November 10, 2004
Night offers well versed area poets
25 authors read original works at Eighth Annual Poets' Night Out
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Poets' Night Out featured a bouquet of poetry - from sonnets to free verse, comedy to heartbreak.
The Friday evening event was held at the Hagerty Center and drew approximately 175 attendees. They listened as 25 area poets read their work, highlighting the literary best in the area as judged by two veteran poets: Chris Bazzett and Paul Stebleton.
Bronwyn Jones, a writing instructor at Northwestern Michigan College, emceed the event, reading some of her own work as well.
"This evening is a welcoming and a celebration of the poets among us," Jones said. "Poetry saves our hearts and souls and delights us as well."
Making the cut was a thrill for Amelia Wright, an eighth-grade student at Interlochen Pathfinder School. Wright's poem, 'Audition for the World,' was a stark reflection on issues facing youth of her generation.
"Reality is a huge thing for me, I'm keying into that," said Wright, who has previously had her work published in a magazine and a book. "9-11 still has a huge impact on me and the election."
A prolific writer of at least three poems a week, Wright is motivated in part by daily writing assignments in creative writing class at school. She also said journaling until midnight is not unusual and hours can pass unnoticed when she is in the creative zone.
Writing poetry provides a vent for emotions and the turbulence of both the world and growing up.
"Poetry is my emotional release because whenever I'm mad at someone, I write about it on paper," noted Wright, adding that she has a stash of 30 poems under her bed. "It's a feeling of pride that I could get something out and that it worked itself out into something that I could put on paper."
Prizes awarded at Poets' Night Out included a high school prize, a homeschool prize and trustee prizes as well as awards sponsored by Horizon Books and the library. The audience prize was voted to Rebecca Hubbard for 'These crayons, I remember them.' The Charles Opple Prize went to Beth Milligan for her piece entitled 'New Orleans.'
Poets' Night Out began in 1996 when two local writers and poets, Sandy Robey and Jody Clark, decided the region needed a formal poetry reading venue. From 35 submissions that first year, judges now wade through hundreds of poems every fall to cull the best for the event.
This year drew 150 entries, noted Fran Perkett, coordinator of the event.
"I think it's amazing and the more that it moves and gets out there, the better it is," said Perkett, who works at the Traverse Area District Library's East Bay Branch. "I just think it's a wonderful thing here in Traverse City, or northern Michigan actually because we get people from all over who are just so eager to participate in this."
Both judges read some of their work, Bazzett deliberately including formed poems such as a sonnet and a taxing Irish form poem.
"In judging, I find that a lot of people like forms and use them," she said. "I thought it would be nice to bring in a few different forms because I like to use them as well."
"Sometimes it helps if you learn forms to keep your free verse a little bit more honest," Bazzett noted.
After hearing the judges and other poets of the evening, Wright reflected on how this immersion would help her own creative process.
"It's helpful hearing what other people do and know how I can improve," she said.