Poetry and Healing
10/27/2001 09:28 p.m.
There's been a lot said about the healing powers of poetry lately. I think it has merit, whether you're talking about personal tragedy or a national/international one, like Sept. 11 (and for some, our response). I attended a poetry and performance event last month that offered an opportunity to share post-9/11 poetry with others, and the other day I attended an event at Rutgers University. Professor, students and members of the cummunity (I'm a member of the last group) were invited to read original or "famous" poetry about war, peace, and healing, again with a general theme of the current state of affairs. I read my poem "Vigil", and others read their works, or those of Auden ("September 1, 1939"), Yeats ("Easter, 1916"), Whitman and Dickinson. I happened to sit next to a local newspaper reporter who asked me for a copy of my poem, so I thought that I, or my poem, would make it into the article, but it didn't. But oh well - it was a good experience and I'm glad I went.
The other news is that I got two Honorable Mentions in the Writer's Journal quarterly poetry contest, for "Apocalypse: Rush Hour" and "Demused". A friend from one of my poetry groups also received Honorable Mention. The list is in the Nov./Dec. issue of Writer's Journal. Alas, though, I struck out on the Writer's Digest annual writing contest., but I guess I shouldn't feel bad about that, since there were about 19,000 entries in each of the two poetry categories.

I am currently Peaceful
I am listening to Miles Davis - "So What"