Remembering Kay in the Spring . . .. . .

All this green beauty has me remembering Kay Byer, NC's first female poet laureate. She and I shared a love of Garcia Lorca's poem Verde, Que Te Quiero, Verde and the Carolina mountains and their seasons. Kay is gone now, but her words are fresh as ever.

Big Tease

Little by little, the earth sheds

 her veils. Lets her white blossoms 

tremble. The river shakes out her blue

shimmy and scrubs it to smithereens

over the singing rocks, leaving her

sunny side up, such a tease

that I sway to her music

as if I were Salome's sister

and not an old woman who knows

that the inkblot of sky on this page

of my daybook will soon begin fading,

because how can anyone, even Great

Grandaddy Death stay asleep

amid so much awakening?

                                                    Kathryn Stripling Byer

Two More Books

The larger book is the recent Asheville Poetry Review which I had to hunt down in order to finish Kathryn Stripling Byer's magnificent poem "Searcher." She posted the beginning on her blog and I was hooked. The subject matter is startling and beautifully rendered. Have a look.

The tiny book is a little hand made treasure Kay sent me some time ago. Its blank pages intimidated me, as blank pages in a pretty book always do. But at last I decided to put one word on each page -- words I deem suitable for poetry. (Oh, I know -- all words are suitable for poetry; I mean words that in and of themselves convey a kind of poetry . . . a suggestion.) I'm adding the words as they occur to me, opening the book at random and writing the word.

So far, most of the words that have come to me are what I would call soft -- silken, wind-swept, silver-scaled, crimson -- sounds kinda like a romance novel. There are a few more solid sounds -- earth (though I find myself wanting to write earthen,) root-bound, wake (resolutely avoiding waken.)

I'm inviting you all to send me one or two words each and I'll put them in. When the book is full, I'll post what we've got.

At the Blue Ridge Book and Author Showcase

Yesterday was a wonderful day and an exceptionally well-run festival, thanks to dedicated organizers and volunteers. I did my usual rambling presentation to a very nice group who asked thoughtful, intelligent questions at the end; I got to see lots of friends and acquaintances -- including more than a few of my ex-students who say they're still writing away (very gratifying!)

And I had the pleasure of seeing three of my favorite writers doing their presentations!

Sharyn McCrumb was the keynote speaker and by the time I got there, the place was packed. I stood at the back -- too far away to get a decent picture. Sharyn is always a fascinating speaker and this time she had a lot to say about the universality of folk tales -- how the same story -- for example, the story of the human taken to Fairyland who returns home only to find that years, rather than days, have passed. Sharyn told a Japanese fairy tale with this theme and went on to reference the Dutch Rip Van Winkle and the old Scots ballad of Thomas the Rymer. I loved this because I've used a variation of this same story -- turning it into a Cherokee tale -- in The Day of Small Things.

Later in the morning came Sheila Kay Adams (and this link will take you to some of her stories and music). I've known Sheila a long time and always loved her story-telling, her ballad singing, her banjo playing, and, oh yes, she writes as well. Every bit as well.

This was a bittersweet performance as Sheila's husband Jim died just a few months ago and when she spoke of him and sang his favorite song, we were all close to tears. But like the strong mountain woman she is, Sheila has taken her grief and turned it to love and grace and beauty.

Another great treat was listening to Kathryn Stripling Byer, the Poet Laureate of North Carolina, read her poems. Kay has done a wonderful job bringing poetry, her own and that of others, to a whole new audience.

Reading poetry to oneself is a quiet pleasure; hearing the poet him/herself perform the poems adds a whole new dimension. Kay reads with a heartfelt earnestness that makes the poems extremely accessible -- I find myself thinking 'Yes, that's how I remember it. She just says it better."

When the day was ended, I went to dinner with Carol (of Writers Porch), Gary, and Kathryn Magendie and the talk turned to ghosts and hauntings and shadow men and all manner of neat stuff.

It was a fine day. And the folks in charge of the Showcase are already making plans for next year (June 5, I think I heard someone say.) Well worth putting on your calendar!

And a Happy Mothers Day to all !