A Few Notes on the Skagit Poetry Festival and a Few More to Come!

Bob Hicok, Lorraine Healy & my knee

So I've just returned from the Skagit Poetry Festival.

I always return inspired and ready to live my life as a poet to the best of my ability...or something like that.

The Skagit Festival is rarely recorded, so it's a one-time deal.  If you miss it, you miss it.  If you don't take notes, then you have what you have in your memory.  I have a terrible memory so I take massive amounts of notes (and direct quotes) because I know when I get home, I'll have forgotten everything.

This is good for you as I tend to post these notes and quotes here, so even if you didn't make Skagit this year, you can at least get a taste of it.  (And if you do ever get the chance to come--do!  It's amazing and only every other spring.  So 2014 will be the next one.)

The first session I went to was Poems as Weapons, Poems as Prayers with Bob Hicok and Lorraine Healy.  Immediately when I began I knew I wanted to be somewhere else and that I should have gone with my first choice on Visual Art.  However, I told myself--you are where you are, so there's a reason you're here (philosophical Dr. Seuss talk).

Neither poet was entirely clear what "poems as weapons" were.  Lorraine had political poetry she read and Bob read some poems from his book--all which were fantastic.

Some quotes I wrote down from the talk was:

"First do no harm" --both Bob and Lorraine agreed this was the #1 rule when teaching.

Regarding writing poetry--
"As a shy person, I can be larger socially in poems..."  Bob Hicok

He talked about how he can speak for others.

He read his poem "Constitution 3.0" that considers the idea that "Corporations are people now."  It's hilariously funny and poignant.

After the reading I ran into Elizabeth Austen and we were able to spend some time together, in my mind, that is why I was meant to be at the reading.

This session was the one I took the least amount of notes because they mostly read poems.  I like poems (obviously), but when I have the chance to hear the thoughts, process, and ideas behind a poet, I enjoy that.  I also think it ended 20 minutes early, which was weird.

Tomorrow for Confession Tuesday, I'll post some more plus how I made an $1800 mistake.

More soon!



Share