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| Independence Mine (photo by Mike Criss) |
I lost
my way on Raspberry Road, driving without good directions on a recent stay in
Anchorage and turned into a side road to make a U turn. In the August sun, the bright
glint of metal caught my eye as a man in shorts and a faded teeshirt slowly
moved his real leg, then his prosthetic leg traveling toward me down the dirt
road. Maybe I was meant to take this
turn after all, to witness such perseverance and unsteady grace. We never met eyes, his focused on each step
he took and yet he shook me awake from my small bag of thoughts.
my way on Raspberry Road, driving without good directions on a recent stay in
Anchorage and turned into a side road to make a U turn. In the August sun, the bright
glint of metal caught my eye as a man in shorts and a faded teeshirt slowly
moved his real leg, then his prosthetic leg traveling toward me down the dirt
road. Maybe I was meant to take this
turn after all, to witness such perseverance and unsteady grace. We never met eyes, his focused on each step
he took and yet he shook me awake from my small bag of thoughts.
Later
that day I wandered along streets unfamiliar to me, though clearly home to many
with their scatter of gardening tools and wicker chairs and overturned boats. Kids’ laughter bounced off a back yard
trampoline. Geese veered over birch tops, while at my feet a beetle, lustrous
in late light, clambered over a bent stalk with the same slow intentioned steps
as the man I watched earlier that day.
that day I wandered along streets unfamiliar to me, though clearly home to many
with their scatter of gardening tools and wicker chairs and overturned boats. Kids’ laughter bounced off a back yard
trampoline. Geese veered over birch tops, while at my feet a beetle, lustrous
in late light, clambered over a bent stalk with the same slow intentioned steps
as the man I watched earlier that day.
When we
are strangers to a place we see it with wide unexpectedness. If we are in love
with words, we begin to set language and meaning to tell how the world comes at
us and through us, intersecting who we are and what we bring to the moment. Sometimes these small notes of attention find
their way to become poems.
are strangers to a place we see it with wide unexpectedness. If we are in love
with words, we begin to set language and meaning to tell how the world comes at
us and through us, intersecting who we are and what we bring to the moment. Sometimes these small notes of attention find
their way to become poems.
Poems in
Place celebrates such poetry of place, language born both from the freshly
apprehended as well as from old knowing engendered from deep rootedness in a
place.
Place celebrates such poetry of place, language born both from the freshly
apprehended as well as from old knowing engendered from deep rootedness in a
place.
Over the
next two weekends Poems in Place, a project that puts poems written by Alaskan
writers on outside signs in Alaska’s state parks, will celebrate this year’s recently
selected poems by Tom Sexton and Tim Troll with free public events and
dedication celebrations.
next two weekends Poems in Place, a project that puts poems written by Alaskan
writers on outside signs in Alaska’s state parks, will celebrate this year’s recently
selected poems by Tom Sexton and Tim Troll with free public events and
dedication celebrations.
On Saturday
August 30th, from 11-1 pm at Independence Mine State Historical Park, Tom
Sexton, Alaska’s poet laureate from 1994 until 2000 and the author of several
collections of poetry, will give a talk on the poetry of place and the
characteristics he believes define such poetry. He will discuss poems by
Elizabeth Bishop, W.B. Yeats, Wesley McNair and several other poets. Audience
members are invited to bring a poem about a place that they admire or one of
their own composition. As many poems as possible will be discussed before lunch.
The dedication of Tom’s poem in place, Independence Mine, August, will be
celebrated from 2-3 pm. The workshop is free and open to anyone age 18 or
older. Space at the talk is limited; please register in advance at
poemsinplace@gmail.com.
August 30th, from 11-1 pm at Independence Mine State Historical Park, Tom
Sexton, Alaska’s poet laureate from 1994 until 2000 and the author of several
collections of poetry, will give a talk on the poetry of place and the
characteristics he believes define such poetry. He will discuss poems by
Elizabeth Bishop, W.B. Yeats, Wesley McNair and several other poets. Audience
members are invited to bring a poem about a place that they admire or one of
their own composition. As many poems as possible will be discussed before lunch.
The dedication of Tom’s poem in place, Independence Mine, August, will be
celebrated from 2-3 pm. The workshop is free and open to anyone age 18 or
older. Space at the talk is limited; please register in advance at
poemsinplace@gmail.com.
The
following Saturday, September 6th, from 10:30-12:30 pm at Lake Aleknagik, selected poet
Tim Troll and Yupik translator Molly Chythlook will share their knowledge of
Yupik place names, the original language linked to Lake Aleknagik and
Wood-Tikchik areas. Tim produced a short weekly program for KDLG public radio
called “Our Story,” stories passed down in Yup’ik lore. Together Molly and Tim conducted traditional
ecological knowledge interviews and mapped the original names for local places.
The dedication of Tim’s poem, The Wisdom of the Old Ones, follows from 2- pm
following Saturday, September 6th, from 10:30-12:30 pm at Lake Aleknagik, selected poet
Tim Troll and Yupik translator Molly Chythlook will share their knowledge of
Yupik place names, the original language linked to Lake Aleknagik and
Wood-Tikchik areas. Tim produced a short weekly program for KDLG public radio
called “Our Story,” stories passed down in Yup’ik lore. Together Molly and Tim conducted traditional
ecological knowledge interviews and mapped the original names for local places.
The dedication of Tim’s poem, The Wisdom of the Old Ones, follows from 2- pm
As
writers and readers, please join us to celebrate the unexpected… poems of place
published outside book covers and seeded on permanent signs in the embrace of
the late autumn sun, fresh air and changing light.
writers and readers, please join us to celebrate the unexpected… poems of place
published outside book covers and seeded on permanent signs in the embrace of
the late autumn sun, fresh air and changing light.
Poems in
Place is supported by Alaska State Parks, Alaska Center For the Book, the
Rasmuson Foundation, Alaska State Council on the Arts, Alaska Humanities Forum,
the Usibelli Foundation, Alaska Poetry League and numerous generous
individuals.
Place is supported by Alaska State Parks, Alaska Center For the Book, the
Rasmuson Foundation, Alaska State Council on the Arts, Alaska Humanities Forum,
the Usibelli Foundation, Alaska Poetry League and numerous generous
individuals.
As a preview to Tom Sexton’s workshop (and inspiration for the drive to Hatcher Pass), here’s one of Tom’s poems:
Autumn
in the Alaska Range
in the Alaska Range
Drive
north when the braided glacial rivers
north when the braided glacial rivers
have
begun to assume their winter green.
begun to assume their winter green.
When
crossing Broad Pass, you might see
crossing Broad Pass, you might see
the
shimmer of caribou moving on a distant ridge
shimmer of caribou moving on a distant ridge
or find
a dark abacus of berries in the frost
a dark abacus of berries in the frost
on the
boggy trail to Summit Lake. Beyond this,
boggy trail to Summit Lake. Beyond this,
the
endless mountains curving like a scimitar.
endless mountains curving like a scimitar.
And in
the querulous mind, the yearning heart
the querulous mind, the yearning heart
a sudden
immeasurable calm.
immeasurable calm.
Tom Sexton