Visiting Author Series--Endicott College-Ibbetson Street Press: Memoirist, Poet and Man of Letters: RICHARD HOFFMAN

Memoirist, Poet and Man of Letters: RICHARD HOFFMAN

Memoirist, Poet and Man of Letters: RICHARD HOFFMAN

By Emily Pineau

“Assure them that when I had nothing to say I said nothing,” poet Richard Hoffman imagines saying to a eulogist in his poem “Instructions”. On the other hand, Richman Hoffman has had a lot to say throughout his life. Not only is he a poet, but also he is an essayist, fiction writer, and a memoirist. During his appearance at Endicott College, Hoffman shared a piece of his new memoir and read a selection of his poems. One of my favorite lines that he read was, “What could I possibly want from you that would not undo the whole world as it is?,” from his poem, “Winter Psalm”. In fact, in every poem that Hoffman read I was able to take an important message or a remarkable line with me. This made me think about how I hope to leave a piece of me with my own readers as well.

Hoffman also read an excerpt from his new memoir, “Love and Fury”, which shows how he dealt with life when it threw him a loop and illustrates the conflicted character of his father. A section of the reading that stood out to me was when Hoffman’s father was trying to apologize to him and his brothers about not being there for them in the past. “…I want to talk with my sons”, Hoffman’s father announced; “As if we were not the sons he was referring to”, Hoffman narrated. I like how Hoffman points out that “sons” sounds like it is a separate entity from him and his brothers. The word “sons” creates a wall between the father and his sons, which is an interesting aspect of this piece that I admire. Hoffman also reflects on how his family had “supper” while the others had “dinner”. This is a subtle distinction of one side of the tracks to the other. It is almost as though he gives these words personalities, which makes his writing really come to life.

After Hoffman read, Professor Doug Holder asked him what his opinion was about exaggerating events in a memoir. Hoffman paused for a moment, picked up his memoir, and held it up. “This book put a man in jail…where he was murdered. — Now what happens if I had exaggerated?” The whole room was silent. This statement that he made really made me think about how powerful it is to write about your life, and how much value those words hold when you deem them as being true. Hoffman also pointed out, “If you don’t bare witness to your life, then someone else will, and you wont like it.” I have always thought about how others would perceive my life if they just went by pictures, and thoughts from people I am close with or not close with. I want to have a sense of security knowing that my life is accounted for and that I said what I have to say. Writing about your own life is a way to take control of it.

---Emily Pineau

***** Emily Pineau is an English major at Endicott College. Her poetry and prose have appeared in the Endicott Review, The Somerville News, and is upcoming in Ibbetson Street and the Muddy River Poetry Review.

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Emily Pineau on Poet Robert K. Johnson's visit

Before Robert K. Johnson read his poetry during his reading at Endicott College, he explained that “allusive elements of the human mind” cannot be described without poetry, and that poetry plays a very important role when it comes to communicating emotions. When one tries to break down feelings into formulas, and attempts to find logic in the unexplainable, something gets lost along the way. I feel like this point highlights what poetry can do for people, and how we can use it as a tool for bringing ideas, raw feeling, and people together. Even though love can be thought of as an abstract idea, or something that is not easily explained, poetry allows us to just feel it and to feel closer to others who also feel and understand it.

In Johnson’s poem, “Lover’s Words”, which is about falling in love for the first time, he begins by saying, “Each gliding gull that tilts sunlight.” This image of the gull and the sun seems to indicate that the bird is not only free, but is also in control of its journey and happiness. By gliding, and tilting sunlight, this shows that the gull knows what it wants, and it immediately gives this poem a feeling of peace and certainty. By starting the poem this way, it really captures what a first love feels like. There is this illusion that someone’s first love is “the one” and that nothing could go wrong. It is that feeling when you love so deeply there is no possible way you could ever let that person fade from your life. They become a permanent fixture, or part of your universe like the sun. Though, the truth is that most of the time someone’s first serious relationship, or first love, is not an ever-lasting one. Then, suddenly, what once was so certain becomes a whole string of questions. Johnson writes, “You ask me and all my answers prove I don’t know.” After hearing this first poem I felt like I was actually watching two people fall in love, and then fall apart. Then, as if to pick up the pieces, Johnson reads his next poem, “The Second Time,” which is about someone falling in love again. Johnson starts by saying, “Like bird wings rising into sunlight,” which instantly reminds of the gull in his poem “Lover’s Words”. By using a similar first line to the his poem about a first love, this demonstrates that when someone falls in love again that initial feeling comes flooding back, and it all feels very familiar. Johnson addresses this reminder by saying, “The first time’s final pain.” Even though the beginning of the new relationship is happy, there is a lingering stab wound that is in danger of reappearing somewhere else in the heart. Though, as this poem goes on, it celebrates the idea of uncertainty rather than dwelling on it. Johnson cleverly ends this poem by writing, “Irreversible flight into a place you know you don’t know.” The word “flight” carries the image of the bird back from the beginning, which makes the whole poem come full circle.

Johnson’s surprising endings are one of my favorite aspects of his poetry, and something that I really admire about his writing technique. In his poem, “After a Breakup,” he invites us into the past to watch him and his girlfriend breakup in front of a library on 42nd street. As they “walked into opposite darknesses”, he then proceeds to get into a cab, in which he meets his future wife. I love how this poem shows how fate can bring people to their next destination, and how when one thing ends, it allows people to be open to something new. Each of Johnson’s poems about love, family, people, and nature read like a story, and this is a quality that I try to incorporate in my own poetry. By writing these little poetical stories, it allows someone to take something important with them, like a portable understanding of the world, how we live, and how we love.

Ibbetson Street now affiliated with Endicott College

(Click on picture to order) In this issue we are glad to be featuring the work of Diana Der-Hovanessian, longtime president of the New England Poetry Club. Not only has Diana directed the Poetry Club for decades, arranging countless readings of world-renowned as well as local poets, she has also won numerous awards for her poetry and poetry collections. Diana has written extensively about the Armenian Holocaust and has been a strong voice in making sure this Holocaust will not fall into the dustbin of history. We are also pleased to feature the work of such writers as Afaa Michael Weaver, X.J. Kennedy, Marge Piercy, and many other fine poets.

Conversations with My Molester… by Michael Mack

Conversations with My Molester… by Michael Mack

Review By Emily Pineau ( Endicott College Creative Writing Major)

"A secret is a biochemical entity--like a drug,” performer Michael Mack reveals. Before making an appearance at Endicott College, Michael Mack has performed “Conversations with my Molester—A Journey of Faith” for health conferences in Foxwoods , New Haven, a Catholic support group, a Catholic reform group, and the Boston Playwrights Theatre. In this performance Michael Mack confides in his audience about being molested by a priest as a child. He invites his audience to walk through the steps he took to come to terms with what happened to him, and he shows how he was able to regain his faith.

When he introduces the audience to what they are about to experience he transitions into his story so naturally that it makes his performance even more real and personal. Even though Michael is the only one on stage, and there are no props besides a table and a white board, Michael is able to create a clear picture of where he is and what people look like through his intense emotions, body language, and poetic descriptions. When Michael shows how he felt after a priest asked him for help with a “special project” for the first time, he gets on his bike and starts to pedal. “Pedal, Pedal, Pedal, Pedal, Pedal…” Michael pants, over and over, faster and louder each time as he is losing his breath. It is impossible to not visualize a real bike and him pumping his legs trying to escape from what he is not ready to face.

My favorite part of the performance is when Michael reflects on a question his brother asks him: "What effect did it have on you?" Michael has many different answers to this question, and he goes over each feeling as if he was experiencing the trauma right then and there. "Wishing your body sexless--a metal panel between your legs,” he trembles with a strong face. After each answer Michael restates the question again: "What effect did it have on you?" This repetition adds to the intensity of the story and ties together his thoughts and experiences. The last two acts show how Michael is able to obtain closure, cope with disappointment, and find his way back to his church. Although this 90-mintue performance had to be condensed to 60-mintues since there was a time restriction, Michael proved to have the ability to fill in for large gaps of time and make everything flow together. When I experienced how Michael is able to see the good in someone who violated him, it made me think about the fact that Michael gained more than he has ever lost. I learned what it means to be a strong person when Michael forgave those who molested him, which is an important piece of life experience that I received from this down-to-earth performance.

The Endicott Observer: Dec. 13, 2011

The Endicott Observer: Editor of Connecticut Review Reads Poetry for Visiting Author Series

By Amy Zylberman

On Nov. 17, 2011 Endicott College welcomed Vivian Shipley to read her poetry in the Little Theatre. Shipley is the author of five chapbooks and nine books of poetry. Her literary accomplishments include having two of her books nominated for a Pultizer Prize. A large crowd gathered to hear Shipley read from her poetry late in the afternoon. Introducing Shipley for the afternoon were Mark Herlihy, Chair of Arts and Humanities at Endicott, and Doug Holder, Professor in the School of Arts and Sciences and Arts Editor at The Somerville News in Somerville, Mass. Herlihy introduced Shipley as a "Poet and distinguished professor at Southern Connecticut State University," and asked Holder to do the honors of welcoming her to the stage. Holder acknowledged the "open-mic" element of the reading, a nice event that opened up to students during the Visting Author Series talk. Holder also mentioned one of Shipley's unique traits: she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. " What happened to Vivian Shipley is that in 1974, and on the day after getting this tumor, which affected her right frontal lobe, she started writing a lot of poetry."

( Continued...)

Previous Visting Authors

Sebastian Lockwood

George MacDonald

Christopher Busa

Diana Der-Hovanessian

X.J. Kennedy

Sam Cornish--(Boston Poet Laureate)

Miriam Levine ( Winner-Autumn House Prize)

Bert Stern-- (Poet, founder of " Off the Grid Press.")

Gary Metras--(Adastra Press)

Luke Salisbury ("The Answer is Baseball.")

Tom Daley ("Every Broom and Bridget.")

Mark Pawlak-- (Hanging Loose Press)

Nicole Perez Dutton

Michael Mack--("Conversations With My Molester")

Dewitt Henry-- ( Founder of Ploughshares Magazine)

Richard Hoffman-- ( Chairman of PEN NEW ENGLAND)

Fred Marchant-- ( Founder of the Suffolk University Poetry Center)

Tino Villanueva--( National Book Award Winner)

Jim Vrabel--- (A staged performance of poet John Berryman's masterwork DREAMSONGS)

Charles Coe--- ( "All Sins Forgiven")

Afaa Michael Weaver -- ( "The Government of Nature.")

Visiting Author Series--Endicott College-Ibbetson Street Press

Endicott College/ Ibbetson Street PressVisiting Author Series

Memoirist, Poet and Man of Letters: RICHARD HOFFMAN

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