Loose Leaf Notes

-After a neurological diagnosis

The first time I remember involuntarily swooning
was on a plane to or from my brother Jim’s funeral
to or from sitting with my brother Dan
when he died a few weeks after we buried Jim

But I swooned before that
when I fell hard on the gym floor
fainting at the age of 13
I was already a body rocker
slamming on car seats and couches
ignoring the complaints of my brothers and sisters

I never rode the Roller Coaster at Paragon Park
The Rotor and Tilt-a-Whirl made me sick
I made up tricks to know my right from left
and algebra gave me a seizure aura

I lost my balance in a poker game
while practicing to fold
Everyone was playing with a 52-card deck
while I was playing with 30
on a good day

I followed behind my mother
walking in Provincetown
Her every shuffled step
was a thought-out decision

When she was 90 she said
“I don’t fall, I put myself down”
She would have been happy then
to be carried up and down the stairs

I said, “I’m clumsy unless I’m dancing
like a stutterer who stutters until they sing”
I was thrown a curve ball
that I couldn’t catch
I was left sidelined for the long haul

I laid low and shook a leg
I took a detour and started over
When I hit a nerve in a dizzy spin
I said, “No one will ever
take my car keys away
I’ll gladly turn them in”

_________Colleen Redman / dVerse Poets Pub  /  Poets and Storytellers United

1. Only once in nine years did I make it early enough to hear the Little River Poetry Festival kayakers read from the rock amphitheater on the river, but I did make it to the 7 Voices Poetry Ensemble at 10 a.m. on Sunday, the last day of the festival.

2. Curated by festival co-founder Jack Callan, who was joined this year by Krista Gerber, Erika Joyner, Rachel Anne Morris, Jamie Williams and Judith Stevens, the ensemble was titled Hiding the Evidence.

3. Poets, like Krista Gerber and Jamie Williams, tell it like it is.

4. Jack Callan and Rachel Anne Morris read.

5. Erika Joyner, wonders “Maybe I’m not a wimpy guy?”

6. Cas Horne reads I Dreamt of Doomsday.

7. The readings concluded with a poem by Jack, Five Broken Cameras, a riveting story of a Palestinian Cameraman, read by the ensemble.

8. Meanwhile a late morning Open Mic was a highlight. Don MacKeller knocked it out of the park with his slam poem on the atomic bomb, wait for it, among other things.

9. “Before the eating disorder res or during” Coral Kendall asked the audience to choose. They chose during.

10. I read my newest poem The Curve Ball: I said, “I’m clumsy unless I’m dancing / like a stutterer who stutters until they sing” / I was thrown a curve ball / that I couldn’t catch / I was left sidelined for the long haul…

11. A first-time reader shared “For the Water Protectors,” reflecting on a very real local threat.

12. How to get creative? I don’t k now the name of Trevor Huffman’s poem, but I’m calling it The Alphabet of Drugs: MDMA, Money, Dealing, Multiple Arrests… or More Dead Minority Americans.

13. Always up for some comic relief, Judith reads a poem on how Jack swallowed a wasp, called No Wine Before its Time.

– Thanks to Jack and Judith for their mentoring and hosting, and to  all the poets and audience members. We hope to see you next year! June 6 – 8. Check out the Little River Poetry Festival’s Facebook page for information. Little River Poetry Festival Friday is HERE. Saturday is HERE.  Thirteen Thursday

Lovingly tended and attended for nine years now, the festival is in full bloom and its seeds are spreading far and wide.

What can I say? Every year, we say ‘best yet’ but this year really did top them all. On Saturday morning 20+ poets kayaked down the river writing poems while 20+ and more poets stayed in the tent to participate in an Ekphrastic Workshop with Scott Hough (writing poems about Sean’s works of art). More poets and poetry lovers filtered in throughout the day.

The workshop and kayaking were followed by an Open Mic. We had a strong crowd of young people and the most ever first time readers.

I met Patti Ross whose poem about why she doesn’t like Black History Month blew us all away. She also had something important to stay about the state or our libraries back during de-segregation and today.

Dorian North confused us with his accent. He moved from England to Australia as a boy, and then back to England, so it made for an interesting mix. He read a  humorous poem from a prompt his wife gave him: Don’t Lick Lamp Posts in Winter.

Katherine Chantal read a poem about a swan familiar who graced her recent daily life during her solo pilgrimage to County Mayo, Ireland, where she lived for a month.

When I had the mic, I joked about how Jerry Seinfeld is my latest guru, an irreverent who recently stated his idea of three things for a successful life: Transcendental Meditation, lifting weights and expresso! Poet Linda Doves shares her wisdom of cultivating a good life in the above video clip.

First time attendee, historic fiction writer Nancy spoke about how welcoming the festival was before reading a passage from the book she is working on. She said, “I think of poets as abstract painters.  I’ve heard that novelists are failed poets because it takes a novelists a few 100 pages to express the same thing it takes a poet to say in a few lines.”

Edith Blake read a tribute poem to her late poet husband William Blake, and then she read one of William’s published poems. She said she never even heard the phone ringing during her reading.  Sadly, it was mine but I couldn’t bear to interrupt her flow by putting my camera down to turn it off.  William’s picture, by the way, was on the front page of The Floyd Press via a 2017 story I wrote about the festival. With a name like that, it was inevitable.

So many connections and conversations were had at lunch time. Poets don’t tend to shy away from going deep.

And then there was a collage haiku workshop with Becky Patterson.

We all got busy creating

and sharing our final products.

Coral Kendall’s latest painting gave me visceral reactions. I was absorbed in its world and told her that sitting and taking it in was as therapeutic as I imagined it was for her to paint. When she turned it upside down, I saw how much I resist change, but then I adjusted and saw it as whole new painting.

Friday’s Poetry Festival coverage is HERE. Next up, Scenes from Sunday, including photos and videos of Jack Callan and Friends’ Poetry Ensemble, Hiding the Evidence. Feel free to type “Little River Poetry Festival” in my blog search bar (on the right) to read about past festivals.  I’ve been to all nine and for most of those I covered it for the local Floyd Press newspaper. HERE is the first story I wrote about the coming first Little River Poetry Festival in 2016.

When I arrived at the 9^th annual Little River Poetry festival Friday Toni Britton was reading poems under the big tent to an attentive audience.

LRPF founders Judith and Jack set the stage with words of welcome.

Poets reunited with hugs and conversation while lunch was being set up by the crew at Floyd’s Outer Space.

After nine years, it felt like no time had passed or like a reoccurring dream. Some things were the same and some were different

There were old friends and new faces. Our friend Robert surprised us with a visit.

Katherine and I premiered the new collection in our Soulful Aging duo reading series: Fairy Godmother’s Midnight and the Art of Archetypes.

The set started at the enchanting beginning with “Once Upon a Time,” which was dedicated to Joe who was taking pictures. Katherine followed with Fairy Tales, Folk Tales and Stories, Oh My!

“This poem needs to be read with your shoes off,” I said before reading The School of Higher Learning, a coming of age poem with a focus on my Irish heritage.

Katherine conjured her recent enchanting pilgrimage to Ireland and our friend Sarah (1st time festival reader/pictured center) read a poem about Ireland, where she lived for a time.

Robert came out to hear Katherine and I read but stayed for a workshop with Krista and Rachel.

They used Tarot cards as a bridge for poetry collaborations and some really interesting poems were created.

The workshop was followed by a rousing Open Mic, a favorite mainstay of the festival.

It was really heartwarming to see first time festival readers share their work.

Here’s a new festival reader reading from his poem in the Floyd-based literary and art journal, Artemis. We love Artemis!

Our friend Izzy sang a sweet original song. She is also selling her artwork at the festival.

And the poets have new books to sell every five minutes, says Gina in her tongue-and-cheek poem.

This couple read a back-and-forth duet. I wish I could have video-taped it but it was too dark. Thanks to Jack for the improv lighting. More to come at the Little River Poetry Festival (check out their Facebook page) today and Sunday at On the Water Outfitters,  2053 Thunderstruck Road. Come on down.  Poet kayakers are writing poems in kayaks as we speak. Facebook HD photo album coming soon – Colleen Redman

Springhouse students shared talks and slide shows with an enthusiastic audience for Community Presentation Night 2024.

Presentations topics outlined some of the school’s features and included talks on school trips, screen printing in the school Print Shop, community dance, mentoring, and land stewardship.

Senior Capstone Presentations included reviews of school highlights, sharings of personal growth and post graduate plans.

It was also the tenth anniversary of the intergenerational school with a focus on Economic Sustainability, Local and Global Vitalization, Network Building, Environmental Accountability and Storytelling.

Springhouse’s initial founders Ezekiel Fugate, Joe Klein and current executive director Jenny Finn were honored at the event. Head of school Sarah Stabler introduced the trio of founders who launched the school ten years ago with the support of  Kamala Bauers and Jack Wall.

“Education is the vehicle through which a culture passes down skills, practices, and values from one generation to the next,” the school’s webpage reads.  It describes the school’s vitality-centered approach as a means to honor life’s regenerative power through intentional community practices and a unique curriculum that teaches us how to take better care of all life.

The school is hosting a live music event in downtown Floyd on Saturday, June 22, 6pm to 9. Everyone is welcome! – Follow Springhouse on Facebook and HERE. 

1. Jerry Seinfeld’s Three Keys to a Successful Life: transcendental meditation, lifting weights and expresso

2. A new take on ‘you should get our head examined’ – A brain MRI.

3. Our brains function more like computer algorithms than we think. The more we think about something, the more our brains give us more of that.

4. I don’t know how to explain this: I don’t know why, but I kept getting pictures of ram horn skulls following me on my computer and then they started showing up in my real life. I’d see pictures of them in stores, on trucks and in magazines.

5. Can you say ‘Pan-tooof-elz?’ It’s a new bistro in town, an addition to Cocoa Mia with French inspired cuisine.

6. The bistro owner told us that its name is a reference to the 2000 movie Chocolat. The main character’s daughter had an imaginary friend named Pantoufle, which is French for ‘slipper.’

7. DJ Request by Sp_ce Boy – Lights by Stephen Wallace.

8. Springhouse students shared talks and slide shows with an enthusiastic audience for Community Presentation Night 2024. It was the school’s 10th anniversary and Joe was honored at the event as one of the founders of the school.

9. From Joe’s Recovery Dojo creation, his self-designed job with New River Valley Community Services for the past eight years: “This program treats the whole person with therapeutic interventions and skills training that target the causes and solutions to addictive habits at the levels of the body, brain, and mind” Klein adds. “Participants are shown how to begin engaging in daily habits of self-care that nourish their bodies, stabilize their brain chemistry and help them resolve cravings to use substances.”

10. Morning Poet – I gather ingredients / before I cook / Like a humming bird, I flit / from one untried recipe / to tools of the trade / as if I was building a nest / More Morning Musings HERE.

11. It’s like riding a bike.

12. Before 500 BCE, religion and poetry was largely the same thing. People did not presume to be able to define the Mystery. They looked for words that could describe the mystery. Poetry doesn’t claim to be a perfect description as dogma foolishly does. It’s a “hint half guessed,” to use T. S. Eliot’s phrase. That’s why poetry seduces you and entices you into being a searcher for the Mystery yourself. It creates the heart leap, the gasp of breath, inspiring you to go further and deeper; you want to fill in the blanks for yourself.  -Richard Rohr

It’s Mountain Laurel time on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

__________Thirteen Thursday

Fairy Godmother’s Midnight and the Art of Archetype is the newest installment in the Soulful Aging poetry reading tour that Katherine Chantal and Colleen Redman have been doing since the winter of 2022 at various regional venues. They will be presenting this latest call-and-response reading at the Little River Poetry Festival (On the Water Outfitters 2053 Thunderstruck Rd. Floyd) on Friday at 7 pm, following a homecooked on-site dinner.

Colleen says: “My introduction into the world of archetypes came when I was a girl by way of fairytales and nursery rhymes. To this day Rumpelstiltskin and the Snow Queen repeatedly show up in my poetry.  Fairytales gave me access into an inner life. The themes played out in fairytales – fate, survival, temptation, loss, courage, fear, and perseverance – are all the ingredients that make for good storytelling. Stories mirror life and give insight into the underpinnings of it.”

  … Now the hour is closing in / like it did for Cinderella / I know the shoe fits / and the future is your prince… – Colleen

Fairy tales have been a strong part of Katherine’s upbringing and have been influential and inspirational throughout her life. She says, “Folk tales, myths, archetypes bring a depth, a richness, to the fabric of living a soulful path, enchanting each day of the mystery.” She has a section in her latest poetry collection called Heroes and Heroines.

As the heroine bows / To the holy grail / That contains all / She does not know / A transcending doorway / Unmarked / Illusive / Even as it beckons / An unsent invitation / She has been waiting for / From the never ending / Ever after… Katherine

Katherine and Colleen will draw from the poems in their latest poetry books, which can be found on Amazon by searching their names. The Little River Poetry festival begins on Friday May 31st at 1 pm and ends on Sunday June 2 at 3 pm. It includes open mics, workshops, featured readings and nature excursions for $20 a day. Drop-ins are welcome and Sunday is free for Floyd Countians. More about the Little River Poetry Festival at 2053 Thunderstruck Rd. Floyd, Virginia, including a schedule for the three-day event, can be found on Facebook.

-Note- The photo above was taken of Women of the 7the Veil improv poetry troupe (Jane Avery, Colleen Redman and Katherine Chantal) at Altared Space in the late ’90s I’m guessing.

“It’s hard to talk to trees. We’re not big on chit chat. That’s not to say we can’t do amazing things, things you’ll probably never do. Cradle downy owlets. Steady flimsy tree forts. Photosynthesize. But talk to people? Not so much.” – From Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on May 23, 2024.  Seating reservations filled up fast to meet award winning author Katherine Applegate at the Jessie Peterman Memorial library on May 1st. Applegate, a New York Times bestseller and Newberry Medal recipient, is the author of more than 150 books, including Wishtree, a 2017 book for young readers that recently got pulled from a One Division, One Book community reading by the Floyd County School public school system after complaints regarding the story’s narrator, a 200-year-old talking, self-pollinating monoecious red oak.

During the first of two one-hour-long presentations that included a slideshow and questions from an engaged audience of nearly 100, Applegate talked about what it was like to be a writer.  She explained that writers see things from a different perspective.  “I had to pretend to be a gorilla to write about a talking gorilla,” she said, referring to her book The One and Only Ivan, which was made into a Disney film.

Children, many of whom were middle-school aged and had read Wishtree, were a well-represented part of Applegate’s audience, and she spoke directly to them throughout the presentation.  She explained that a wishing tree is an ancient tradition of writing down your wishes for yourself, others or the world and hanging them from a tree, which the children were able to do from a tree on the library grounds.

Applegate noted that the inspiration for Wishtree’s theme of community driven change came from Iowa newspaper story, which began “A racist note telling a Sudanese-American family in Iowa City to “go home” has led to an outpouring of support from the community.” Her book, which one New York Times reviewer called “a deceptively simple, tender tale in which respect, resilience, and hope triumph,” includes writing from the point of view of the red oak’s animal friends.

At the close of the presentation and before a long line formed for book signing, Applegate asked the children to share their wishes. They included: having a sister, wanting all people to be safe, wishing no one was sick and world peace.

“There are lots of ways kids can be heroes,” Applegate told the children. “One way is to be welcoming and kind,” she said. – Colleen Redman

Photos: 1. Author Katherine Applegate’s gave a warm and  humorous presentation at the Jessie Peterman Library on May 1st. 2. Applegate gave two library presentations to audiences of 75-100 and spoke to students at the Blue Mountain School before the presentations.  3. Children were a well-represented part of the audience. 4. The children, many of whom had read Wishtree, were happy to engage with the author. 5. “Reading is a joy. Books are a joy,” said Mary Crook (left), a Library of Defense League of Virginia member who came from Richmond to attend. 6. Applegate’s humor drew laughs from the crowd. Librarians were honored with applause. 7. Applegate talked with attendees as she signed books.  8. Isaac Ally’s wish “for the world to be a rainbow” was hung on the library wish tree with the help of his mother Jodi.  9. A wish for “all to feel welcome.”

Late Fee

Like an unpaid bill
I’ll dig deep to pay
The empty page
is a final notice

Enticement

Multi-flora rose hovers
like an overprotective mother
It fills the yard with a thorny love
with a fragrance that belies
its encroachment

Unconditional Love

I love the red cardinal
but not its behavior
Like a child in tantrum
it throws itself
against my window reflection
I call time out

Morning Poet

I gather ingredients
before I cook
Like a humming bird, I flit
from one untried recipe
to tools of the trade
as if I was building a nest

_______Colleen Redman / Poets and Storytellers United

1. If you can’t celebrate your triple goddess May birthday with your two friends because your recovering from dental surgery and one of the goddesses lives in Maine, you might have a small house party and share your gourmet carrot cake with family.

2. You might have live music.

3. I celebrated my birthday with my grandson Bryce who turned 16 on May 14.  He drove up from Roanoke on his learners permit with Joe. My son, Bryce’s dad, joined us too.

4. On the count of three, we blew out the candles. My wish was that my mouth would be healed by the next day and that I could eat without pain and in particular could eat ice cream (not yet) to go with the cake.

5. “hears” has “ears” right in the word.

6. I hope some of THESE wishes came true! -From a Leave Your Wish After the Beep 2005 blog post.

7. Past blog posts with Wish in the title: Make a Wish, The Death Wish, Wish You Were Here: Floydfest ’09, Should I Wish for a Head?, Three Wishes

8. Rupert Spira on Synchronicity: “Even though synchronicity may seem mysterious from the perspective of individual awareness, it is an inevitable consequence of the fact that everything is connected. It is not that consciousness is working it out – it occurs naturally. ‘Although the individual may perceive their mind and the world as separate, they are, in fact, manifestations of the one indivisible mind. So, for example, when we have a deep, sincere longing in our hearts, the world will appear in a way that meets that longing.” More HERE

9. You sat with me for hours / when I was on a medicine journey / but not when I had 46 stitches in my mouth / not when I kept a stainless bowl by my bed / because the nausea was that bad…

10. “My chin and jaw are swollen / I look like Jay Leno,” I joked / “I couldn’t get those instant cold packs to work / So I held a bag of frozen corn on my face” / Now I’m here with lots of time / to think and feel / and the hurt is so real / they gave me painkillers – Read Are You Alright? in its entirety HERE.

11. Here I am (far right) at work, covering an event at the library on THIS amazing author for The Floyd Press (photo by Mara). Katherine Applegate graciously came to Floyd after the local school board  suspended a One Division, One Book community reading of her book Wishtree following complaints that the middle-grade novel depicts a monoecious red oak, a tree with reproductive parts that can pollinate and flower simultaneously. I’ll post the story on Thursday if the paper doesn’t because they’ve it for several weeks now.

12. Recent Publishers Weekly Headline: In Virginia, Censors Attempt to Axe ‘Wishtree’ –More HERE.

13. “When a flower doesn’t bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” – Alexander Den Heijer

_______Thirteen Thursday

-The following was written by Judith Stevens, Little River Poetry Festival co-founder, pictured on the right with fellow co-founder Jack Callan and first appeared in The Floyd Press on 5/16/24

Who could have guessed 9 years ago that Floyd Festival co-founder, Jack Callan, formerly of Norfolk, Virginia, would be living on the side of a mountain in Floyd and slowly transforming his Sandy Flats Road property into a thing of beauty? Answer: Anyone who knew him!

This year’s Festival promises to be the best one yet, Friday, May 31st through Sunday, June 2. And the stage does not have to be brought from six hours away; it’s now right up the road from the Festival site in the meadow of the Sowers’ 250-acre farm at 2053 Thunderstruck Road. Follow the signs and look for the striped tent!

Who knew what a wonderful mingling of writers and poets from as far away as New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina and Alaska would appear and bring their gifts to this weekend gathering? Members of the Poetry Society of Virginia come from around the state to read, present poetry workshops, and share new work. First-time poets come to listen and then shyly read their work in the 6 Open Mics offered throughout the weekend. Floyd teachers and local poets bring a special flavor each year.

(Sunday is “Free Floyd Day,” a thank you to the town of Floyd. Anyone from Floyd comes for free and can sign up to read or simply listen.) We’ve had authors share segments of their new books and family research. We’ve had storytellers and teachers introduce new children’s books and a local young Floyd student recite from memory Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Bells.”

Each year brings new delights. So if you have a hankering to be in the beautiful outdoors with a group of loving, inclusive, creative people, who accept you as you are, come on down to “On the Water Outfitters.” Jump in a kayak with us on Saturday morning and paddle down the Little River, writing poetry as you float. Tie up at the large natural rock amphitheater downstream and read your poem to an appreciative audience on the riverbank while Chinese gongs mark each poetic offering.

Or come early and plan to go horseback riding with experienced horsewoman Jansen Sowers. Groups of 3 riders for each 2-hour session will share in the beauty of this 4th generation family farm. As Jansen says, “Some of Floyd’s best views are seen from a saddle.”

Try gentle yoga in the tent each morning. Bring your yoga mat, your favorite lawn chair (for when you want to opt out with the “Lawn Chair Clause,”) and layers of clothing for hot days and cool nights around an outdoor fire. Flashlights are helpful, as are two pairs of tennis shoes or rubber rainboots for heavy morning dew, and a blanket for snuggling.

A new infusion of young poets has brought renewed energy and a fresh outlook to the Festival. High school, home-schooled and college students have discovered poetry, and in so doing, have discovered themselves.

We’re on our own for breakfast in the field or in town, but lunches and dinners are being catered by one of Floyd’s best-loved chefs. Barb Gillespie, owner of “Grateful Bread,” and Floyd’s famous outdoor eatery, “Outer Space,” is offering healthy, tasty homemade meals to please vegetarians and carnivores alike, with a nod to the gluten-free. We eat together at picnic tables in the meadow.

Hotel Floyd, Oak Haven Lodge and many excellent B & B’s offer lodging. For $10 per night, you can pitch a tent and experience primitive camping in the meadow. (Free parking for campers, RVs and Festival-goers.) Beth Simpson Huddleston will be back home in Floyd with new books, her Floyd illustrators, Allison and Cappy, and her Aunt Hilda “Red” Harmon, who is hard at work on her own memoir. Returning poets include Colleen Redman and Katherine Chantal (Floyd). Copper Hill’s Scott Haugh will present an Ekphrastic workshop on Saturday. Richmond poet/artists Joanna Lee, (Poetry Society of Virginia’s Central Regional Vice-President) and Dave and Rebecca Patteson return to read, lead workshops, and share their new poems. Poets Gina Woodfin, Brian Magill, Edith Blake, and Aimee Futreal, from Williamsburg, Yorktown, Portsmouth and Norfolk, respectively, are back with new work, as are Don MacKellar, Jamie Williams and Cas Horne from out of state. Little River Poetry founders, husband and wife, Jack Callan and Judith Stevens, will be part of the 7-member Poetry Ensemble, “Hiding the Evidence,” presented on Sunday morning, joined by Krista Gerber, (Chesterfield) Erika Joyner and Rachel Anne Morris, (Roanoke) and Cas Horne and Jamie Williams (Pennsylvania).

Meanwhile, on the side of a mountain in Floyd, five colorful outbuildings now dot the hillside like mushrooms after a fresh rain. Jack next turns his artist’s eye and considerable skills to building the house. Stay tuned! We’ll meet you at “Little River!” Note: Check out Little River Poetry Festival on Facebook for a schedule breakdown.

Photos: 1. Jack Callan and Judith Stevens, Litter River Poetry Festival founders. 2. A reader takes to the mic. 3. 2022’s LRPF poets and attendees.  3. Home cooked meals are available at the festival. 4. Festival also feature an ensemble reading. 5. Richmond’s Virginia Poetry Society’s Vice President Joanna Lee. 6. An Engaging audience of poets and poetry lovers enjoy the show.

You sat with me for hours
when I was on a medicine journey
but not when I had 46 stitches in my mouth
not when I kept a stainless bowl by my bed
because the nausea was that bad

My mother delivered tea and toast
on the floor by the couch when I was sick
She sighed like a prison guard
who was overworked and was quickly off
to other concerns

“Enjoy yourself,” you said
before hanging up
and quickly added,
“as much as you can”

“Are you alright,” a friend texted
“I’ve never been “all” right I answered

“Oh my, I hope you’re babying yourself”
another friend texted with hearts and flowers

“My chin and jaw are swollen
I look like Jay Leno,” I joked
“I couldn’t get those instant cold packs to work
So I held a bag of frozen corn on my face”

Now I’m here with lots of time
to think and feel
and the hurt is so real
they gave me painkillers

____________Colleen Redman / Poets and Storytellers United 

/dVerse Poets Pub