It Comes in Threes

April is National Poetry month. Local poets and independent book stores are celebrating together with events throughout the month. Wednesday evening, Wellesley Books featured Catherine Stearns, Lynne Viti, and Heather Corbally Bryant. Each of these three women write about personal history, self-awareness, womanhood, and family, each in a uniquely defied style. In the cozy environment of walls stacked top to bottom and side to side with rainbows of paperback books encapsulating a vintage style black and white tiled floor, the authors read their poems aloud from sheets of paper, a smart phone and books.

After reading selections, the authors accepted questions from the crowd of about 50 people, and offered friendly and genuine conversation to budding poets and students. The authors were asked when they began writing poetry. Catherine Stearns, author of "Then & Again," said she started as a young child, when learning how to read, but then her writing stopped while she raised her children. She credits the works of Dylan Thomas as being major influences in her early poetic life.

Poet Catherine Stearns

Lynne Viti, author of "Baltimore Girls," said she began writing poetry in eight grade but took several breaks when she had children. As a ninth grader, she read "Swing and Fall to a Young Child" by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Dissecting it in class helped her understand poetry in a deeper way. She said, "You become influenced by the poets who you read, unconsciously."

Heather Corbally Bryant, author of "Thunderstorm," echoed the experience of pauses and difficulty in focusing on writing when raising children. She makes a point of writing a poem a day. "My best poems come right before I wake up or right before I fall asleep."

Poet Lynne Viti

How do these poets deal with criticism about their poetry? Catherine Stearns shared that after writing a book and looking back, "you become that teacher." Self-criticism can be heard as a louder voice than editors or publishers. "If you thought about that stuff when you were writing, it wouldn't come out like that." Her advice was to write until you were done, and not judge it until the words were out. Lynne Viti said that "it's like dating: for every fifty submissions you get one acceptance." She expressed that as a writer, she must be open to criticism, but sometimes you have to stand by your work and not change it.

One audience member noted that the tone of voice changed for different poems. The poets agreed their poems take on different voices. Heather Corbally Bryant added, "Sometimes I count out beats. I change words more when I read them out loud."

Poet Heather Corbally Bryant

The poets shared that gain inspiration from their families, the memories of their childhoods, and from the environment they encounter daily, from tall trees to street signs. During this April's observance of National Poetry Month, we can all take moments to reflect on our own lives, and pasts, and hopes for the future.

If you would like to learn more about National Poetry Month, check back here daily. Be on the lookout for free gems of poetry books by local authors placed around town, waiting for the next lucky reader.