Tag Archives: Poetry

Local poet Becci Schumaker overcomes adversity, finds solace and healing in the written word

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Throughout her life, Becci Schumaker found solace in poetry (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

By Deborah Reed

deborah@wktv.org

Grand Rapids resident and poet Becci Schumaker has always been drawn to words and the power within them – so she made words her refuge during difficult times.

Though she classifies herself as an introvert and a loner, Schumaker’s soft voice and kind countenance are the hallmark of a woman who navigated hardships and reached her dreams despite opposition.

Writing poetry was one of those dreams.

Falling in love with words

Becci Schumaker looks through her collection of poems (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

“I love working with words,” said Schumaker. “I think words are fascinating. Words can be serene but they can be powerful, they can be enigmatic. It just opens up a whole new world.”

Writing poetry has been part of Schumaker’s world since she was 12 years old.

Coming from an emotionally and physically abusive family background, Schumaker immersed herself in reading and writing to escape the real world.

“It was a means of escape for me,” Schumaker said as she gently touched a binder containing several pages of her written works. “That was my safe place.”

Overcoming struggles and hardship

Words did not come easily for Schumaker at first.

In first grade, a teacher noticed Schumaker struggled with reading and provided extra instruction. By third grade Schumaker was reading college-level works.

“I haven’t stopped reading since,” said Schumaker with a smile.

Young Schumacher was immediately drawn to the genre of poetry, the words and prose a direct contrast to her hostile home environment.


Becci Schumaker’s poems have been published in several compilation poetry books (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

Schumaker said she is grateful for the stable presence of an aunt and uncle with whom she spent summers while growing up.

“If it wasn’t for me having that Christian background through them, and getting my morals and values of what a good person is supposed to be, I don’t know if I would have even done this,” said Schumaker, touching the stack of poetry books in front of her.

Schumaker later took an evening American Literature class, writing a short story that her teacher urged her to publish.

However, Schumaker had to put her writing on hold as she focused on raising her four children, working two jobs for several years to support her family.

Reigniting the flame

Meeting her husband Don reignited Schumaker’s creative spirit, and she once again picked up her pen and put it to paper.

“I’ve actually woken my husband up in the middle of the night, jumping out of bed to grab pencil and paper and start writing,” said Schumaker with a grin.

“I will get a thought and will have to write,” Schumaker continued. “Nine times out of ten, the result is a poem.”

When she noticed an ad about submitting original poems to a poetry contest, Schumaker thought she would give it a try. “I Love You Lord” became Schumaker’s first published work of poetry, printed in 1997 under the name Becci Campbell. The poem was included in a Poetry Guild compilation titled By the Light of the Moon.

Everything around Schumaker inspires her writing.

At church, the pastor’s words sparked Schumaker’s imagination and she completed a poem within minutes titled “The Trinity,” now published in Forever Spoken.

Challenged by her husband to write a poem about something as ordinary as a card game, Schumaker immediately put pen to paper. The subsequent poem, “Cards,” can be found in the poetry book Memories of Tomorrow.

With several published works under her belt – the most recent being Schumaker’s poem titled “Carpet of White” in 2022 – the local poet continues to write.

Submission of her poem “The Lonely Man” is next for Schumaker’s publication goals. The poem stems from personal experience of her husband’s struggle with rehab and the beginnings of dementia.

A legacy of words

Becci Schumaker reads one of her poems aloud (Courtesy, Deborah Reed WKTV)

When asked how many poems she has written over her lifetime, Schumaker responded, “Oh gosh, probably hundreds and hundreds.”

When asked if she ever threw one of her written works away, Schumaker quickly replied, “I keep them all. Even if I don’t think it’s good, I’ll fold it up and tuck it away somewhere. Maybe someday I’ll go back to it, and reread it, and write it a different way.”

Though she loves poems, Schumaker said her main reading genre is science fiction, and her favorite movies are “ones that put you on the edge of your seat.”

Schumaker freely acknowledges the incongruity between the lighter, lyrical prose of her written works and the darker genres of her favorite movies.

“Even though I like those kinds of movies, [poetry] is my stress relief, my go-to outlet that brings me into the light,” said Schumaker, looking at the binder of poetry. “This is my sanity.”

A powerful responsibility

The power that words contain is always at the forefront of Schumaker’s mind, especially words wielded with harmful intent.

“People don’t realize words really do hurt,” said Schumaker, admitting that, at 71 years old, she still struggles with hurtful things spoken to her as a child. “The scars are there forever.”

“I have had to survive on my own since I was sixteen,” Schumaker continued. “You learn about life. That’s what a lot of this writing is.”

The poet regularly encourages people to carry a notebook and write down any idea that comes to them.

“You never know what’s going to come of it,” said Schumaker, gesturing toward her own poems laid out before her.

Staying active and looking ahead

Along with writing, Schumaker stays active by participating in mission trips with her church and volunteering for WKTV Community Media.

“I’ve got to be doing something, and this gave me an outlet,” said Schumaker about WKTV, adding that she fell in love with the camera work at the station.

When asked what is next for the active poet, Schumaker shrugged. “From here, we’ll see what life brings,” she said with a smile.

A local artist uses her creativity to give back

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By Maddy Visscher
ArtRat Gallery

Journeè Evans’ passion for Grand Rapids art, poetry and community gained new perspective in January 2022, when she relocated downtown from the city’s southeast side.

“I wanted to know my surroundings more, to expand,” she told ArtRat. “That’s why I love living in Grand Rapids: You’re always going to run into a different crowd and new culture that you can explore and bring in knowledge and connections. We have something special, something a lot of people are searching for.” 

Bringing communities and cultures together is central to Journeè’s work. In our neighborhood alone, Mama Sol’Ja has performed at 106 Gallery’s Thing to Do Thursdays, at GRNoir’s Vino & Verses reading series, and at The Hai-Cuu Experience and Saturday Musicians’ Co-op here at ArtRat. On Nov. 4, she co-hosted Pass the Mic GR at the Wealthy Theatre at the invitation of co-founder Shayna “Akanke” Marie.

At ArtRat, she has sourced West Michigan artists and artisans for ArtRat’s Holiday ArtMart, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 3 and noon to 6 p.m. Dec. 4. Also during ArtRat’s Third Thursday event Dec. 15, she will host a poetry paint-and-pour as part of her new Sol’s Sessions performance series.

“I met some of the most loving, caring and amazing people” at Pass the Mic, Journeè said. “It was one of those opportunities that you don’t get unless you know that this is something you’re supposed to bring to the world. There’s so many amazing things that come through Grand Rapids, and a lot of people don’t get to see them.”

Journeè has also become an ambassador for C4 (the Community Collaboration on Climate Change),a grassroots organization that is working to make Grand Rapids a model city for climate-change mitigation, adaptation and climate justice for its residents.

In her role with C4, Journeè will work closely with the residents of Grand Rapids to learn the specifics of what our community needs to move forward. (You can download more information on C4 here and here.)

Sol’s Sessions

Her experience at Grand Rapids’ art venues inspired Journeè’s latest project: Sol’s Sessions, a collaborative forum for the city’s emerging artists, poets, singers and dancers that she plans to host throughout the city. “The idea was actually born out of the idea for a dance group,” she said, “but I fell back in love with writing poetry. So it became a space for everything: You can come and speak, listen, cry, dance, even paint or sketch!

“Creativity doesn’t take from anything, or anyone — it simply gives. When you gain creativity, you gain freedom and independence. It gives you the courage to live on without fear.”

Mama Sol’Ja will host a “Sunflower World” edition of Sol’s Sessions on Nov. 18 at the Wealthy Theatre Community Media Center. The event begins at 6pm with performances by six West Michigan poets, leading into an open mic. “I want anybody who has a talent to come and show it so they can get their flowers and that love,” she said. “That’s what the Sunflower World is about.” To keep the flame lit as we head into dark winter months, you’re invited to dress in yellow and join the celebration.

Bringing it all to ArtRat

In December, Journeè will apply her community-building talents to ArtRat, introducing new vendors to the gallery at the Holiday ArtMart, then hosting a Sol’s Session that features poetry alongside participatory painting. “I get to bring in this great community of people who became entrepreneurs in their own right,” she said. “They went out and they actually did something! It’s so amazing to me to see that grit.

“COVID really just stopped a lot of things. Now that people are up and running, I want to really encourage us to gain as much as we can gain because we all went through so much. I was thrilled to be able to give people that opportunity, whether it’s local artists, or younger people who want to pursue creative endeavors.

“I’m thrilled that I get to be able to bring people a new, positive way,” Journeè said, “just to show themselves and be able to express whatever thoughts they have on their mind. We’re definitely going to change it over here. It’s important to give voice to change — and that’s what we’re doing here.”

This article provided by ArtRat, located at 46 Division Ave. S. For more about ArtRat, visit the gallery’s website at www.artrat.us. To join ArtRat Gallery’s mailing list of events and exhibits, email matthew@artrat.us.

GVSU to resume community arts celebration with events throughout the year

Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Upcoming Events
“Cat Painting” by Reb Roberts (Supplied)

By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Grand Valley State University is resuming its community arts celebration with a revamped timetable that will feature free art-related events throughout the year.

The GVSU Arts Celebration, formerly known as the Fall Arts Celebration, in 2021-2022 is set to feature art, music, poetry and an academic lecture in events that start in August with a GVSU Art Gallery exhibition and finish with a lecture in April.

Organizers said that spreading the events throughout the year will allow more people to access them, said Amorak Huey, chair of the GVSU Arts Celebration’s steering committee. He noted that commitment to wide community participation is important to the celebration.

 

Huey also said a central theme for this year’s celebration is relevance and a reflection of the current climate, one dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the holiday concert will focus on music from countries that are particularly affected by the pandemic.

“It seems like it’s important for the events we have to feel timely and have contemporary urgency,” Huey said.

“Identity Mask” by Jerry Coker (Supplied)

Responses to those current issues are prominently displayed in the Art Gallery exhibition, “Honest and Unrefined: Art Outside the Academy.” It runs from through Nov. 5 at the GVSU Art Gallery in the Haas Center for Performing Arts on the Allendale Campus.

 

The exhibition is the culmination of a nearly five-year effort to collect pieces that reflect the work of artists who ignore convention and tell their stories without the constraints of what others might think, said Nathan Kemler, director of GVSU Galleries and Collections.

“These are true voices coming through very directly,” Kemler said. “Art tells a story, and the story that this kind of artwork tells is usually more immediate and unfiltered.”

The rest of the celebration’s schedule is below. For more information, visit the GVSU Arts Celebration website.

Belated Birthday Party: Tesla String Quartet Performs Music by Beethoven

Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Cook-DeWitt Center

Allendale Campus

“Coming Together to Celebrate the Holidays,” featuring multiple choirs and orchestras

Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Fountain Street Church

24 Fountain St NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Poetry Night: an evening with Danez Smith, Ericka “Kyd Kane” Thompson and Marcel “Fable the Poet” Price, all of whom also perform their work

Mar. 14, 2022 at 7 p.m. 

Eberhard Center, second floor 

Pew Grand Rapids Campus

Lecture: Hanif Abdurraqib with Louis Moore, associate professor of history, to moderate an interview/conversation. Abdurraqib is author of the book, “A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance.”

April 5, 2022, 7 p.m.

Eberhard Center, second floor

Pew Grand Rapids Campus

School News Network: Budding poets find their voices

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Poetry Slam Video Segments:
• Julian Maysonet recites a poem he wrote called ‘I.D.’

• Kierra Stimoff performs a percussive original poem

• Travis Reister shares a poem about his mother, who died of cancer

• Nazaria Spears shares a poem from her poetry journal

(Video by School News Network)

By Bridie Bereza
School News Network

Rose are red,
Violets are blue,
These students didn’t like poetry,
But now, they do.

Until recently, this kind of rhyming verse was what most eighth graders in Betsy Berry’s Language Arts class at Godwin Heights Middle School thought of when they heard the word “poetry.” Now, they are seeing poetry in a whole new light — and sharing their original poems — after their teacher took a new approach to teaching the unit this year.

For Travis Reister, poetry has become an outlet for grief following the death of his mother to cancer. For Nazaria Spears, it’s a way to articulate the pain of a tumultuous family situation. Kierra Stimoff’s poetry with a beat addresses social injustice, and Julian Maysonet shares how racial profiling has impacted his family.

Only a month ago, Travis thought poetry was boring. Kierra thought it was “sad and depressing – it didn’t feel like a good vibe,” she said.

Now, they’re loving it, writing it, and performing it. What gives?Share your story idea with School News Network.

 A Bloom from Concrete

To get students interested in poetry, Berry found culturally-responsive writers who she knew would resonate with students.

“We pulled Langston Hughes, Sandra Cisneros, Jason Reynolds. And we did ‘The Rose that Grew from Concrete’ by Tupac [Shakur]. That was the shift,” said Berry. “They were liking the unit up to that point and I felt like I had a high level of engagement. But we did that poem … and all of a sudden they were so moved, because it was relatable.”

Seeing how the poem moved them, Berry assigned her students to write their own version of “The Rose that Grew from Concrete.” They results were raw and powerful.

“They talked about themselves, they shared their stories, they talked about their trauma. It was beautiful,” said Berry. “Then we had an opportunity to present — even more healing. It was just very, very powerful for them to have an opportunity to express themselves. 

Kim Urbanski’s art students created pieces based on poetry from Betsy Berry’s English class

“A lot of them told me, ‘I’ve gone to therapy before. This feels like therapy.’”

Julian said he had been grappling with feelings of injustice after his father was racially profiled by police. He didn’t have words to express this before delving into poetry.

“It’s a way to express how you feel without being judged, and it’s just a good outlet. I probably never would have wrote this poem if I wasn’t in this class,” said Julian.

Grand Slam Finale

At the end of the unit, Berry held a poetry slam in each class of about 25 students. She showed her classes YouTube clips of spoken word performances, and gave them plenty of leeway: They could perform a poem that was three lines or 30 lines. It could be one they wrote, one they had studied, or something else.

“That’s when they blew the roof off,” said Berry. “They performed their poems, they performed Tupac’s poems, some did their haiku. For many, it was their first time performing.”

The synergy around poetry in the middle school has continued, Berry said. Recently, performing artists The Diatribe held a student assembly in the school, and many of her students are now participating in a workshop with the group. Kim Urbanski, who teaches art at the school, worked with students to create artwork based on “The Rose that Grew From Concrete” and students’ poems.

Many students now keep journals, where they jot down new poems. Berry said they were sad to see the unit end, but she has promised them a monthly poetry slam, giving them more reasons to keep the verses flowing.

For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, www.schoolnewsnetwork.org.

GVSU Fall Arts Celebration poetry night to explore the extraordinary in the ordinary

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, , , , , ,

Dan Gerber

One of the wonders of poetry is the potential for the intricacies of ordinary life to be described in extraordinary ways.

 

Patricia Clark, Writing Department chair, said this is exactly what audiences can expect to hear during this year’s Fall Arts Celebration poetry night at Grand Valley State University with acclaimed authors Jane Hirshfield and Dan Gerber.

 

“An Evening of Poetry and Conversation with Jane Hirshfield and Dan Gerber” will take place Thursday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m., on the 2nd floor of the Eberhard Center, located on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. The reading will be followed by a reception and book signing.

 

Jane Hirshfield (Photo by Curt Richter)

“Jane’s vision is informed by her extensive knowledge of international poetry, so her poems take on an incandescence with the ability to layer steady affirmation with, at times, an underlying humor, and compassion for the sorrows, losses and inconsistencies of life,” said Clark.

 

Hirshfield has penned many collections of poetry and prose, including The Beauty, Come Thief, The Lives of the Heart, The October Palace and Given Sugar, Given Salt. Her book, After, was shortlisted for England’s T.S. Eliot Prize and named a “best book of 2006” by the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle and London Financial Times.

 

In 2012, Hirshfield was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, and in fall 2004, she was awarded the 70th Academy Fellowship for distinguished poetic achievement by the academy, which is an honor formerly held by Robert Frost, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams and Elizabeth Bishop.

 

Gerber, a native of Fremont, is the author of a dozen books of poetry, fiction and essays. His most recent books of poems include Particles: New & Selected Poemsand Sailing through Cassiopeia. His work has received ForeWord Magazine’s Gold Medal Award, a Mark Twain Award for distinguished contribution to Midwest literature, a Michigan Author Award and a Michigan Notable Book Award. He is also the co-founder of the literary magazine Sumac.

 

Clark said Gerber’s poems provide a clear vision of the natural world and the “inner life.”

 

“Dan studies what’s at hand: an old dog, a fox he glimpses on a walk, a starry night, or a cabin in the woods,” she said. “Often, he, like Jane, begins a poem with something near at hand and then uses that object to find a deeper significance, perhaps about the past, family or life.”

 

For more information about Fall Arts Celebration, visit gvsu.edu/fallarts.

KDL starts accepting submissions for its annual poetry contest

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The Diatribe performs April 20 at the KDL Kentwood Branch.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

Since 1996, April has been National Poetry Month and there is probably no better way to celebrate than by encouraging creativity and developing interest in poetry by hosting a teen poetry contest which is exactly what the Kent District Library will do again this year with its 14th Annal Find Your Voice: 2017 Teen Poetry Contest and Spoken Word Competition.

 

“We truly believe in giving students a place to express their creativity, and the poetry contest is just one of many offerings,” said KDL Kentwood Branch Teen Parapro Greg Lewis.

 

The poetry celebration starts to tonight with a book signing by Fable the Poet at 6:30 p.m. at the KDL Kentwood branch, 4950 Breton SE, which is hosting all of the KDL poetry competition events.

 

Fable the Poet, Kelsey May, Rachel Gleason, Shawn Moore, and G. Foster II make up the local spoken work The Diatribe which partnered with KDL last year to bring a spoken word component to the competition which was a popular addition.

 

“Since KDL’s partnership with The Diatribe began, many students who may not normally speak up, have found a safe comfortable environment in which to participate,” Lewis said. “Last year the Spoken Word competition was an enormous success, loud, raucous, and totally accepting with nearly 40 participants.”

 

The Diatribe will once again conduct workshops in area schools leading up to the event, which Lewis said he believes will help make this year’s event even more exciting.

 

The Find Your Voice: 2017 Teen Poetry Contest and Spoken Word Competition officially kicks off tomorrow when all of the KDL branches will start accepting submissions . Kent County residents in grades 6-12 have until April 30 to submit a poem. Each person may submit up to two poems.

 

All those who submit a poem are eligible to participate in the 2nd Annul Find Your Voice Teen Poetry Slam, which is May 18 at the KDL Kentwood Branch. Twenty winners, 10 in the juried contest and 10 in the spoken word contest, will each receive a $50 Meijer gift card. Juried winners will be notified prior to May 15.

 

To help get things rolling, the Spring into Poetry with The Diatribe, which features a performance by The Diatribe, will be April 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the KDL Kenwood Branch.

 

For complete guidelines for the Fine Your Voice: 2017 Teen Poetry Contest and Spoken Word Competition, click here. For information on other KDL programs, visit www.kdl.org.

Local Dyer-Ives poetry contest open for submissions

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WKTV Staff

 

The annual Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition, a program managed by the Grand Rapids Public Library, is now accepting original and unpublished poetry submissions from residents of Kent County and college students attending classes in Kent County.

 

The competition is free to enter, but only one poem per person is accepted. Submissions begin Feb. 1 and close March 1 at midnight.

 

The Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition was started in 1968 by poet James Allen at the urging of John Hunting, the founder of the Dyer-Ives Foundation, to “encourage excellence in writing and to provide recognition for local work of high quality,” according to supplied information.

 

The annual contest is open to poets ages 5 through adult, separated into three categories. Winners selected in three age categories have their poems published in Voices, receive a cash award, and participate in a reading during the Festival of the Arts in June, held at the Grand Rapids Public Library main library.

 

The judge for this year’s competition is Oliver de la Paz, author of three collections of poetry, Names Above Houses, Furious Lullaby,  and Requiem for the Orchard; winner of the Akron Prize for poetry chosen by Martìn Espada. He co-chairs the advisory board of Kundiman, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of Asian American poetry, and teaches at Western Washington University.

Divisions are K-8th grade, high school through undergraduate college, and post-graduate students and adults.

 

For more information, including the various ways and library locations to submit poems, visit grpl.org/dyer-ives .

 

Book Review: Listen to the Landscape by Linda Nemec Foster and Dianne Carroll Burdick

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listenListen to the Landscape is a magical book. The collaboration between artist and poet dance in a visual-verbal blending of words and color.

 

The color comes in the form of hand-colored photographs by Dianne Carroll Burdick, which have a luminous quality. Starting with a black-and-white photograph, the artist has transformed the reality if the image into a soft reflection of a dream world.

 

 

Photographed in her travels throughout the country, Carroll Burdick features scenes from California, Massachusetts, Michigan and other places where the landscape caught the artist’s eye. She is a freelance photographer well known in local artistic circles.

 

 

These photographs inspired Linda Nemec Foster to create haiku that capture the spirit of the landscape scenes. Written in the traditional Asian-style, Nemec Foster’s haiku resonate with the movement of a wave, the breath of a cloud, the green of trees.

 

 

She has written six other volumes of poetry and in 2003, she was selected to be the first poet laureate of Grand Rapids. This slim volume offers a tactile, yet spiritual experience. A meditative book for yourself or a perfect gift to share with friends, it even inspired this writer to try a haiku book review:

 

Scenes wet with color

Haiku captures the moment

Pages turn like waves

 

 

Poetry Slam Competition makes its way to Kentwood Library

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poetry slam
Spoken word poetry slam competition to be held at Richard L. Root Kentwood Branch Library

By: Barri Tiggle

 

Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch library is hosting its first live and uncensored spoken word poetry slam competition on Tuesday, May 17 from 7-8 pm.

 

There were up to 300 entries from Kent county residents between the grades of 6 through 12. The event is free and open to all general public. The event was created based on the original 13th Annual Teen Poetry Contest held at the KDL branch.

 

“We decided to add a spoken word component in an effort to breathe a little life into the event, and hopefully attract a segment of kids who otherwise have no outlet for their creativity,” said Greg Lewis KDL Teen Paraprofessional.

 

Poets are supposed to submit their work online in hopes of being selected. “We amped it up to get more teens involved,” said Carlita Gonzalez, KDL Program and Outreach Specialist.

 

There are two different categories for the competition, which are written and spoken word. Any submissions are automatically added into the competition.

 

“GF Korreck will be judging the written portion only,” said Kelsey May, a member of The Diatribe Staff. The Diatribe is an organization used to empower individuals through written and spoken word. Their values consist of helping others cope with challenges and struggles, while finding their own voice and story through the use of poetry. The Diatribe will be participating in the KDL poetry slam event as the master of ceremonies, also known as emcees.

 

Each winner will be given a prize. The prizes given away are centered on a book and music theme and will be provided by Schuler Books. 20 winners will be chosen, ten from the written portion and ten from the spoken word, and given a $50 gift card. All winning entries will be showcased on the KDL website’s Teen page. As of right now the event is not set as an annual event.

 

“As long as there is interest, we hope to offer this event, we are definitely planning on next year,” said Lewis.

 

The entire event is in correlation to as well as funded by KDL READS. For more information on the KDL poetry slam event or upcoming events with The Diatribe please visit kdl.org or thediatribe.org.