Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on May 5, 2016.

When poet Jack Callan asked fellow-poet Judith Stevens to marry him, she said yes, but asked him to make her a promise. Marriage meant that Stevens would move from Virginia Beach to Callan’s home in Norfolk, and she wanted him to agree take her back to her beloved Seashore State Park to hike on a regular basis.

“Okay, but I can top that. I’ll take you to Floyd,” Callan told her.

Callan, who is also an artist and a building contractor, first came to Floyd 20 years ago to visit a friend. In Floyd, he met and made friends with artist and past Floyd resident David Compton, which sealed the deal for his connection to Floyd, Callan said.

Years later, after Compton had moved away, Callan still came to Floyd a few times a year, timing his visits to attend the monthly Spoken Word Open Mics that took place at the Café Del Sol, where Dogtown Roadhouse is now located. On a tip, he camped along the Little River on Thunderstruck Road during one of his visits to the county. One evening while camping, writing poetry and painting, Daniel Sowers, owner of On the Water’s kayaking and canoeing business, pulled up to see what he was doing. They struck up a friendship and Sowers invited Callan to camp on his family’s land, adjacent to the river.

That was the beginning of Callan’s ongoing relationship with poetry and Floyd, which produced a body of work that includes the poem “Fields of Daniel,” and a book, titled Little River on The Milky Way.

Callan and Stevens, who also teaches yoga, met at a poetry reading. In the six years that they have known each other, they’ve been coming to Floyd whenever they can. Stevens “instantly fell in love with Floyd,” Callan said. One day, about three years ago, while kayaking down the river, they were struck by the presence of a large overhanging rock. It looked like a natural amphitheater, and they both thought it would be a great place to bring poet friends for poetry readings. They tested the acoustics, ideas started flowing and that was when the vision of the Little River Poetry Festival was born.

The couple belongs to a strong poetry community in the Norfolk area. When Callan became the vice president of The Poetry Society of Virginia, he was asked to host events. Although he no longer holds the position, he continues to host events that he founded and has added some new ones. Together, Callan and Stevens host regular Open Mic Nights at the Chrysler Museum of Art. They feature readers every two months at their local Farmers Market, host a longtime monthly poetry salon at their home and weekly poetry workshops with seniors at the retirement community where Stevens works.

Scheduled for the weekend of June 10 -12, the Little River Poetry Festival is a natural fit and an extension of what Callan and Stevens already do. Featuring readings, workshops, open mics, music, kayaking, hiking, morning yoga and meditations, the festival will alternate between daytime activities at On the Water on Thunderstruck Road and evening programs at the Floyd Friends Meeting House (where the couple are members) on Christiansburg Pike. Food and primitive camping will be available onsite. Area artists are invited to set up booths for $25 for the weekend and showcase their work with a new audience of first-time Floyd visitors.

Featured readers, well known in The Poetry Society, will be coming from all over the state and include Jill Winkowski, Tanya Cunningham, Toni Wynn, Andrew Cain and more. Callan and Stevens will also be reading. On Saturday, there will be a kayak trip where attendees can write poetry during the river paddle and read by the overhanging rock that inspired the festival. A hike to Buffalo Mountain on Sunday promises to be an inspirational place for writing and sharing poetry.

The festival is open to everyone, beginner and established poets, as well as those who just want to listen, learn and enjoy. Callan encourages attendees to bring notebooks and try their hands at telling their personal stories through poetry. He has been known to ask audience members after featured readings to pick a poet out and, if they liked their poem, tell them, which usually results in stimulating conversations and connections. He also facilitates questions and answers after readings that build interactive interest.

Callan and Stevens expect to have readings from local students on the program, as well as poetry accompanied by the cello. They will be bringing their energetic spirits and love for the arts to the festival, Callan said. He expressed his appreciation to all the people who have stepped up to help with festival planning. Excited to share his love of poetry, the Little River and the Sowers land around it, he said, “It feels like I’m inviting poets into my other living room.” – Colleen Redman

Post Notes: Festival hours are Friday, June 10 from 3 p.m. – 10 p.m. – Saturday June 11 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost per person is $90 per person and $55 without the kayak trip. Day passes are $15 on Friday and Sunday, and $25 on Saturday. Walk-ins are welcome. Primitive camping is $10 a night or patrons can book reservations at any of Floyd’s local lodgings. Festival registrations can be made at the festival website, littleriverpoetryfest.com, or by contacting Callan or Stevens at 1-757-622-8721. Poet bios and daily schedules will be posted on the webpage. The Little River Poetry Festival is also on Facebook.

   1. Jack Callan stands by the rock overhang that inspired the first Little River Poetry Festival in Floyd. He was in the county recently to deliver the 6 ½ by 8 ½ elevated stage that he built for the festival. Seating will be arranged in a semi circle around the stage for an intimate reading experience, he said.  2. A scene from On the Water at 2053 Thunderstruck Road, where the festival will begin Friday, June 10, at 3:00 p.m. 3. Jack and Judith at Floyd’s Art on the Parkway in 2011.  Read more about that HERE.