Sharon Buckman, Diane Stratton, Helena Qi, Amy Brailey, Mary Ellen Beecher, Ruthann Graczyk, Bob Philpot, Earl Mayo

GUESTS PRESENT:

Kyle Myrick

OLD BUSINESS:

A vote of approval for the March 2, 2017 minutes was first given by RUTHANN GRACZYK and seconded by CAREN VON SEE.

NEW BUSINESS: None

TRIBUTE TO FAMOUS POETS:

SHARON PALMERI introduced the tribute by first asking the members if they had brought any poems written by their favorite poets.   HARDARSHAN VALIA responded first with “Where the Mind is Without Fear,” written in Bengali in 1900 by Rabindranath Tagore, (the same author that had won the Nobel Prize for Geetanjali) and translated by Tagore into English in 1910. He recited it in English at Indian National Congress (party that was fighting for India’s Independence) annual meeting in Calcutta in 1919. India won independence on August 15, 1947. AMY BRAILEY read  “Epigraph,” by Langston Hughes and “Holy Sonnet: Batter My Heart, Three-Person’d God, “ by John Donne.  BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read “On His Blindness,” by John Milton. SHARON PALMERI read “Delight in Disorder,” by Robert Herrick, “A Leaf Falls,” by  e.e. cummings and “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died,” by Emily Dickinson.

READINGS:

HARDARSHAN VALIA read three poems.  The first poem, “Refugee,” which was a one-stanza poem comparing a mother and baby stingray to the recent refugee problem.  The second poem, “A Refugee Camp,” a seven line, one-stanza poem ending with “To return home without strife.”  The third poem, “Earth Without Borders,” tells of the fruitless act of drawing borders.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read her sonnet, “Life’s Lessons,” a poem that describes how life’s daily problems , with all their strife, are meant to teach us, “It’s not that life’s not fair, It’s just my turn.”

CAREN VON SEE brought two short stories, both of the same incident but written differently so that the members might decide which version they liked the best.  The first, “Ice Falls,” and the second, “A Strange Sensation,” tell of two men preparing their equipment to begin a “fall” down an icy glacier.  The men begin their ordeal by descending down the glacier, after hearing a bell ring, to see who reaches the bottom in the quickest time.  Since the rope has been purposely cut, one of these men will win, or lose.

EARL MAYO read the first chapter of his novel, When Lines Are Crossed.  The story begins with a report from a police scanner telling of shots being fired in the color door housing project, possible man or men, and to proceed with caution.  The second call tells of several dead bodies and requests more units.

HELENA QI read her three-stanza poem, “An Autumnal Moment,” comparing the beauty of  the sun’s golden rays, tree leaves color displayed and the beauty of nature to the human race.  This lovely poem ends with “Behind all things is unseen He.”

AMY BRAILEY read her short story, from her collection of short stories, entitled “Lost and Found.” The story begins with Jamie telling of the loss of her dad, and how she has been unable to cope with this.  When her sister calls and begins telling her she should “shape up”, she decides that she should probably begin by cleaning out the house he had left to her.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:

SHARON BUCKMAN