Wayne Reads continues with panel discussion
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on April 19, 2016 1:46 PM
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Members of a poetry panel listen as moderator Margaret Boothe Baddour speaks. From left are state Poet Laureate Shelby Stephenson, Richard Krawiec, Lenard Moore and Marsha Warren.
Why poetry?
That was the subject of a panel discussion by four North Carolina poets at Wayne Community College on Monday night.
Part of the annual Wayne County Reads program, the event was part of the study of the book chosen for this year's campaign, "Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry," edited by Billy Collins.
More than 100 people packed a small auditorium in the college's Walnut Building to hear state Poet Laureate Shelby Stephenson, Jacar Press editor Richard Krawiec, University of Mount Olive professor Lenard Moore and Executive Director of the Paul Green Foundation Marsha Warren read from their own works and the works of other poets and discuss why poetry is important.
"Everyone wants to tell his story, and perform, and remember," said Stephenson.
"There are all sorts of ways and reasons why we write poems," said Mrs. Warren. Sometimes it's because of happiness. Sometimes it's because of sadness or tragedy. It's our need to record how we feel, to chronicle our emotions. Some people take photos. Others paint pictures. Some write poetry."
"I can give you the poetry, you need to find the why," said Krawiec. "We write poetry to validate and make sense of our own lives. Sometimes we write, not for ourselves, but to validate someone else. Sometimes you do write to find hope."
"Sometimes we write poetry to give warning, to tell others what the world is like. Sometime we write poetry to speak about the unspeakable."
"Some poems take a while before they are ripe, or they want to speak," said Moore, who started writing poetry while he was in the Army, sending letters back home. "Why poetry? Well, why not? It's a way of trying to find meaning in this world in which we live."
"Certainly poetry should be accessible for the reader and the audience," he said.
Moderator Margaret Boothe Baddour, a former professor of English at WCC, read works from several poets, including Robert Louis Stevenson:
"The true realism
always and everywhere,
is that of the poets:
to find our where
joy resides and give
it a voice far
beyond singing ...
for to miss the joy
is to miss all."
The next event in the program will a talk by Dr. Elliot Engel on poet Robert Frost on April 26 at 7 p.m. in the Southern Bank Auditorium on the campus of the University of Mount Olive. It will be followed by a reception.
Then, on May 1, Sunday in the Park at Herman Park will feature a "Passionate for Poetry Festival," with music and dance performances, a poetry contest and children's activities.
For more information, visit www.wcpl.org.