Poetry is hitting the road in South Dakota, courtesy of the state Poetry Society. With events all over the state, it’s an opportunity to find inspiration, or lift your own voice.
At the Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City, poet Peggy Norris is preparing to deliver her next piece.
“So this is called, ‘Lost in the Desert of Irrelevance.’ Sometime after the last retirement toast, I wake up," Norris reads. "Dumped into the vast, uncharted desert that lies between career and death. Lacking water bottle or map, I wander. Not quite aimless, but coddiwompling, as the Brits would say. Moving with purpose or intent towards some unknown goal.”
Norris is one of a dozen readers taking advantage of tonight’s open microphone. After he reads, South Dakota Poet Laurate Bruce Roseland says these events are opportunities to be heard.
“For a lot of people, this is the first time they’ve ever read to an audience – out loud – like they’re being seen, they’re being heard, and that’s what’s really important to a lot of people," Roseland said. "This is the way people tell their truth. This is the way people share their values.”
Poets like Carston Martens, who shares his deepest feelings regarding the suicide of a dear friend.
“Maybe because it feels easier to daydream a time in my life when I prioritized euphoria then it does to whisper another apology for crying in public," Martens reads. "So, I’ll keep buying packs of your Turkish Royals and letting them go stale in the glovebox of my car. Reaching for them when a song, or a scent, or nothing much at all reminds me of you – and I’ll keep living. In fear of the day I can’t remember what your laugh sounded like and the cigarettes don’t taste like your front porch anymore.”
Another Poetry on the road event is scheduled for November 19th in Sioux Falls, and open mics are held for anyone interested in reading at each.