“Write from where you live.” Silas House

I heard Silas House speak in November and this quote was one of my favorite take-aways.  This week I’m visiting the place where I live – I’ll tell you all about it next week.  Until then have a wonderful week and enjoy my poet friends.

Kim

“A poem begins with a lump in the throat: a homesickness or a lovesickness.  It is a reaching-out toward expression: an effort to find fulfillment.  A complete poem is one where an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”  Robert Frost

I read this quote and immediately thought of the women and man – and we have just the one – of the poetry critique group I’m privileged to be a member of.  National Poetry Month ends this weekend and I couldn’t let it pass without introducing you to the poets who make my poetry better.

The husband of our host questions whether we actually discuss poetry, since there seems to be a lot of laughter when we meet each month.  Doris assures him we do, but I think the laughter attests to the genuine affection, respect and support we have for each other.

Our poetry is a wonderful, interesting mix . . . but always begins from an emotion that has found its thought and the thought finding its words.

Earl invited our band of poets to join together about five years ago.

Julie: I am a Catholic married mother, the lone woman in a household of boys.  Our boys are 7 (almost), 4 1/2, and 1  1/2; our fourth son was stillborn in December, but he is just as relevant a part of our family as any of our other children.  I also do graphic and web design part-time from home.

Evelyn: I’ve lived in the Carolinas for 6 years now but was born and raised in NY.  I live in Rock Hill with my husband and our dog, Gen, and we all love it here in the South, especially the winters!  After a 10 year span of teaching English as a Second Language in public schools I decided to return to being an administrator and currently work in Customer Service for Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.  I’ve loved both my careers and wouldn’t trade any of my experiences for the world!  I have a strong faith, I’m not religious but am very spiritual, and belong to the Unitarian Universalist Church in Charlotte.  I love all kinds of music, love to cook, bake, hike, read, and of course, write!

Donna: I have a B.A in English from UNCC.  Have about six poems published in the SC Writers’ Workshop anthology.

Judy: I have a B.A from Pomona College in CA in English and an MS in Family and Child Development from Winthrop University.  I taught elementary school K-3 in both private and public settings for 21 years.  I have five sons and thirteen grandchildren, married for fifty years, and belong to several writing groups.

In addition Doris, Claire, Joy, Roxanne and Martha belong to our group.   Doris opens her home every month; this month several opened A Writer’s Window.  Thank you so much for being a part of this week’s blog posts.  You mean the world to me and I’ll miss you next week!

They also shared the poets whose works they like to have On the Bookshelf.