As co-editor of Poetry of Presence I take tremendous joy in hearing how readers are using the anthology. This story, gleaned by serendipity from Facebook, really brightened my day:
Cheryl Hale works in the activity department at One MacDonough Place, an assisted living facility in Middletown, CT. “I read poems from this anthology to the residents where I work. It’s such an inspiring, positive collection.”
One of the activities they offer the residents “is a program for expressing oneself through poetry. Sometimes we have them write with prompts and sometimes we share poetry with them. I love your book … as the collection of poems has examples from such a wide range of poets, with the focus being on mindfulness and being present in each moment. They enjoy it, as do I. Thank you!”
Cheryl says that one of her role models at the facility is named Phyllis. “[She] writes, paints, participates in literally everything, [and] will be 104 in a couple of weeks! Here she is, after I read her `Sifter’ [by Naomi Shihab Nye]. She is awesome, and always up for anything new!”
Cheryl and Phyllis, I’ll be up in CT with my co-editor Ruby Wilson in a couple of weeks to do (among other fun things) a reading organized by Ginny Connors, publisher of Grayson Books. Maybe we’ll just swing by One MacDonough Place to greet you and celebrate a 104th birthday! In the meantime, continue enjoying the anthology and writing your own poems.
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