Review of THOSE WINTER SUNDAYS

Lorrie, Lynn, Veronica and Eve—their names have a musicality.  And The Regional Poets, as they call themselves, are a force of nature. Every quarter, in sync with the changes of the seasons, they bring together a full slate of writers--and musicians—to cast their words and notes out into the world.

And yesterday’s manifestation, inspired by Robert Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Sundays” was a forte.

It was full of reflections on, and caesuras from, the crises of 2020.

I try to keep these posts short, as this blog format works best that way, so I must hold back from mentioning ALL that was wonderful in that virtual room yesterday.  I offer just these few highlights. 

The music came not only through words, but also from Laurie Wells and Sal Valdivia who set the afternoon’s tone with their flute, guitar and voices back lit by the recent winter white out the windows of their Loveland home. 

Lynn, Lorrie and Veronica read recent and remarkable work spun out of single lines from the Hayden poem which provided the theme of the afternoon and was read beautifully by Evan Oakley.

Evan has much to teach us through example about pacing when reading.  And we have much to learn.  These readings usually take place at the Loveland Museum, but in these times of safe distance, they are online. I noticed a particular downside of that yesterday:  without the pause created by people walking up to the mic in a physical room, the offerings seemed jammed together, rushed, denying us their full impact.  I wanted to count to ten between every reader to let their words settle in me.  I wanted the readers to pause for just a few seconds after their final notes before saying “thank-you”.

I do agree, though (with those in conversation after the reading ended) that the online space provides the advantage of bringing us together across a great span of geography.  Lynn’s sister, reading from her progenitors’ war-time love letters, and her niece, with a most wonderfully sonorous voice, likely could not have been with us in person, but there they were, through our screens, arrowing straight into our hearts.    

Maybe by the Spring reading we can gather again in person at the Loveland museum, but let’s hope we can keep in the virtual space as well: it would be the best of all possible worlds (with homage to Leibniz and American Outlaws) and a good thing to come from a this pandemic.