LEWISTON — Ten members of a USM LAC Senior College class, Poetry Workshop, invited friends and family to listen to their work on Nov. 13. Before they read, each poet summed up their feelings about poetry.

“People evolved,” said Nancy Orr, who had taken the course before. Eloise O’Neil observed, “We had to dig deeply to get images we conceived across.” Linda DeSantis noted, “Poetry channels life experience in a positive direction.”

Instructor Bill Frayer noted that “A new form does things to the poem.” Trying different forms of poetry such as haiku, sonnet, rhyming or free form, the poets embraced the varied “music of language.” In class, each member is given 10 minutes to read their poem of the week and receive suggestions from the rest of the class.

The subjects were diverse: images of summer, woodlands, kitchens and early childhood. They did not duck difficult issues such as death. Other poems were from an unusual point of view. During the reception afterward, the poets shared their fears, frustration and exhilaration as they worked on their creations.

This is the third year the Poetry Workshop has been offered. Winter classes begin in January and the spring courses begin in March.

FMI: www.usm.maine.edu/seniorcollege, 207-780-5960.

The USM LAC Senior College Poetry Workshop members read their works at a recent gathering. From left are Linda DeSantis, Nancy Orr, Harolyn Zaldumbide, Bill Frayer, Diane Clay, Darlene Glover and Eloise O’Neill.

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