Date: Fri 06-Dec-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

poet-schools-Connellan

Full Text:

Leo Connellan Beguiles Newtown Eighth-Graders

B Y D OROTHY E VANS

Like a leap into the darkness and other acts of faith, writing poetry takes

courage, according to recently appointed State Poet Laureate Leo Connellan.

So does speaking honestly about the creative process to an audience of eighth

graders, as Mr Connellan did November 25 when he visited Chester Washburn's

English classes at Newtown Middle School.

"A poet works hard for your attention. Even when we fail, we're working," Mr

Connellan told Mr Washburn and his students.

Getting their attention was exactly what Mr Connellan did during four

consecutive 45-minute class periods, because he never let them off the hook.

His own direct frankness demanded their response in kind.

"He took them by surprise. They're so used to being nurtured," Mr Washburn

commented after Mr Connellan's visit was over.

The acclaimed poet was invited to Newtown Middle School at the request of

Faith Vicinanza, the editor of the quarterly poetry newsletter The Connecticut

Poet . Ms Vicinanza's daughter, Christina Arroyo, is a student of Mr

Washburn's.

His visit was also sponsored by the Connecticut State University system's

Artist-In-Residence "Outreach Program."

Although the Newtown students had prepared for Mr Connellan by reading and

discussing examples of his work in class, they were somewhat "taken aback" by

his direct, sometimes harsh manner, Mr Washburn said.

Born and raised in Maine, Mr Connellan is a large man with an imposing

presence, down-to-earth yet, at the same time, of another world. While

speaking of everyday things, his language is filled with poetic images.

After urging the students to ask him anything they had on their minds, a

profound silence settled over the room. No hands went up.

"I can see the questions piling one upon the other!" Mr Connellan said with

booming sarcasm.

"Speak! Time is going by!" he demanded.

"How old are you, really?" ventured one boy.

"I'm 68. Did you think I was 100?" Mr Connellan replied.

"When did you start writing poetry?" a girl wanted to know.

"When I was about 14 years old. My mother died when I was 7. I was a sickly

child and I read a lot of books," Mr Connellan said.

"What do you write about? Do you plan your poems? How do you write them?"

another student asked.

"I write about common ordinary people. I use language to create an image that

shows rather than tells," Mr Connellan said. "I ask a question with poetry.

When I think I'm onto something, then I go to work on it."

Then he asked them to follow along as he wrote out one of his poems titled

"Winter" on the board.

Together, Mr Connellan and the students labored over each word or phrase,

discussing possible meanings.

Look at lakes, now shattered mirrors meld

Water we have sunk in holds us up

See! Evergreen over there.

While some hardwood, maples, elms

Seem death bent but

As sure as thick white snow

Is frozen water webbed,

"Is that how you see ice?" Mr Connellan abruptly wanted to know. Each one of

us sees the world in a unique way, he said.

"You and I don't know each other, but we know the same things," he said, and

finished writing out the poem on the board.

As he wrote he continued probing the students' imaginations.

Birds will be back in those trees

Replenished in green leaf.

"Notice how the word `replenished' does double duty," he said, telling them

that he didn't really like the word "meld" in the first line but it would have

to do, if merely "to show the process."

"Do you see how hard the poet works for you?" Mr Connellan said.

Another message Mr Connellan wanted to convey was his belief that they must

always do their best and take care of themselves, especially by avoiding the

pitfalls of alcohol or substance abuse.

"You must realize how important each and every one of us is, individually.

"For this brief period of time, you are the only person you have," he said.

He added regretfully that he and other members of his generation who ignored

their health as youths, are now feeling "embarrassed on our way to the

graveyard."

Mr Washburn commented later that the students appreciated Mr Connellan's "in

your face manner."

"He didn't talk down. One boy told me afterward, `I was really glad that he

didn't take it easy on us!'," Mr Washburn recalled.

Mr Connellan will be coming back to Newtown Middle School in April - just like

those birds in his poem that would return to the "replenished" trees.

At that time, he'll hold another workshop with the eighth grade English

students, responding to questions they will send him over the winter.

Mr Connellan has published 12 books of poetry, is the recipient of the Shelley

Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America and has been a nominee

several times for the Pulitzer Prize.

His most recent books include Provincetown , by Curbstone Press, and The Clear

Blue Lobster-Water Country published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.