It's not everyday
one meets
a poet.
A real poet; a dedicated poet.
At least not in my experience.
But I recently had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with poet Lenore S. DeCerce at the Contemporary Gallery in Syracuse.
After only a few minutes of conversation, it was obvious that Lennie (as she prefers to be known) is serious about her work. The previous night at the gallery, Lennie had given a public reading of her collected poems entitled
Leaning Against the Bed with One Knee."For me, it's always been poetry," she says, seated comfortably on the gallery's couch.
"It's more intimate than any other form, and it allows a freedom that other genres do not. I don't really believe in grammer and technicalities -- poetry allows me to completely ignore them. I use spacing and line breaks instead."
One of the things that impressed me about Lennie was her enthusiasm for her work.
From my questions, she knew I was genuinely interested in this subject, enough so that she readily offered me a copy of her manuscript. I looked over several poems and she suggested one in particular:
==========================
You used to be such a good girl
she says with a look
and long draw on her Newport
It's my fault
I'm an enabler
Everyone tells me I'm an enabler
She flicks ash
and
I
look at my hands
the floor
the air above her head
and reply
the same reply
It's not your fault mom
I am not your fault
===================
Lennie reflected on the deep emotions contained in the few words of her poem, and how they affected her when she read that poem for her mother.
Not too surprisingly, tears were shed.
Lennie continued:
"I started writing initially because as the youngest of three daughters, I was often reminded that I was better seen and not heard. I needed an outlet and paper became that outlet. I could say it's therapy, but that doesn't quite do it justice. I can't lie on paper. That's not to say I'm a liar - I'm not - but on paper it's different. My poetry is primarily non-fiction."
====================
Coward
a shadow
will confess
more than I
I will keep
my voice
entombed
in lead
I will bury
it
in sand
and walk away
I will embrace
the dark silence
that will follow
I will surpress
and I will deny
I will rationalize
I will unearth
my foundation
and start again
I will live as if
=====================
In addition to her poetry, Lennie, a LeMoyne College graduate, is also working on a screenplay.
"What I love about screenwriting is the detail," she explained. "It's all detail, actions, speech, reactions. I'm a very visual person; it's like there's a screen in my head. I see things before I write them down."
Regarding the relative lack of respect or interest in poetry in modern culture, Lennie offered this perspective:
"I feel poetry is on the backburner with most people if they bother with it at all. I blame academia for that. They spoon feed students the same old crap from elementary school on up to college. They don't introduce poets that people can relate to. Students are taught to be intimidated by poetry and to constantly analyze analyze analyze and I think that kills it for people."
But for Lennie, the freedom and creative space she finds in poetry cannot be overstated:
"Poetry is oxygen, and without it, honestly, I don't think I'd be."
======================
all photos copyright 2008 Larry Hoyt
======================
