Poems in a Major Key

I met Michigan native Jean Anaporte in 1992. I was a student in her advanced creative writing class at West Virginia State University. I remember her walking in--flowing really, her vivid purple skirt fluttering behind her. A shock of almost white hair seemed to be in perpetual motion, even after she stopped moving. She lounged back against her desk and faced the class. She pounded her stomach with her fist and said, "Writing has to be visceral."

Great! I thought. What the heck is visceral? I leaned over and asked a classmate. "From the gut," she hissed. Oh! This was going to be a good class!

Jean is tall, slender, with classic Kathryn Hepburn cheeks. She always wears jewel tones that reflect her inner, vivid character--just like her poems. A full professor, she's still teaching at State, still demanding respect that all divas deserve. I hope to be a diva some day as well, but she has earned the right to command the attention. I like her despite the fact she's neither a native West Virginian nor a native Appalachian, but she's been here long enough to be counted as one of us.

I asked her recently for a couple of her poems to post (due to limitations in my understanding of HTML, spacing became a problem in the poems. I've indicated / where there should be a stanza break. I apologize to Jean and all those who appreciate the proper formatting in poetry. I'll keep working on a solution). It's good practice, reading poems. Poetry distills for us what is most important, what we might need to pay attention to, ideas we need to ponder, and sometimes stuff that's just plain fun. So, enjoy the sampling while we stay indoors, out of the hot summer sun. Diva, by the way, is from Latin meaning goddess, a distinguished female. "Nuff said.

Cat

Comments

[Helen]

Thanks, the poems were nice. I didn't know she wrote poetry, and I hadn't seen her on campus, it's nice to know that she is still teaching.