Grace Paley Memorial
This Sunday, October 7th, Vermonters will gather to celebrate the life and work of our beloved state poet, who died at her home in Thetford on August 22nd. She was 84. Cora Brooks, David Budbill, Merry Gangemi, Jody Gladding, Major Jackson, Phyllis Larrabee, Jim Schley, Samn Stockwell, Susan Thomas, Ellen Bryant Voigt, and Martha Zweig will read Grace'spoems or poems written for Grace. This is the poem I wrote.
For
Grace is
the imagination
of all those women
Bellows and Malamud
left behind,
the poems
who never
left us
behind.
Her life
lived like the
simmering summers
maples blazing
blizzard thrilling
Yiddish spring
lilt and laughter—
a river of language
her loudest voice—
thriving.
Here is a new myth:
On her way
skyward,
her voice
split the sky
over Vermont Yankee.
Arrested for peace
she was that refusal
to bend to deceit.
She was a woman
searching for
a wild thing—
a bird—
a sweet moment
cogent—
dancing words
resplendent
in the moonlight.
posted by Merry Gangemi | 2:36 AM
1 Comments:
This is going to be such a beautiful event, Merry! I am so glad you organized it and I wish I could be there - but I will be with you in spirit.
Julie
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