Day Three: Wrap Up

While Saturday was rainy, Sunday perked up nicely for my last day at Dodge. (Pictured with me are poets Joseph Legaspi and Phebus Etienne.)We went to two sessions before heading out: Women and Poetry (discussed in a previous post) and a Festival Poets reading with Tina Chang, Jim Daniels, and Richard Silberg.

I wasn’t familiar with their works, but I was impressed by all of them, especially Tina and Jim. And while Jim has published nine books and edited many anthologies, I can’t figure out why he’s considered a Poet Among Us instead of a featured poet. He read a poem called “You Bring Out the Boring White Guy in Me,” which is a takeoff on a poem by Christina Acosta, which is a takeoff on the original by Sandra Cisneros (maybe we all should try a takeoffs on this poem). Anyway, going to the smaller venues to watch poets I’ve never seen before is what Dodge is all about.

Throughout the weekend, I was constantly amazed at the passion all of us have for the craft of poetry. Makes me proud and lucky to be a member of such a diverse group of writers and readers.

By all accounts, poetry should be dead. It competes on a daily basis with television, iPods, the Internet, video games, etc. It is the least-selling genre of book in the world today and yet it flourishes and nests in places like Waterloo Village. As I do every two years, I take the gifts of Dodge—the poetry, rekindled friendships, renewed commitment to be a disruptive seed—and bring it back to the everyday. I have been to the well and feel excited and invigorated about the poetry to come.