Postcard From The Edge, note from Gary Soto, June 2008, all photos © 2008 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
Our poetry and meditation group meets again tonight. I’m looking forward to the poetry of local writer, Louise Erdrich. Though I have read many of her books, I am unfamiliar with her poetry.
A few months ago, we read the poetry of Gary Soto. It’s our practice of gratitude to sign a card at the end of the evening and send it off to the poet, a way to give a little something back for their great body of work.
Once in a while, the poet writes back:
Dear Teri & Friends:
I thought my ears were burning a week ago! What wonder news for a poet – – fans! I have a new book under contract & will have to wait a little more than a year before it arrives. I sigh with patience. And I sigh even deeper because we may never meet. ¡Qué Lastima!
Blessings,
Gary Soto
We are so grateful for the kindness. We stand on the backs of the writers and artists who came before us. They inspire us to believe in ourselves, to better craft our work, to keep going when we want to give up, and to reach high and hard to fulfill our own creative dreams. It is hard to write in isolation. We need community.
If you’d like to start your own poetry group, the details are laid out in the Guest post by Teri Blair, Desire And A Library Card — The Only Tools Necessary To Start A Poetry Group. Or maybe you were inspired by her piece, and your poetry group has already begun to meet. We’d love to hear how it’s going.
The books we devour are mentors. The images, photographs, and words connect us to something much larger. To all the poets, writers, and artists who came before us — Deep Bow.
The Poet Writes Back, June 2008, all photos © 2008 by
QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
-posted on red Ravine, Thursday, July 10th, 2008
-related to post, Got Poetry? (National Poem In Your Pocket Day)
Wow. What a charming, gracious reply.
red Ravine has become such a dynamic crossroads for the writerly inclined. I love the writer posts, but especially love how you’ve made an inclusive community to support and inspire people with wordly (no typo) ambitions.
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amuirin, what a gracious comment you have made as well. Thank you. I like the wordly ambitions — so true. I was truly humbled by his response. It *was* very gracious. I was kind of stunned and blown away at the same time. It really made our poetry group’s day!
My experiences with famous published writers giving back to their communities has been all positive. I am really impressed by that and want to try to follow their lead. It seems like the more you give in service, the more you get back. Thanks again!
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It’s so great to see Gary’s postcard on red Ravine, QM. It’s humbling and makes me feel a little teary.
See you at the poetry group tonight. Louise Erdrich! If only she knew–we were gawking at her in the airplane a month ago. I wonder if she could sense someone staring at her, but was too classy to stare back. 🙂
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Yeah, I wonder if she did have that uncomfortable feeling one can sometimes get when people stare. You just can’t help but stare though, when you see someone whose work you admire and respect so much. (I hope we were a little discreet!) Looking forward to tonight and learning more about her poetry!
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This is a warm and heartening account. Thank you for sharing this hopeful story.
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this is just awesome, really. : ) how nice of them to acknowledge the acknowledgment, you know what i mean?
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*ahem*
that ‘them’ should be a ‘him’ and i should mention that i found the presence of his reply so endearing because i am the type who would send someone a thank you card for a thank you card, haha.
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QM, I also am touched by the fact that you & your poetry group send & receive these cards. Awesome! Way to go Teri for stepping up to the plate! D
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Right on, Teri and QM and the rest of your group, for giving back in this way. And for introducing me to Gary Soto. He seems like buena gente.
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What a lovely practice – to send a letter of thanks for a writer’s time and effort. Even nicer to receive such a gracious heartfelt reply from him. Appreciating each other makes being alive wonderful. G
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Deborah, thank you. A pleasure.
scaramastra, I hadn’t thought of that, but yes, a thank you card for a thank you card. Very generous and humble.
diddy, thanks. We signed our card for Louise Erdrich last night. I loved her poetry. Sensual and moving. She says a lot in very few words. Bigger group last night, too, which was fun.
G., I totally agree. Appreciating others makes being alive wonderful. And it is the small things, too, that sometimes matter the most. Thank you.
And thanks to all for your comments. Last night (and for the month of August) we came back to Minnesota poets. Last night was Louise. And next month will be Minnesota’s first Poet Laureate. Of course, Louise was also from North Dakota and we had two people there last night who were born and raised in North Dakota, one in Bismarck and one right up near the Turtle Mountain Reservation. At the end they both talked about what it was like for them growing up in North Dakota.
That was one of my favorite parts of the after-poetry event. The conversations that go on after we are done with the poetry are always a pleasure!
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My dad was a cattle dealer when I was growing up, and spent a lot of time in North Dakota, or “Dakota” as he always referred to it. “I’m going to Dakota to pick up a load of Springers,” was something I heard him saying a lot. Dad loved people from North Dakota. Period. He had his reasons, but he thought they were the salt of the earth. This got into my blood, too, just by virtue of hearing it over and over.
Last night, when everyone was leaving, our two North Dakotans Mary & Liz were the last to go. It had been a great night for them, surrounded by the poetry of Louise Erdrich. Before they got in their cars Mary & Liz threw their arms around each other in the happiest of embraces. I think they even said, “North Dakota!” or “Fargo!”
I thought, “They’re just like my dad always said.”
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Teri, I did see that out of the corner of my eye last night. I was already walking to my car. I didn’t hear the “North Dakota!” but I sure did see some hometown pride when we were talking after the poetry group. It was great.
Your Dad must have had a sixth sense about people and place. And it’s interesting because Minnesota is a pretty heart of the nation state, too. He must have seen something else in those from North Dakota.
I think it’s good to embrace where we grew up, the place we once called “home” as a child. Some of us still live there. Many have moved away. But wherever that place is, it shaped who we are. I love hearing people talk about the places they come from. There is a way we are all salt of the earth if we open up to the deepness of our roots.
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Dad was traveling the back roads of Dakota, the areas where you drive for miles and see no one. The farmhouses were far apart, and when he drove into a yard to look at their cattle, the families were thrilled for the company. Because they lived with more seclusion than the average, they were ready to engage in lively conversation. Dad found North Dakotans to have an acute appreciation for people, an independence and self-sufficiency that grew out of necessity, an optimism that was pervasive.
He cannot be moved from this opinion. He is now 80, and still loves everyone from Dakota that he meets.
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That is sure true about the North Dakotans I know. 8) Especially the appreciation for people and the optimism. It makes sense that their independence grew out of necessity. Such a harsh climate. It was fun to talk about North Dakota and remember visiting Liz’s home with her, seeing the rolling hills that make up the land in western North Dakota. The wind never stopped blowing. Always a breeze. And you could see forever.
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[…] they sign my books. Or when our Poetry and Meditation Group receives a card from Billy Collins, Gary Soto, or Robert […]
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