Powow poets play their part

The exacting wordsmiths who make up the Powow River Poets are an eclectic blend. The 15-year-old group counts among its ranks a former Pentagon insider, a lawyer who has argued before the Supreme Court, a repeat ''Jeopardy!" winner, and a one-time New York Yankees batboy.

When the group celebrated the publication of its first anthology last month at the Newburyport Art Association, poet and editor Alfred Nicol joked that theirs is a tough crowd.

''We're not an agreeable bunch," he said, waving a hand at a copy of the anthology. ''The fact that we're gathered together under one cover -- it's a wonder the thing lies still."

In fact, the Powow River Poets, who will take part in several events during the first Newburyport Literary Festival tomorrow and Saturday, is a welcoming and nurturing -- if demanding -- collection of writers. The group, which holds regular workshops at Newburyport Public Library and a monthly reading and open microphone night at the Art Association gallery, sets itself apart from other writing collaboratives with its delicate balance of frank criticism and decorum, said founding member Rhina P. Espaillat.

''There's a great deal of stress at other workshops," said the Dominican-born, New York City-raised poet and translator, who counts the TS Eliot Prize for Poetry among her many honors. ''People have egos, and they're defensive. We've never had an iota of that. It's remarkable."

Yet their diverse backgrounds, intellectual rigor and high level of achievement (collectively, they have amassed dozens of awards) make friction among the Powow poets inevitable.

''There are all sorts of areas where the group could easily fracture," said Espaillat, sitting at her kitchen table in the art-filled, ranch-style Newburyport home she shares with her husband, sculptor and longtime Art Association board member Alfred Moskowitz.

Those potential trouble spots range from divergent views on politics and religion to poetry's 800-pound gorilla: the battle between free verse and poetry's ''formal" -- metered or rhymed or both -- tradition.

''We have members who write every which way," Espaillat said. But the majority of the poets, among them such notables as David Berman (the lawyer) and Robert Frost Award winners Deborah Warren and Len Krisak (the ''Jeopardy!" champion), lean toward formal verse. In an era of messy memoir-style writing and ''slam" performance readings, that's something of an anachronism.

While Newburyport may seem ''a capital of enlightened craftsmanship," writes the nationally acclaimed poet X.J. Kennedy in his introduction to ''The Powow River Anthology," he adds that ''hostile critics might call it a cesspool of reaction."

Espaillat, who writes both free verse and formal (''whatever the poem wants to do"), admits some resentment over the poetry world's drastic abandonment of formalism during recent decades.

''I'd like to see 360 degrees of acceptance," she said, making gentle gestures with her hands. ''For me, inclusive is better. It doesn't have to be 'my way or the highway.'

''I remember getting rejection slips that said, 'You have a lot to say -- why don't you get rid of the rhyme and meter?' That's like saying, 'I like the way you walk. Why don't you get rid of your legs?' "

At the book party, Florida-based publisher Frank Gromling spoke about his introduction to the Powows and his interest in publishing a cluster of poets who live 1,300 miles from his home.

''Poetry has a shelf life that's unending," he said. Predicting that ''The Powow River Anthology" will be required reading in high school and college English classes, Gromling said, ''I know I'm doing right by doing this," whether or not he turns a profit.

Gromling's company, Ocean Publishing, specializes in books about marine biology and books for young readers. Though he does not consider himself an expert in the form, ''The Powow River Anthology" is not the first book of poetry he has published. The reputation of the Powow contributors was evident, he said. ''I Googled everyone and saw the awards."

Vicki Hendrickson, founder of the fledgling Newburyport Literary Festival, said the Powows are crucial to its hoped-for future as an annual event.

''I'm totally in concert with Rhina," she said. ''She was one of the first people I called when I had the idea."

The festival, to be held at various venues around town, will feature several events with Powow members, including an informal ''Breakfast with the Poets" scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Stella's of Middle Street.

Richard Wollman (the former Yankees batboy) and Robert Crawford (the former Pentagon insider) are among those reading from the new anthology at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Newburyport library.

In a time of uncertainty, Hendrickson said, poets can offer both wisdom and relief. ''To go and listen to poetry is such a life-affirming thing to do," she said.

Espaillat agrees. ''I think poetry is the native language of the human race," she said. ''We're wired for it."

For more details on Newburyport Literary Festival events tomorrow and Saturday, go to www.newburyportliteraryfestival.org.