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Islanders from 'Heart of Mackinac' Read at Community Event
In his introduction, Peter Olson, one of the event's organizers, said that a reading of this sort "serves to reaffirm the value that we believe this form has in a world that is quickly moving into complicated territory." Marta Olson, president of Mackinac Associates and a principal organizer, said that she feels the poetry reading helped involve community members in a world that many have not seen or been interested in knowing until the poems were read by their own friends and neighbors. "We were all truly mesmerized by the poems that really resonated," Ms. Olson said. She added that she feels the reading's value helped to show "how accessible poetry is, in private and in public." John Barr, who served as the evening's emcee, said to the audience that he felt the reading was one "from the heart of Mackinac, to the heart of Mackinac." Penny Barr, who helped to orchestrate the reading and originally brought up the idea, agreed, saying that she felt the community members who read represented all of the Island. Mr. Barr is the president of the Poetry Foundation and Ms. Barr is the Foundation's Children's Editor. The Olsons and the Barrs worked together to select readers and match them with poems, using the Barrs' experience as well as Mr. Olson's many years of teaching poetry at the college level. "On Mackinac, I thought we should have somebody from the horse community, somebody from the Mackinac Island State Park, someone from the West Bluff, someone from the East Bluff," Ms. Barr said. "The one thing was to pick people from different areas of living." By selecting a roster that involved students, athletes, and public community figures, the reading incorporated all aspects of the Island. The original idea of holding a community poetry reading came from Ms. Barr, who had organized many similar events in her hometown of Bronxville, New York, after attending a large public reading with many wellknown figures at the Time Warner Building in New York City. The idea was put to good use for a Mackinac Associates' event, she said, and she was specific in her desire to make it a Mackinac-based reading. "It's not about poets reading their own poetry," she said. "It's about involving people in the community. It was kind of a different way of doing it to involve as many as possible." She also said that she feels it is a different way to involve as many as possible in their own acts of creativity, since reading poems aloud is also a creative and expressive effort. Ms. Barr noted that the response to the reading was very positive, and the atmosphere is encouraging for another reading in the future. "People came up to all of us, saying 'Gee, this was great,'" she said. "They told us that they would love to see another reading like this. There's nothing like getting to know poetry better by reading out loud." Ms. Barr said that the organizers chose readers on the basis of who would speak well, and who would enjoy speaking. She also said that by keeping the reading to an hour in length, the poems held the audience's interest and kept the event well-paced. "The only criteria was a person who wouldn't be afraid of reading in public," she said, though she noted that often, the poems that she and other organizers had in mind seemed to choose the readers on their own. For example, Phil Porter, who opened the event with a reading of "Casey at the Bat," seemed a natural choice for a poem about baseball, and Miles Benjamin, the great-great grandson of Robert H. Benjamin, was a perfect fit for "The Village Blacksmith." Ms. Barr also said that the order of the reading was designed to elicit the most positive response from the audience. By opening with a fun, lighthearted dramatic poem such as "Casey at the Bat," the event drew in listeners by engaging them with laughter. Other humorous poems, such as "Good Morning, Dear Students," read by fourth-grader Adrienne Rilenge, balanced out the more serious selections, such as Michael Hart's reading of "Song of Myself," by Walt Whitman. Ms. Barr remarked that the Mackinac community has great depth of character and talent, and that the reading brought this out. Ms. Olson agreed. "It was remarkable how they brought the poems to life," Ms. Olson said. A reception was held after the event at Mission Point Resort's Bistro on the Greens. The afterglow was a chance for readers and audience members to mingle, socialize, and discuss the event. Trace Dominguez, a Fort Mackinac soldier interpreter, played the fife outside Mission Church before the event began, providing an engaging atmosphere. The poetry reading was videotaped by Tim Stowinski of Omega Studios. Anyone interested in purchasing a DVD of the event may contact Omega Studios in Lachine. Featured Readers Phil Porter, "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Lawrence Thayer Woody Beardsley, "The Snow Man" by Wallace Stevens Greg Main, "The Last Mowing" by Robert Frost Mary K. McIntire, "Little Stone Church" by Alicia Poole Adrienne Rilenge, "Good Morning, Dear Students" by Ken Nesbitt Michael Hart, selections from "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman Lornie Porter, "The Windhover" by Gerard Manley Hopkins Miles Benjamin, "The Village Blacksmith" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dennis Bradley, "Traveling Through the Dark" by William Stafford Richard Manoogian, "West Bluff" by Bob Raisch and "Sea Fever" by John Masefield Father Jim Williams, "The Hippopotamus" by Ogden Nash and "Duello" by Robert Service |
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