On June 28, Still North Books & Bar hosted a poetry reading showcasing works of Vermont-based poet Kate Gibbel, Vermont-based poet and essayist Carlene Kucharczyk and Los Angeles-based poet and musician Alexandria Hall. Co-organized by Still North and Gibbel, the reading lasted one hour and drew 15 to 20 attendees.
According to Still North assistant store manager H Rooker, the poetry reading was put on with “very short notice” — planned in only two weeks — making it “a little bit atypical” compared to other readings. Rooker explained that the store had collaborated with Gibbel extensively in the past through the English and creative writing department, making it easy to plan the event with a short timeframe.
The event began with a short introduction from Gibbel, who then read an original poem titled “The Cloud of Unknowing.” Gibbel shared most of the poem, which discussed the death of her coworker, but left out one section due to its specificity.
“Writing about someone you know in real life feels weird to read … out loud,” she explained to the audience.
After Gibbel’s reading, Kucharczyk introduced and read her work, “Self-Portrait Through Glass,” which was inspired by the poet John Ashbery. Hall then transitioned to two more originals, “The Wasteland” and an unnamed poem about marriage.
After the reading, the poets took questions from the audience about their writing, inspiration and the evening’s selection of poems.
During the question and answer period, the poets reflected on their choice to read long poems. Kucharzyk apologized for her decision, explaining that she was not sure she had made a “good choice.”
“The odds are better with multiple short poems,” she added.
Despite Kucharzyk’s fears, some attendees appreciated the longer form works. Kim Aakre, the mother of Gibbel’s partner, said she “loved the long poem.”
“[The length] wasn’t even something I was even aware of,” she added.
Andy Aakre, the father of Gibbel’s partner, said he and his wife attended the event because they are “big fans of Kate” and “love poetry.”
“Poetry can be really complex, and there are sometimes images that will jump at you and grab you,” Aakre said. “And then there are times when you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have no idea what this image means or this doesn’t mean anything.’”
Still North employees also enjoyed the opportunity to experience poetry with others.
“During this [reading] I kept catching myself being like, ‘Oh, that feeling is why I love this,’” Rooker said. “Being able to be in a place where people can come and feel that way and hear those things means a lot to me.”
Both Kucharczyk and Hall said they have been drawn to the complexities and unexpected images that writing poetry provides since they were young.
“I wrote lyrics as a kid and really loved singing,” Kucharczyk said. “The first actual poem I remember writing was in response to a prompt in high school. A student had taken a photograph to write poems [about], and it just really clicked for me.”
Hall said her passion for poetry was jump-started by an elementary school teacher.
“I always had a love of language, and playing with language and also song,” Hall said. “When I was a little kid, I got bullied in elementary school, but I had a third [or] fourth grade teacher who really saw me and she was into poetry. She would give me all of these extracurricular assignments and that’s when I really fell in love with it.”
As they have grown up, the poets have honed her skills and found their own, new sources of inspiration.
Hall said that she takes inspiration from “anything.”
“Whatever obsessions one has at the moment are a guide,” she said.
Gibbel said the American Precision Museum in her hometown of Windsor, Vt. has provided a recent source of inspiration.
“I’m obsessed with the history of precision manufacturing in the Connecticut Valley Region,” she explained. “So I’ve been working on a longer series about precision manufacturing and machine race in the 1860s.”
