[W.F. Lantry]

Hey, folks,

I write to describe one of the most pleasurable evenings of poetry I've attended in quite a while. The occasion was the String Poet Award Ceremony, which took place at the Long Island Violin Shop in Huntington, New York, on Friday. James, Kate, and I attended, along with Shirley, Kate's mother. We spent much of the day in Fairfield, Kate's hometown, and braved the weekend traffic. The journey was an event in itself.

But we arrived safely and on time to a small artsy town of some little charm. We were greeted at the door by the editor of the journal, Annabelle Moseley, and her husband, Mark. She's quite an accomplished poet in her own right, having just won an award from Fairfield University, with five chapbooks to her credit, a full-length collection coming out soon, and even a feature last month in the New York Times. She'll also be reading at West Chester, as part of the Mezzo Cammin panel. She did everything imaginable to make us feel welcomed and comfortable- the entire event was marked by charm, grace, dignity, and good poetry. And music, of course...

The reading itself took place in a large room set up for piano and violin, and was filled to capacity. In fact, we were a tad late getting started, as extra chairs had to be found. Annabelle gave an introduction for each poet reading, and no poet could hope for a better intro: each was elegant, measured, tasteful, thoughtful, refined and accurate. The judge of the contest, Patricia Fargnoli, read first, then we had a brief intermission.

To dispense with any false suspense: no, we didn't win, or even place. We were merely mentioned, albeit honorably. But it didn't matter: I did get to read one poem, and was well received. Winning honors went to Pramila Venkateswaran. George H. Northrup and Francine Sterle placed. Barbara Crooker was also mentioned honorably. Pramila's poem was set to music by Beth Anderson, who played the composition in duet with David Hong.

During the intermission, the first issue of the String Poet journal went live, to no little fanfare. It really is an excellent debut, with Kim Bridgford, Leslie Mansour, and Rhina Espaillat, along with many other worthies. Belenna Mesa Lauto contributes art, and Beth Anderson is the featured musician. Oh, and I have three poems there as well.

In short, it truly was a delightful evening. If you're not too far away, you really should try to catch one of the upcoming performances: more music and poetry in June, Fishman in July, Rhina in August: http://www.stringpoet.com/category/studio-series/

Thanks,

Bill