EXTRA CREDIT Bowers and Byers

On April 1st I had the pleasure of attending a poetry reading by Cathy Smith Bowers and Kathryn Stripling Byers in the CCC&TI gym.
Cathy Smith Bowers is from Lancaster, SC. She studied at Winthrop University, and did her graduate work at Oxford University in England. Cathy is now the poet laureate of North Carolina. For her part of the reading, Mrs. Bowers read five poems. They were Syntax, The Napkin, Where's my Frog, The Suit Our Brother Could Have Worn, and Shadowdancing. It would be hard to decide which poem was my favorite as I thoroughly enjoyed all of them. If I had to choose though, I would probably say Syntax was my favorite because I love words and writing and messing with syntax and semantics. Along with her reading, Cathy gave the audience a couple tips about writing poetry such as begin with a visual, and recreate whole experiences with your words. She also said that you shouldn't be to afraid of rejection...just be persistent and patient if you are serious about writing.
Kathryn Stripling Byer was born in Georgia, but has lived in North Carolina since 1968. She studied at both Wesleyan University and UNC Greensborough. She was the NC poet laureate before Mrs. Bowers, and is currently the poet in residence at Western Carolina University. Kathryn read three of her poems. They were Piece of Cake, Lent, and Dulcimer. My favorite of the three was Piece of Cake because of how she played with words and free-associated from word to word. Ms. Byer's advice as far as writing poetry was begin with an image, create a story and follow it through until the end.
I really enjoyed seeing these two poets and am looking forward to the next poetry event at the school.