Poetry for Enjoyment

     More Letters From Paradise
        Poetry For Enjoyment

Sometime years ago while teaching, I had the idea to create a class where poetry could be made fun, and not analyzed. I had always thought that taking apart a poem was like taking apart a song bird to try and discover the source of its song.
And so with approval of those over me, I had my class.

I began by playing recorded poets, then I asked students to find and bring to class poems that they enjoyed, and tell why.The next step was to urge them to try and write poems of their own. And they did. I made suggestions of poets they might enjoy.

We then made a giant leap. Members of the class chose poems that they felt were the best ones of all. These were printed on a offset press,illustrated by two talented boys, pages were stapled together, and with a cover"Some Poems and a Few Other Things."   I think a couple hundred copies were printed and we sold out!

The next thing we did was to form what we called the "First Modern Poetry Quartet." Students chose poems to be read to an audience. Two girls and two guys were chosen for their reading ability and tone of voice. Soon there was practice.You would hear four voices chanting lines from a poem. Or a duet, trio, or a single voice. We borrowed four music stands for the quartet. The big night came and the girls wore dresses and the boys jackets and ties. It was a hit, but one night only.

I remembered reading in our paper that Michigan had an unofficial poet laureate. His name was Max Ellison, and he lived up North  in Antrim County. I wrote to him asking if he would come and speak to my class. I offered him fifty bucks out of my pocket to do so. He agreed.

When he arrived I found him to be a short, stout man with gray chin whiskers, glasses,  and his pants held up with suspenders. And on his head was a black flat Amish hat.

Max had memorized many poems which he recited to the class. He also included some of his own poems from the two books he had written. He had brought extra copies for sale.They sold for I think three dollars, never more than five.

I received permission to use the great lecture hall. I watched as Max cast his spell over the students. They couldn't get enough of him. And he sold some books too.

Max came again the next year, but this time it didn't cost me anything. And somewhere there is a picture of him standing by his old VW with the hood up, showing it filled with canned goods.

 Max is long gone now, and only lives in the memories of students who listened to him,and on these pages.

     Aloha
     Grant