Poetic License

Published June 22, 2009 at 1:07 p.m.

West Hartford's great municipal nightmare is over! - we have a new "Poet Laureate".
You can be relieved that we will not have to lift another latte in town without some poetic words to utter.

According to definition - "A Poet Laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events."...In the case of West Hartford, our Town's Poet Laureate is expected to sponsor readings each year and to promote poetry in town. Don't worry though - it's not a paid position (at least not yet).

West Hartford News reported

Dennis Barone, English professor, director of the American Studies program at St. Joseph College and the author of 14 books, was named the second West Hartford Poet Laureate in the town's history last week.
Out of seven nominations, he was selected by committee and will serve a two-year term.

He replaces West Hartford's two term Poet Laureate (and also the Town's first), Maria Sassi, who accepted the position in 2005.

Councilwoman Shari Cantor was given credit for spending the last few years spearheading the effort and responding to the poets in town who initially asked to have a Town Poet Laureate post created. Councilwoman Cantor busied herself with the project of helping to establish this position and brought forth candidates and their work to the Council to fill the position.

Here is a sample of Barone's work:

DOCUDRAMA

A window repairman came to repair a window
where a bird had flown into it and broke it.
The next day another bird met its match on the window’s mate.

Poetry is the absence of insurance.

In another room another man spoke about a woman
in a language that could not be understood and he
kept close count of his pulse as he struck the ivory
keys on an out of tune piano and remembered.

Poetry is the absence of insurance.

Well, as they say, Chacun à son goût (to each his own taste), and for this critic it looks like in this case poetry might also be the absence of coherence.

Of course, Talk of West Hartford has another suggested poetic submission for your consideration: (not penned by TOWH, but by a reader who hopes you will take it with intended tongue in cheek)

There once was a councilor named Cantor
Who enjoyed hearing poetic banter
“The town should get classy
“So let’s go get Sassi
“The first poet laureate,” said Cantor

Sassi visited school after school
Did the students think her poems were cool?
When she read, some would weep
And the rest were asleep
Which was all just incredibly cruel.

After two terms the town called her hence,
“When you started we thought you made sense
“But ‘Rooted in Stars’
Sounds like it’s from Mars
We’re revoking your poetic license!”

A crisis befell the town hall
“For poems now who will we call?”
While the town’s budget waited
The council debated
The next poet they should install

At St. Joseph’s Dennis Barone,
Was an English Professor unknown
He adjusted his glasses
And said “Hold my classes!
“There’s a call on my cellular phone!”

“It’s Cantor here, the town has the blues,
“A new poet we have to choose”
He accepted the job
Of head poet snob
With a write-up in West Hartford News

“Let West Hartford worry no more!
“Have I got some poems in store
“And thanks to my labors
“We’ll show off to our neighbors
“Those Avon and Simsbury bores!”

We know that the job is part time
And what’s more it pays not a dime
But you get what you pay for
If the town would just pay more
Then maybe his poems would rhyme

Congratulations to Mr. Barone and appropriate thanks to Councilwoman Cantor...A West Hartford townwide haiku competition might now just become reality!


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