Coleman Barks, an acclaimed poet, once said that he loves to see people gathered together to hear poetry read aloud: "That's what poetry is, a delight with language. . . . It's the depth of thought and feeling that turns a jumble of words into poetry."
That's what poets all over the country are counting on during the month of April — National Poetry Month. They would like as many people as possible to watch and listen as poets read from their work.
It is little known that one of the best places in the entire country to appreciate poetry is the gorgeously designed Orem Public Library. The respected local poet Alex Caldiero has assisted the library's media director, Dave Koralewski, in
planning an impressive exhibit and programming numerous poetry sessions throughout the month of April.
According to Caldiero, "Orem Library has this incredible hidden treasure of poetry materials — books, compact discs, cassettes and videos — a wonderful selection. All of it is at the disposal of patrons, but it's buried."
Caldiero decided the library ought to highlight this elegant collection so that Utahns would know they could mine it.
He left his native Sicily at the age of 8, then was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he did research at the 44th Street library — which, he says, has nothing on Orem.
In 1980, Caldiero joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Utah, where he is very happy, and where he has produced most of his poetry. "I've raised my family here. This is my home. But I'm tired of people who think Orem is 'ignorant land.' What they have at the Orem Library is leading edge."
Caldiero has written such popular poetry collections as "Various Atmospheres" and "Toy Blood." Most of what he does is in living performances, where an audience can appreciate the oral tradition. "When I get in front of an audience, there is this incredible electricity. I have noticed a revival of interest in poetry occurring, and 70 percent of it is coming from young people. In spite of the success of the Internet and technology, people are intuitively hungering for basic human contact."
Koralewski, who was born in San Francisco and raised in Chicago, has been in Utah since 1947. In his media work, he has always been interested in "widening people's horizons." He calls Caldiero "an avant-garde poet who likes to explore the frontiers of poetry. He prefers poetry that must be read aloud. The sounds he makes are sometimes words and sometimes not. He has organized the poetry readings so they are very audience-oriented."
Koralewski explains that Orem has a poetry collection that is "unparalleled West of the Mississippi, with 17,000 videotapes, 20,000 compact discs. We buy for quality, and we have been recipients of some wonderful literary videos produced by the Lannan Foundation. We agreed that this is remarkable access to the minds and philosophies of some of the leading writers of our time. We have recordings of poets reading their work or actors reading them. Sometimes Alec Guinness or Basil Rathbone can read better than the poets — but it's nice to hear Robert Frost or Maya Angelou reading their own work."
It also helps to reflect on poetry as an architectural treasure. The main floor of the new wing, the Children's Library, has a barrel ceiling conducive to choir singing, and the room is laid out in a forest motif, with pillars that evoke trees, a forest floor, mushroom windows and two beautiful stained-glass windows.
"It's almost an ecclesiastical theme," says Koralewski. "We feel children who are exposed to beautiful architecture and art will benefit from that. We'd like to think that when the children who frequent this library move away, they will remember this room and realize they grew up in a community that loves children."
Koralewski is bothered by the fact that "kids get excited about Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein and then by the time they're in high school, they've pretty much lost interest in poetry." Yet, in recent months, Koralewski has noticed a resurgence of interest in poetry among young people.
"Poetry is like classical music," says Koralewski. "If you have a chance to hear a classical piece over and over, and you can hum it, then it settles in your soul and you feel like you own it. Good poems are like that, too."
Plans for April at the Orem Library include "Family Fun Mondays" in the exploratorium, with performances from different poets for a half-hour at a stretch, from 7-9 p.m. Such Utah poets as Joel Long, Laura Hamblin, Rob Carney, Lisa Bickmore, Lance Larsen, Paul Swenson, Jackie Osherow, Hector Ahumava and Gina Clark will participate in readings geared specifically to families.
All month, patrons will enter the exploratorium, where they will find a giant display of poetry materials along with a giant TV screen. "This allows you to peruse anything you want and see if you want to check it out. It isn't a glass case. You can take a book off the shelf and leaf through it and put it back if you don't want it. With videos you need to grab one and put it in the VCR and try it out. In the meantime, the VCR will be constantly showing poets reading from their work in an effort to catch the attention of the public."
There is a video, for instance, of actress Sharon Stone reading Emily Dickinson. There are videos on Sylvia Plath, William Blake, Richard Wilbur, Ezra Pound, Michael Ondaatje, T. S. Eliot, Walt Whitman, William Butler Yeats and recordings featuring Carl Sandburg reading his own work, as well as Ogden Nash, Dylan Thomas, e.e. cummings, James Dickey, Langston Hughes, Judith Viorst, Robert Frost and numerous others.
Fridays in April will be dominated by "Living Poetry" presentations, featuring such exceptional local poets as Leslie Norris, Melissa Bond, Katherine Coles, Sara Caldiero, Sandy Anderson, Dennis Clark, Jennifer Tonge and Alex Caldiero.
E-MAIL: dennis@desnews.com