Loose Leaf Notes

A record number of first time readers and poets of all ages and levels of experience filled the large striped festival tent and took to the mic to share poetic humor, comradery and emotional depth on a wide range of topics.

“Poets scratch below the surface and give each other permission to be in that profound and meaningful space,” said featured reader Zeina Azzam after being introduced to the stage by festival co-founder Judith Stevens.

Azzam, who is the Poet Laureate of Alexandria Va read from her book Bayna Bayna, which reflects her experience as a daughter of Palestinian refugee parents and refers to the in-between, “between home and exile, language and culture…”

More than 20 Saturday morning kayakers shared river poems under the large overhanging rock (dubbed “the amphitheater”), where festival founders and poets Jack Callan and Judith Stevens first conceived of the poetry festival.

Poet/musician Jim Best turned his kayaking experience into a haiku …The traffic of lists / would not fit in my kayak / Now the river sings… during a Haiku Workshop led by Katherine Chantal. Chantal, who read from her book A Year of Haiku: Saying More with Less described writing in haiku form as her awareness practice.

Another workshop, led by Colleen Redman, was on instructive poetry with a prompt title “How To.” The workshop resulted in poets sharing on-the-spot poems with titles like How to Say Goodbye (Zeina Azzam) and How to Write a Poem while a Spider is Staring at You (Trevor Huffman). Izzy Beasley began her poem How to Make Art with the line “Turn your pain into paint.”                                                                                                                                       

Returning reader and former Floyd County teacher Sharon Wood, shared some new mountain stories, including a comical one titled Studying Ancestry with Grandma, an account of a family with too many shared names and a punchline about one named Polly Aster, who was indignant when asked if she was named after polyester.

Don MacKeller, a LRPF regular who traveled to the festival from Santa Fe, New Mexico, read a poem that referenced a white cotton shirt from Nepal that he wore kayaking on Little River. …It’s stained with sunblock / but still quite white enough to for the ghost dance / that so far hasn’t managed to bring anyone back /from wherever death has taken them.

Two duo readings done in back-and-forth conversation style were performed by mother and daughter Jamie Williams and Cas Horn and by long-time friends Chantal and Redman, whose thematic series on soulful aging was emotional but not without humor.

An ensemble performance, titled If I Could Dream, showcased the work of five poets, Thayer Cory (with Lisa Cooper reading for Cory), Eric Forsbergh, Karen Kendall, Judith Stevens and Jack Callan.

Sunday afternoon, a collaborative and improvisational free-style rap was performed by four young women, and was a highlight that brought the audience to rousing applause. The women, Krista Gerber, Izzy Beasley, Vanna Barbarian and Coral Kendall, did not know each other before the festival.

Impromptu song, including throat singing by Brian Magill, was part of the program, as was music by Magill on a gender’ barung Javanese percussion instrument and Jim Best on hang drum. Stevens led Walt Whitman Gentle Yoga each morning and guided attendees in a closing meditation Sunday afternoon.

For the final open Mic on Sunday, a first-time poet from Virginia Beach shared a playful poem about her festival experience. …So many laugh lines upon these faces / So much freedom, plenty of space / Bandana and Vanna / Here I lie with all this tie dye / Bubbles and brisket / I’m sure gonna miss it…

Jenna Veazey, a Fredericksburg member of the Poetry Society of Virginia, summed up her experience, “I’m so glad I came and am excited to come again. I love the open mic experience. I love being in community with poets. And I just love the outdoors, camping and kayaking. ______Colleen Redman

Photos: 1. The Little River Poetry tent. 2. Star LaBranche was one of the featured readers on Friday. 3. Linda Ankrah-Dove PSV member from Harrisonburg read from her latest manuscript, which included the poem “Walking the Bridge” that includes a tribute line to the late John Lewis. 4. Zeina Azzam, the Poet Laureate of the city of Alexandria, reads on stage. 5. The audience applauds a reading. 6. Lunch in the meadow.7. Trevor Huffman read a poem at Friday’s Open Mic titled “This is Not a Pretty Poem,” which was written with alliterations of the letter P. 8. Sharon Wood shares poetry and stories from her autobiographical fiction “Uncle Web.” 9. Saturday’s poets pose for a group picture. 10. Mother and daughter poetry duo, Cas Horne and Jamie Williams. 11. Colleen Redman (left) and Katherine Chantal read their Grief and Relief Soulful Aging 12. Krista Gerber, Izzy Beasley, Vanna Barbarian and Coral Kendall pose after performing an improvisational free style rap. 13. Brian Magill playing a gender’ barung Javanese percussion instrument. 14. Judith Stevens leads poets in a closing meditation. 15. Poetry Society of Virginia member Jenna Veazey reads a poem titled “Red Flags Your Partner Might Not Be Emotionally Available to You.” 16. Time out for bubbles.

Watch more videos HERE.  Put “LRPF” in this blogs search bar (upper right hand corner) to read about past festivals since  the beginning.