The Poet is In @Main : The power of Library programs
April 29, 2019
To celebrate National Poetry Month, Library staff member Pam Turner came up with the idea to do a poet-in-residence program at Main Library. Her original concept was to have two poets spend an hour a day at an unused public service desk and write poetry on-demand for anyone who asked.
The Poet is IN @ Main has grown from Turner’s original concept. Instead of having only two poets available for an hour each day, a group of poets and Library staff members occupy the desk from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., during the month of April, to write poems for anyone who stops by with a prompt. The poets sit behind the desk, equipped with typewriters and personalized stationery, ready to deliver poems for those who seek them.
One poem recipient was Library staff member Jenna Marrotta. On April 2, 2019, she came to visit the poets and scribbled a prompt down for her poet to use as inspiration. “I wrote that I have a son recently diagnosed with Autism and that I would like to have a poem that helped express my love for my son, but also describes how completely different our life has become after receiving this diagnosis,” Marrotta said.
She worried that her prompt might be too specific for anyone to be able to compose a poem. However, Marrotta received the following:
Hey mommy
It’s me
your special little boy
and i wanted you to know
it was nt always perfect
but your love helped me grow
Weve always had problems trying to comprehend
They way to love each other
in a way we both understand
you always wanted me to look you in your eyes
but you never realized how much I loved your lullabyes
You always thought I neede special tending
I always felt your ability to worry was never ending
But I want to thank you
We were never tv ready
Life was always hectic
and i didn’t always do as i directed
But i never told you
So i don’t think you know
How much of me I got from you
How I cherished all the things we’d do
even when you though i wasn’t paying attention
Icouldnt tell you then, because i didn’t have the words
You hadnt yet taught me how to navigate this absurd
crazy world
But it was you who showed me, all the things i could do
Like Reading, and cooking and video games
i mean you were the one you taught me how to write my name
and maybe our relationship was never the same
As the ones we saw on tv
But i promis you
the reality
was so much more we
So much more me
So much so that i couldn’t possibly
wishfor any other
I’ve only made it this far …
Because of my mother
Her poet signed the poem “From a man on the spectrum for a mother he never knew.” Marrotta was immediately brought to tears. Her poet happened to be on the spectrum himself. She felt his poem shared his own voice, but also captured the voice of her son who is not yet able to communicate his thoughts. Also, in another coincidence, April 2 happened to be World Autism Day.
She stated, “This is a poem I will cherish forever and it was particularly meaningful to me, especially today.”
This is the last remaining structure associated with Camp Greene, a World War I training camp that was located in Charlotte from 1917-1919. In return, the department received hundreds of personal artifacts of soldiers stationed at Camp Greene, including medals, pay books, equipment and helmets The department also received 85 photographs. These items will become part of the archives.
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