OK, that was amazing.

Last night’s Call & Response event centered around poets reading and artists talking about their work. The watercolorist Carol LaChiusa (pictured with me above) responded to my poem, “Mind Game” with her painting, “Mind Games.” She said that she tried to capture the imagery of my poem (such as the night setting), but kept feeling that it wasn’t working. So she shifted to depicting a memory of her own, a time she was in Madeira, Portugal. Few, if any, of the artists actually illustrated the poems, which is good—the poems served as spring boards to some amazing art.

Christian Kroeyr’s vulnerable poem, “What a Life” (which begins, “I never felt like a person, more like an ‘it.’”) gave rise to Candace Law’s “Until the Next Time,” an encaustic on wood using images on tissue paper:

Artwork also inspired some incredible poetry, such as Patricia Barnes’ “Trinity,” a response to Laura Whitesides Host’s Moroccan Muses, or Kelly Fordon’s “Nothing Compares to You,” a poem drawing on two works by Kimberly Kelly Santini (The Smallest Light and Untitled). A surreal work in porcelain (essentially, a plate you would display as art rather than serve food with), Joan Smykowski’s UFO Abducting a Dragon inspired Dwight G. Stackhouse’s “62 Miles to Eternity.” He introduced the poem by pointing up, stating that if we traveled 62 miles in that direction, we would be in “the universe;” then, pointing west, noted that if we travel 62 miles in that direction, we would be in Ann Arbor.

Unfortunately, I neglected to take any pictures during the performances, which took place in a nearby, larger room with a stage. Many of the poets and artists had their first real interactions with each other on that stage, even though most of us had been at the swap meet (I’m calling it that just now, but the date in July when we brought our work and selected someone else’s). It was on the stage I learned, with relief and gratitude, that Theresa Moore loved my response to her reduction linocut print, View of Loch Long.

I hope I expressed my admiration and appreciation enough to Carol LaChiusa for her response to my “Mind Game.” She made it very clear how moved she was by the poem and its imagery.

That same scene of appreciation, often with hugs exchanged, was seen almost every time a poet and artist were onstage together. It is a truly wonderful community of creative folks—always changing, but you certainly do see a lot of friends there, and meet new ones as well.

The gallery show continues through January 7, 2024. You can visit Sundays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., or make an appointment. The book may also still be purchased for the low price of $10! It is a quality publication, and a great introduction to / anthology of local Detroit-area artists and poets! For information, visit the GPCC Arts Ministry’s Facebook page or call 313-884-3075.