Watch out, Mobile, Austin, San Diego, and any number of other cities in the U.S.: Maureen Owen and Barbara Henning are on the road and heading your way, armed with the power of poetry and good will. Transformations may take place, mirth may ensue, and who knows what else may happen.
These two illustrious writers are an inspiration to septuagenarians everywhere. They have over-loaded a 2007 Civic (with “only” a 130K miles on it, says Barbara) with pots and pans, sleeping bags, bags of books, food, yoga paraphernalia, and suitcases filled with anvils, and headed out into the poetry-starved American landscape for an 8-week road trip/reading tour.
I had the pleasure of reading with them on their second stop---Washington’s DC Arts Center---on Sunday (January 20, 2019), and of hanging out with them for the weekend. I asked each of them to read a poem, which they graciously did. (I apologize for the slightly distorted audio quality, but you will still get the idea.)
Maureen and Barbara are publishing an on-going blog that documents their odyssey. And you can check their agenda to see if they’re coming soon to a spot near you.
Here’s Maureen Owen reading “balmy tomorrow/saturday more snow predicted/the lilacs are in turmoil” from Poets on the Road:
And Barbara Henning reading “Here We Are” from A Day Like Today:
great post, great poets, great poems
wish I could have been at that reading
Posted by: lally | January 24, 2019 at 08:56 PM
Thanks, Michael. I too wish you had been there.
Posted by: Terence Winch | January 24, 2019 at 09:02 PM
Thank you for posting these recordings! I was there and it was a wonderful reading. Maureen and Barbara and Terence too, all grounded in the everyday, but beautiful poetic music, and lots of good humor.
Posted by: Chris Mason | January 26, 2019 at 08:33 PM
Thanks, Chris.
Posted by: Terence Winch | January 27, 2019 at 09:12 AM