Poet, Jerri Chaplin
While this festival season offers several tributes to departed members of the Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto communities, one began this evening that touches the core of our dear festivals. Carol Furtwangler and Ellen Dressler Moryl unveiled the Sundown Poetry Series, dedicated to the memory of Alice Cabaniss Banks. Ellen Dressler Moryl read a proclamation from Mayor Riley, stating that this series is now to be known as the Alice Cabaniss Banks Sundown Poetry Series and shared memories of her friend and fellow “instigator” in the creation of what was then known as the Twilight Poetry Series and the naming of Piccolo Spoleto. Mrs. Furtwangler then presented a poem by Mrs. Cabaniss Banks, a piece full of the fire of a woman setting herself free. She then introduced the featured poet of the evening, Jerri Chaplin.
Mrs. Chaplin’s prose-like style encompasses gathered images, memories, memorials, and moments when the limits of everyday language leave one without a voice. And oh yes, a wonderful Shetland Sheepdog named Phoenix, who was also in attendance! Although very specific and personal, her distinct voice delicately parses the universal character of the emotional background behind each poem. This clarity of purpose and precision make her memorials particularly effective. An untitled poem about 9/11 captured this element of her work fully, pointing to the grace of compassion as the only real means of healing the truly universal loss of that day; to which the full courtyard at Dock Street Theatre responded with a hearty round of applause. Her poem Psalm, about generating the strength to heal while working through the fear of illness, resonated with the truth of one who’s spiritual path has resulted in a healing that stretches far beyond merely the physical body. Indeed, Mrs. Chaplin is a certified poetry therapist. Her poems about Phoenix (and other dogs as well…) hinted at an impression that we humans, by mistakenly looking at ourselves as apart from nature, are the authors of the ills we see in life.
While the poems mentioned above may seem to create a heavy or sad impression, the underlying theme of the poems read this evening was finding joy in our common humanity through compassion. What a splendid way to cap off the day and get the evening started!
This is an ongoing series featuring different poets each weekday throughout the festival.
