Both Sides Yesterday

I do like to use this space occasionally to review writing events, and today I turn to the summer installment of the quarterly reading sponsored by the Loveland Poet Laureate and the Regional Poets.  This season’s theme was “Both Sides Now” in celebration of clouds and Joni Mitchell’s classic, written mid-flight when she was 23 (thank you Lew Forester for providing those details at the reading).  

It is not often (maybe only once a quarter!) that you can come together on a Sunday afternoon and hear nearly 30 writers read from their work.  And this was not just about volume of readers, the quality was right up there.  I could sing the praises of each, but that would make for a very long blog post, so here are just a few highlights. 

I heard some effective anaphora (a technique of rhythm and emphasis that I really like) from various writers: I remember especially “you” in Celia’s piece and “forget” in Eve’s. 

And the range of vocal presentation contributed to the diversity of the afternoon, from Travis and Judyth’s ebullience to Marj, Sandy and Trish’s nicely-paced, confident voices.  And then there was Meg Stalker (many will remember her from the reading by U.S. Poet Laurette Joy Harjo earlier this year) who not only signed several of the poems by other readers, but also read and simultaneously signed two remarkable pieces of her own: truly poetry in motion. 

And I am ever-impressed with the Regional Poets—Lynn, Lorrie, Veronica and Eve--four powerhouses of community poetry who know and bring together so many voices, including new ones, every single season! 

We can look forward a blended in-person and Zoom event in September, with writers near and far (Washington, Indiana, England, Mexico . . .). Stay tuned for details, here and via email from Lorrie if you are on her impressive distribution list!

And I can’t pass up this opportunity to recommend again the Cloud Appreciation Society.  You can access many of their wonderful resources—cloud photographs and other visual art, poetry, fascinating cloud facts, and the Manifesto I read yesterday) for free at their web site (https://cloudappreciationsociety.org).  You can even dial it up a notch and become a member for extra perks and to support their work. 

Also, as Lew mentioned in the reading, this year is the 50th anniversary of Joni Mitchell’s Blue album. It does not have “Both Sides Now” (which was at the center of Sunday’s reading), but has been voted one of the top albums of all time; here is a great review of it (https://www.npr.org/2021/06/20/1008271419/joni-mitchell-masterpiece-at-50-her-kind-of-blue).