Grace Cavalieri’s “The Poet and The Poem” Receives Grant From MD Humanities
The Other Voices, Other Lives author says of the grant, "It seems like a modest amount, but if you need that amount, it is abundant.”
MD Poet laureate, 2-time Ginsberg Prize winner, and WIRoB lifetime achievement honoree, Grace Cavalieri, received her latest honor this Tuesday, a $1000 grant, for her long-running radio program and podcast, The Poet and the Poem. The grant comes from Maryland Humanities whose aim is to "support nonprofit organizations who are using humanities to inspire Marylanders."
A recent article in The Sun by Jack Hogan elaborates:
"President and founder of Forest Woods Media Productions and Maryland poet laureate, Grace Cavalieri, said the funding her organization received was “the perfect thing at the perfect time.” She added that funding for poetry is often hard to come by and donations like this can go a long way.
“That thousand dollars, it seems like a modest amount, but if you need that amount, it is abundant,” she said.
Cavalieri said the grant her organization received will be used to help fund 15 programs as part of her radio series, “The Poet and the Poem: Voices of Maryland Poets”, which since 1977 has been a platform for Maryland poets to share and discuss their work. The funding will be used for post-production work like audio editing, adding music and credits.
Each of the 15 programs will feature a different poet and will be aired beginning in January 2021 on the Maryland State Arts Council website, iTunes and public radio."
Remembering W.S. Merwin: Grace Cavalieri’s Two Interviews with the Literary Giant
In 2000, the bicentennial of the Library of Congress, four Poets Laureate were appointed just for the occasion. The four dignitaries were W.S. Merwin, Robert Pinsky, Rita Dove, and Louise Gluck. I was to record one after the other for 4 hours. That first meeting with Merwin was unforgettable, as he arrived for an hour interview without so much as one poem in his hands. Fortunately, I had brought ten books for his signature and we puzzled our way through. He was delighted to recognize some of his first slim published volumes that were out of print, as well as a few collector’s items.
Fiddlin’ Around in Ireland
Nothing buoys the spirits like a walk along Grafton Street. Gray day or sunny, it’s bright with noise and laughter. Loud “hellos,” babies crying, neighborly gossip, rich brogues and lilting Irish airs float up onto the breeze. Our chosen course allowed for a stroll through St. Stephen’s Green. Sunlight dappled the leafy brakes. Inspired by the moment, Lawrence liberated his fiddle and sawed out a hornpipe. He was joined in his performance by a pair of amorous ducks.
On Grafton street we were immediately surrounded by music. A couple of 9 and 10-year-old boys, Donald Reagon and Paul O’Neill, were delighting passersby with smooth moves on the fiddle and concertina. College students with shaved heads played sitars. Old men played jazz. A guitarist somewhere was plucking out George Harrison tunes and singing, “Here comes the sun, little darlin’ here comes the sun.”
On that musical street there was only one poet—a threadbare character who, for a pound or a punt (Irish pound) or nothing at all, would recite a poem by a poet of one’s choosing. I selected Yeats and was honored with “The Fiddler of Dooney”:
“When I play on my fiddle in Dooney, Folk dance like a wave of the sea . . .”
An Interview with Elizabeth Hazen, Baltimore Poet and Baker Award Finalist
Baltimore poet, Elizabeth Hazen’s first collection of poems is entitled Chaos Theories. Last week the young poet was announced as a finalists for the prestigious Baker Artist Award in literature. We sat down to talk with her about her experience in Baltimore as an artist and what programs like The Baker Awards mean to artists.