November 15, 2000
Poets enjoy Night Out
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
From the lyrical to the sublime, from passion to comedy, Poets' Night Out strummed the senses and nurtured the souls of its listeners.
For the fourth year, Traverse City's annual feast of poetry featured readings, prizes and camaraderie as more than 100 poets and poetry enthusiasts descended on the City Opera House Friday evening.
"Tonight we celebrate the community of writers right here in this area," declared moderator Anne-Marie Oomen, opening the evening of poetry.
Fifteen poets read their works in this juried exhibition, sponsored by the Friends of the Traverse Area District Library. Later, prizes were awarded in a variety of categories, including a new one for junior high students. Two event judges spent countless hours winnowing readers and winners from nearly 400 entries by 130 poets.
"Judging is a totally subjective process," said city resident Chris Bazzett, a poet and judge at the event every year. "I have some knowledge of poetry and I look for something that creates an image or evokes a feeling or has a rhythm. Usually right away you have some that are more amateur and some are wonderful."
Traverse City attorney Jim Olson was one of the readers who made the cut, sharing his poem "Conforming to Truth" with the audience. Calling himself a person who reads and writes poetry, not a poet, Olson is not a prolific writer. He is pleased if he completes four or five poems a year.
Chosen as a reader in previous Poets' Night Out, Olson believes the venue provides poets both an outlet for their writing and a sense of community.
"When you get a group of people like this gathered in the Opera House, it is very uplifting," said Olson, who balances his analytical legal career by writing fiction. "It evidences a real strong interest in poetry, at least in a segment of the community. Poetry is very much alive in Traverse City."
An environmental lawyer, Olson began writing poems more than 20 years ago, while mired in an intense legal battle in the Upper Peninsula against land and mining interests, plus the State of Michigan. In the midst of all that pressure, he left his office one afternoon and wound up in a local bar drinking wine. As his mind wandered, his poetic muse sparked and came to life.
"In the middle of that I just felt that rhythm, and the next thing I knew there were words on the paper," recalled Olson, who later studied poetry writing with Bill Shaw at Northwestern Michigan College. "I was writing poems. It was a breakthrough of something I didn't know about myself."
Two local writers and poets, Sandy Robey and Jody Clark, founded Poets' Night Out four years ago. Its initial incarnation was as a series of four evenings called Poets in Person. The two conceived of Poets in Person after hearing many complaints from their friends and comrades about reading at open mic events. They decided the time was ripe for a formal poetry reading venue.
Compared to the first year's roster of 35 poets, Robey found herself in the enviable position of limiting the competition this year to regional poets, after receiving inquiries from poets around the state. However, even among northwest Michigan poets, she is not sure the word is out about Poets' Night Out.
"This is probably one of the best kept secrets in Traverse City," said Robey, who works on the evening for months. "This year we had more men and opened it up to younger poets in junior high. I think every year we get better."