THE JOY OF SPEAKING OUR MINDS

On April 12 my husband and I attended the celebration for Norwalk’s newest poet laureate, Katherine E. Schneider. It was held at Factory Underground, a recording studio literally in the basement of a building off Wall Street in downtown Norwalk. Marc Alan, one of the partners, and also a member of the Norwalk Arts Commission, put the celebration together and emceed.

I have struggled these past few months, as I imagine many of you have. But having Katie as our new poet laureate is a bright light in our communal darkness. Her “woohoo” can shatter eardrums, but her support and appreciation for all art forms is heartfelt and runs deep. She not only celebrates poetry but loves collaborations with artists and musicians, and she’s committed to making sure all voices are included. As a former ESL teacher, she told me how aware and passionate that made her about inclusion.

(Katherine E. Schneider, Norwalk’s New Poet Laureate)

As a result, on the stage, we had all ages, all skill levels, all orientations, different races and ethnicities. Some sang part of their poem or performed spoken word. Others read carefully and explained context. Meanwhile, a local artist, Maya Santangelo, painted a flower blossom where the audience of around 75 people could watch. “It’s so inspiring to paint listening to all the poets’ work,” she told me during intermission.

Our gathering gives me hope that even as some voices in our world are profoundly ugly (JD Vance having the temerity to lecture European leaders on their morality comes to mind—but other, more egregious ugliness exists: what have we released??), others still rise in support of each other, of justice, of a community of care and support. I hope that you have found yourself in one of those.

And so much of last night was the pleasure of community: many of these poets I’ve read with or for as the laureate community has been forged across our state through the Connecticut Council of Poets Laureate, active state Poets Laureate like Antoinette Brim-Bell, and Margaret Gibson, and supportive bookstores like Byrd’s Books in Bethel. Other poetry groups, like the one run at Curley’s Diner in Stamford for over 20 years, brought people together around words and caring. These are spaces where injustice can be spoken about, places of not-forgetting. The poets last night kept apologizing for talking about politics in their work, but what else could we talk about? Even love poems are political now. Are you sanctioned or unsanctioned?

(Poet Kevin Pilkington, reading at the Perrot Library in Greenwich)

We still have the freedom the Constitution guarantees us to speak freely, even as it’s being chipped away, and I have been present at eight different events this month where that freedom was celebrated, from poetry readings, to literature discussions to a celebration of theatre. What kind of community do you have that supports artistic voices and that allows you to raise your voice for freedom and democracy?

Thanks for reading, and as always, I love hearing from you.

No events this month. Taking a breather!!