“People turn to poetry in times of crisis
because it
comes closer than any other art form to addressing what cannot be said.”
W.S. Merwin,
U.S. Poet Laureate, 2010
Essay by Deborah Finkelstein
In Freshmen
Seminar: Literature of Disaster, a class I teach at Endicott College, students
read literature about many disasters including Chernobyl, Hurricane Katrina,
9-11, and The Titanic. I’ve witnessed visceral responses from students. Tragedies do not just raise the
emotions of sadness and anger but also of fear and helplessness. There are
moments in my class, I have learned, where it’s important that we take a break
from these topics. Sometimes I include comedy while other times I use uplifting pieces to remind students of the good
in the world. I’ve used many different types of pieces—short plays, essays,
cartoons, jokes, etc. Poetry was by far the most powerful, which by itself
wasn’t surprising, but this wasn’t my creative writing class; these were
freshmen that were taking this seminar as a requirement. When the semester
began, most claimed to dislike poetry. But when I used poetry in these dark
moments, the effect was profound. It led to me integrating more poems into
other classes at Endicott and at North Shore Community College. There is
something about poetry, it seeps into the soul and heals the spirit. This is
one reason why it’s used in programs at hospitals and memorials; it is a
powerful healing tool.
Like most people, the Boston Marathon Bombing left me with
feelings of sorrow, anger, fear, and helplessness. I decided to redirect my
energy into a project that would help others by creating a poetry anthology of
uplifting and humorous poems. The book would not only raise money for The One
Fund, but also help heal readers.
Poets loved the idea. Like me, they wanted to do something to
help. I approached several poets and it didn’t take long for the idea to go
viral. Novelists, non-writers, and poets not in the book also helped spread the
word. I wanted the book out
quickly so that we could help with the healing process as soon as possible. I am
honored to feature poems from 40 amazing writers from across the U.S. and from
a variety of backgrounds, including former U.S. Poet Laureate and Boston
University Professor Robert Pinsky to Endicott College student Emily Pineau, a junior
and author of No Need to Speak. There
are 12 state and city Poet Laureates, as well as winners of the LAMBDA award
and recipients of many other poetry honors.
“We are one
Boston. We are one community.
As always, we
will come together to help those most in need.
And in the
end, we will all be better for it.”
Mayor Thomas
M. Menino
Once the book was compiled, I ran the manuscript through
Wordle, a free program that creates word clouds to demonstrate which words
appear most frequently in speeches, surveys, or other texts. The Wordle illustrated
that the most common words used in the book were “like” and “one.” I knew this
had to be the title because it captured what the book was about—the way that we
all came together as a community “like one”. Poets came from all over the country:
red and blue states, city and country poets, different ages. During tragedy,
our differences do not matter. Disasters make us realize how alike we are and
that we have the same vulnerability. Together we all make a difference.
“At moments
like this, we are one state, one city, and one people.”
Governor Deval
Patrick
Currently we are in the process of setting up readings and
placing Like One in bookstores. We are also launching the Like One Library
Initiative. In order to ensure that everyone has access to Like One, we are
encouraging people to purchase a copy for the library in their town or city, or
at their school, or the local hospital or nursing home. We are striving to have
it in Greater Boston’s local libraries by October 15, the six-month anniversary
of the bombing.
Like One features poetry by Rusty Barnes, Debbi Brody,
Kevin Carey, Cally Conan-Davies, Nicolas Destino, Emily Dickinson, Deborah
Finkelstein, Robert Frost, Jeannine Hall Gailey, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, David
Giver, Kat Good-Schiff, Benjamin S. Grossberg, Meghan Guidry, Doug Holder,
Aaron M.P. Jackson, Jennifer Jean, Julie Kane, Joy Ladin, Lance Larsen, Joan
Logghe, Fred Marchant, David Mason, Jill McDonough, Donnelle McGee, Caryn
Mirriam-Goldberg, Judson Mitcham, Wesley McNair, Alfred Nicol, Paulann
Petersen, Emily Pineau, Robert Pinksy, Miriam Sagan, Jan Seale, Dan Sklar, Kevin
Stein, David Trinidad, William Carlos Williams, Walt Whitman, Margaret
Young.
Our website: http://www.likeonepoetry.com
Twitter: @LikeOnePoetry
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Like-One/
Google Plus: Like One
Create Space: https://www.createspace.com/4350468
Amazon: http://amzn.com/0989686906
Wordle: wordle.net
The One Fund: https://secure.onefundboston.org/
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