What is National Poetry
Month?
National Poetry Month is the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, bloggers, and—of course—poets marking poetry’s important place in our culture and our lives every April.
Who started it?
Inspired by the successful celebrations of Black History Month (February) and Women's History Month (March), the Academy of American Poets established National Poetry Month in 1996. Along the way the organization enlisted a variety of government agencies and officials, educational leaders, publishers, sponsors, poets, and arts organizations to help. National Poetry Month is a registered trademark of the Academy of American Poet.
(Source: https://poets.org/national-poetry-month/faq)
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Sharon Palmeri, Sharon Buckman, Kathy Flotz, Judy Neuman, Bob Neuman, Beverly Stanislawski, Amy Brailey, Audrey Warzyniak, Cindy Horgash, Gail Galvan
OLD BUSINESS:
A vote of approval for the March 10, 2022 minutes were approved by Amy Brailey and Gail Galvan
NEW BUSINESS:
LITERARY NEWS:
SHARON PALMERI starts a six-week class she is teaching at the Crown Point Community Library on Writing Children’s Books April 18th
AMY BRAILEY mentioned an upcoming event, the Creative Arts Summit to be held at the library on May 21, Saturday, from noon until 4:00pm. Authors and other artistic people will be displaying their work. The deadline to sign up has passed.
GAIL GALVAN shared information about an “awesome” POETRY JAM NIGHT she attended the first Friday in April at the Lubeznik Art Center in Michigan City. Admission was free. Tim Stafford was the animated, funny emcee. Stafford is a poet, storyteller and former Chicago Grand Slam Champion from Lyons, Ill. Sixteen poets signed up to read their poetry. Gail read her poem, “Ode to the Coffeehouses of America.” After the first poem was read, five poets were chosen to continue. For the final round, three poets were chosen. The last three were announced winners: third, second, and first place and obtained bragging rights. “It was awesome, some very dramatic acting out and two of the winning poets were older ladies and really humorous. There was about fifty people there…it was a very cool night.” Various activities take place on first Fridays of the month. For more info the link is: www.lubeznikcenter.org.
KATHERINE FLOTZ spoke at the First Methodist Church in Crown Point on April 6th, sold some books and said it went well.
READINGS:
GAIL GALVAN recited her poem, “Helen’s Vision,” and dedicated it to one of her heroes, Helen Keller. She included some sign language and implied that even though Keller was deaf, unable to speak, and blind, that she could see “perchance more clearly than you!”
BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI read “The Richest Man.” Stephan Heintsman wanted his master to believe in God. He had a dream that the richest man would die before the night was over. The richest man turns out to be Stephan who died praying for his master’s soul.
CINDY HORGASH read a true short story titled, “Prisoner of Love,” about a Christmas gift for her brother after his return home from the Vietnam war. After her brother returns home, Cindy (age 8), realized he is hurting and not the same brother she knew before. She wants to help get rid of the “humbug” atmosphere invading her brother’s spirit and the household for the holidays. As unwrapped, her brother sees what his present from his little sister is…” a note and a four-inch figurine painted in prison stripes and wore the sign, Prisoner of Love. It had a sprightly face, pink feathery hair, and a ball and chain attached to its ankle.” Larry silently reads the handwritten note: Larry, I prayed and wished for you to come home every night. I kept this good luck doll under my pillow, but I want you to have it. If you wish hard enough, you can be happy again. Love, Cindy. Later Cindy and her brother are calling each other names like they always did, so it seems like her present helped.
AMY BRAILEY read the long-awaited finale, chapter 35, to her intriguing historical story, Jon Everett and the Hall of History. “If you missed out on readings before or the ending, then oh well.” (But most of us can’t wait to see it in print and read the whole story over again.) It all started when Jon fell asleep in Mr. Jackson’s History class. He was assigned a trip to the History Museum to learn about George Washington. He found a set of keys in his attic that enabled him to walk through a portrait of Washington back to the French Indian War, where he meets the real Washington. Having fought in Battle of Monongahela, he has now, finally, returned to his own time. It’s Friday night and Jon is trying to stay focused on shooting baskets for his team. In the meantime, Jon notices that the opposing team’s name is TREBY. The coach notices that Jon’s arms are bigger and he has callouses. All Jon knows is that he is happy to be “dodging players rather than bullets and trees.”
AUDREY WARZYNIAK read “Maggie’s Reunion.” Maggie has wrapped up presents for girlfriends since she is throwing a party. Tess, Maggie’s friend, pushes doors open to a garden room and sees “a cream-colored sheet cake mimicking sand with six small dolls birched on their tummies dressed in colorful bikinis, each wearing sunglasses.” It reads, “Girlfriends are forever in the middle together.” Tess thinks only Maggie could throw a perfect party. Then Tess thinks back to fist meeting Maggie in the fall of 1974, seeing her long blonde hair, skinny waist and Bell-bottom jeans.” She hated Maggie at first. But now? She decides, “It is going to be an interesting freshman year!”
BOB NEUMAN entertained us with several readings. The first titled “A Case of Mistaken Identity” tells of an elderly Jewish lady who keeps harping about something to a business man sitting next to her on a plane ride. She keeps asking over and over, “Excuse me, sir, are you Jewish?” He politely says, “No.” She keeps harping, so finally he just submits, says, “O.K., ma’am, I am Jewish.” Then she says, “Funny, you don’t look Jewish.” The second title is “ ‘Hope’ as in ‘Bob’ ” and explains how Bob served as a part-time chaplain at a State of Illinois facility for the developmentally disabled. One day as he visited, a young man named Billy decided that Chaplain Bob was always going to be “Bob Hope” to him. The next title, “Just Call Me Peanut Butter” referred to the P in Pastor and B in Bob and J in Judy earned them the nicknames of Peanut Butter and Jelly from a friendly couple they met while ministering together in the church where Bob pastored. Other mini-short stories included three spiritually related ones: “A Dead Giveaway,” “A Real Christian is an Open Book,” and “Bob’s Final Thoughts.” One final thought of Bob’s is that even though he is not Jewish or Bob Hope, or etc., to quote Popeye the Sailor Man he says, “I yam what I yam.” He adds, “So you may call me a Christian—and that is no mistake.”
JUDY NEUMAN read an absolutely stunning, beautifully crafted, heartfelt poem titled “The Colors of Easter.” The first verse reads:
“How blue is the sky
On this fine Easter day,
And Yellow the flowers
Which in the breeze
sway.”
It mentioned blue skies, rainbow colors, grey shadows that “swept The Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus wept,” and a purple robe “that the soldiers wrapped around Him.” She writes of the black hours when “Jesus lay in the tomb.” But then, “oranges and yellows adorned eastern skies on the morn Christ arose.” The last verse reads:
“The colors of Easter
Any time, any place,
Are revealed through the prism
Of God’s endless
grace.”
SHARON PALMERI read part one and two of an actual diary entry she wrote at age 16 titled: “A Hard Day’s Night” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Sharon shared a harrowing account of being broken-hearted and troubled at the tender age of sixteen after falling in love and having her boyfriend end the relationship. Her home life was fraught with anxiety and problems at the time due to an alcoholic, sometimes cruel mother. Her boyfriend seemed to be her ticket out of the house, which never happened. On graduation night, when she came home from a friend’s open house, her mother was drunk and tore at her graduation dress. That was the last straw. She would not take it anymore. She deserved better than that. So, as Sharon puts it, “For the first seventeen years of my life, it was really very difficult.” But after recovering from that broken heart and terrible home life experience, she took it upon herself, at that young age of seventeen, to leave that troubled home life and begin to live her new, healthy, productive life. (Her memoirs tell, as Paul Harvey always said, “ Now you know the rest of the story.” And it’s a good life story with many happy endings.)
The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 P.M.
Respectfully submitted:
GAIL GALVAN
