Jim Lenfestey Organizes First Mackinac Island Poetry Festival
By Bernie Nguyen

Jim Lenfestey, long-time Island cottager, published poet, and organizer of the first Mackinac Island Poetry Festival, describes poetry as an art form and refers to himself as "one who writes poetry" rather than as a "poet." He believes there is a distinction between poets who dedicate themselves wholly to art and writers who love the form.

"I view a poet as one who devotes his or her life to the art," he said. "For me, it's a great love, kind of a passion to play around with words and sound."

Mr. Lenfestey's involvement in poetry has led him to explore and discover the depths of poetry's meaning, especially since he views it both as the writer and reader. As a writer, he brings his inner thoughts to the surface, a process that requires both solitude and personal attunement to the internal resonance of emotions from which poetry springs. But Mr. Lenfestey also acknowledges the importance of the role that readers and audiences play in the poetic process, despite what he sees as necessity for solitude in its creation.

"At some point, if you feel that artistry is good enough, you're ready to share," he said. "I have a longing for the poetry that I write to be heard. But the driver for me is purely the sound and the emotion."

He also emphasizes that poetry, though an exercise in internal hearing, draws much of its power from the external, structural chords that resonate through emotion and time. What makes a good poet, he said, is "a quality of caring about the sound of the idea and emotion for it to be good, for it to be lasting." Without attention to the larger framework of poetic structure outside of personal experiences, poets may fail to resonate with the larger chords of history and emotion, a distinction that Mr. Lenfestey believes separates mediocre poets from great ones.

"If you touch on those chords, people will hear," he said. "Great poetry transcends all the boundaries culture, time. That's why I'm not a great poet," he laughed. "It's just a passion I have."

In the writing of his own poetry, Mr. Lenfestey also rewrites extensively, carefully analyzing the sounds of the words before putting them to careful order. "I hear all my poems inside my head," he said. "I work very hard to get the poem on the page so that when the unknown reader reads it, they will hear it way I hear it."

By bringing poetry to others, Mr. Lenfestey has discovered a way to spread his own love of the form. Several years ago, he started a poetry festival in the small town of Ojai, California, and realized that Mackinac Island would be the perfect venue for a similar event.

"I knew that it could work here, in the sense that Mackinac Island is beautiful," he said. "It has great soul, great history... great local people who care about the arts."

The Island has numerous venues that can accommodate large audiences, he notes.

"It has spectacular facilities for poetry readings," he said, describing how the theaters at Grand Hotel and Mission Point Resort and Little Stone Church provide excellent sound quality and space.

"That's all perfect for a poetry festival," he said.

Attendance, however, is what will determine the success of the festival.

"This first Mackinac Island Poetry Festival is an experiment," he said. "A success would be measured by the audience. I know the poets are wonderful, I know the experience will be wonderful for those who attend. We just hope that as many as can will come."

The poets taking part will bring emotion and power to the festival's readings, he said. "The four poets we are bringing this year all have greatness in them. Their work is art, and it will last."

Mr. Lenfestey explained that while none of the poets are presently major names on the national scene, they are widely revered regionally.

"I call them the next generation of important American poets," he said.

He added that, today, there is a burgeoning interest in poetry across the country.

"More and more people want to practice poetry," he said, adding that the attendance at

large poetry festivals is growing. In addition, venues for poetry are beginning to spring up at a greater rate, helping it to catch up with other forms of fine art whose galleries have long been making it accessible to the public.

For him, however, poetry remains simply a great love. "Poetry is a struggle to embody the human soul with syllables," he said. "I have an emotion that want to capture, and that I want to share. The audience may be small, and that's quite satisfactoy. When you find some sustenance, that can be a beautiful thing." Mackinac Island Poetry Festival Schedule
    All events are free and open to the public.
    July 28 Inaugural lecture, Susan Firer: "Lilacs in American
Poetry, Poetry in American Lilacs." Mackinac Island Public
Library, 4 p.m.
    July 28 Poets Freya Manfred and Thomas R. Smith read from
old and new work. Little Stone Church, 8 p.m.
    July 29 Series of one hour workshops led by festival poets:
Thomas R. Smith, Susan Firer, Jim Hazard, Freya Manfred.
Mission Point Resort Classroom Building, 1 p.m.-6 p.m.
    July 29 Poets Jim Hazard and Susan Firer read from old and
new work. Little Stone Church, 8 p.m.
    July 29 Post-festival Celebration at Grand Hotel.