Moving poetry into the community
The image of a poet is such in this country that the winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry hesitates to tell strangers that he is a poet. He solves the problem by calling himself a writer, which is less descriptive but seems more conventional.
''It sounds crazy or weird to say I'm a poet," said Franz Wright, who won the Pulitzer Prize for ''Walking to Martha's Vineyard," his seventh full-length collection of poems. ''It's like saying I'm an ancient Greek philosopher."
Wright will give a reading of his poems as the first major event hosted by the fledgling Concord Poetry Center, which is setting up shop at the Emerson Umbrella Center for the Arts in Concord. A goal of the new organization is creating a community outside of an academic setting for people with a passion for poetry. The reading will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 16 in the auditorium of the Emerson Umbrella at 40 Stow St.
''Poets really can't make any money," Wright said. ''It's a very risky, scary thing to take seriously." Wright earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for his previous book, ''The Beforelife." Including translations of other poets' work into English, he has published 20 books. His father, the late James Wright, also won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry.
Wright lives in Waltham and knows Acton resident Joan Houlihan, founder and director of the new poetry center, through his wife. Houlihan is the editor of the online poetry journal Perihelion, while Elizabeth Oehlkers Wright is the translations editor.
Houlihan said the new center will differ from other poetry forums in that it will be ongoing, focused solely on all aspects of poetry, and in a community setting. Her vision is for a place that offers workshops, courses, readings, publication consultations, and has a resource room. She thinks Concord, with its rich literary heritage, is the ideal place for such a center.
So far, Houlihan's vision is in the early stage of realization. The poetry center is allowed to use space at the Emerson Umbrella, although it does not have a designated room, while a formal agreement between the two organizations is being negotiated. In addition to the Wright reading, this fall the center is offering two workshops and a six-week course. The center also has a website at www.concordpoetry.org.
Wright said Houlihan, a published poet, is a force for poetry in the Boston area as an editor, writer, and critic. She also teaches poetry workshops. Although he is not personally involved with the center, he said, he is glad to help out the new venture by giving a reading.
Houlihan, he said, has become a somewhat controversial figure because she is outspoken in her views on the state of contemporary poetry. ''She doesn't hesitate to step on toes and that's kind of brave," he said.
The opinions she has expressed in her online poetry column, The Boston Comment, are what has inadvertently made her controversial, Houlihan said. ''I thought I was just speaking my mind," she said. ''I saw a need to say things."
One of the points that she presses in her column is her belief the poetry field is too dominated by credentialed poets with a master of fine arts in poetry working in an academic setting. She thinks the degree and academic affiliation aren't requirements for writing good poetry and there ought to be a community and venue for serious poets without these credentials. ''Franz is not an MFA," she said. ''Nor was Emily Dickinson."
In March, she organized a meeting of about 50 people to discuss creation of a center for people who want to read, write, discuss, and learn about poetry.
Houlihan, who has a master of arts in English, said many serious poets find it difficult to develop a sense of community because they are no longer in school or didn't get a master of fine arts. Poetry workshops, although they abound in the Boston area, tend to be time-limited and/or affiliated with an academic institution.
''You go to a poetry workshop and it ends and then what?" Houlihan said. ''How do you get involved in poetry other than sitting at a desk and writing it and having other people give comments on it?"
Her attempt to answer these questions is the poetry center. At its first major event, the reading, Wright will share selections not only from his published works but also from ''Prescience," a new book that is now being edited. He might also read from ''East Boston, 1996," a 200-line poem soon to appear in The New Yorker.
He said he is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who had a life-changing religious experience on Sept. 13, 1999, while sitting at his desk and staring out the window. ''I felt the literal presence of Christ in the world," he said. ''It suddenly became real to me and has never left me." Much of his work since that time has dealt openly with addiction issues and religion.
''I write for myself first of all, and I'm sure I would write whether there was any possibility of publication or not," he said. ''Even if I tried not to do it, it would sort of happen anyway." Since winning the Pulitzer Prize, he suddenly feels as if someone is listening. And that makes him self-conscious.
A ticket to the Wright reading costs $10; a ticket to the reading, and reception and book signing afterwards is $25. To purchase tickets, call 978-371-0820. Sally Heaney can be reached at heaney@globe.com.
