Thursday night I attended a special poetry reading sponsored by Brick Street Poetry at the Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library in Zionsville. Poets delighted us with excerpts from the recent publication, Mapping the Muse: A Bicentennial Look at Indiana Poetry. This event was an official Indiana Bicentennial Legacy Project, and every poem of the evening treated us to a different view of an Indiana landmark, the Hoosier lifestyle, or our state landscape.
JL Kato served as Master of Ceremonies. He opened with a couple collaborative poems. The first was a collaborative poem by ISFPC about Indiana State Parks. Each poet was assigned a different state park and contributed a stanza. Authors include: Joyce Brinkman, Alice Couch, Nancy Simmonds, S. Evan Walters, Marlene Million, Alys Caviness-Gober, Jenny Kalahar, Kathy Maves, Mary Couch. The group includes a Poet Laureate, Premiere poet, and several members from my club, the Noble Poets (yea!). JL Kato and Susan Miller read the next poem, entitled “Prairie,” by John D. Groppe, Pat Kopanda, Carlee Tressel Alson, Marcia Smith-Wood, Maia Hawthorne, Shannon Anderson, Doris Myers, J. Patrick Lewis, Gus Nybergm, Sally Nalbor, Alyssa Cook, Connie Kingsman, and Joyce Brinkman.
Individual poets who presented their works represented 6 different counties. I’m including some of my favorite lines. Apologies to anyone I unintentionally left out!
Individual poets who presented their works represented 6 different counties. I’m including some of my favorite lines. Apologies to anyone I unintentionally left out!
I bought the Kindle version of Mapping the Muse as soon as I got home (too eager to wait for a hard copy). The book is also available in softcover on Amazon and at the libraries of the poets included in the collection.
Let me tell you, you are in for a treat. The general tone of the book is nostalgic, as many poets reflect on the landmarks and atmosphere of their home counties. But the book hits plenty of other tones - ranging from humor to awe to tragedy. It covers subjects from Hoagy Carmichael to tornados to covered bridges to county fairs to Quakers. Small but beautiful nature photographs accompany some of the collaborative works.
I was impressed with the range of experience levels represented in the book. A 5th grade class submitted a poem, as did a 90 year old. All four Indiana Poets Laureate are featured in the front: Joyce Brinkman, Norbert Krapf, Karen Kovacik, and George Kalamaras.
I recommend this collection as a great way to reflect on Indiana in our bicentennial year. Reading it felt like sitting down on a leisurely afternoon and eating a Hoosier pie, with each slice giving me a little taste of a different county. (The poets represent 59 counties.) Well done, poets, editor Barry Harris, JL Kato, Brick Street Poetry, and all the many people involved in this project (including lots of ISFPC members)!
I was impressed with the range of experience levels represented in the book. A 5th grade class submitted a poem, as did a 90 year old. All four Indiana Poets Laureate are featured in the front: Joyce Brinkman, Norbert Krapf, Karen Kovacik, and George Kalamaras.
I recommend this collection as a great way to reflect on Indiana in our bicentennial year. Reading it felt like sitting down on a leisurely afternoon and eating a Hoosier pie, with each slice giving me a little taste of a different county. (The poets represent 59 counties.) Well done, poets, editor Barry Harris, JL Kato, Brick Street Poetry, and all the many people involved in this project (including lots of ISFPC members)!
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