Regina Flynn & Keith Leonard Take Center Stage

By: Joe McGurn September 29, 2016 was another remarkable night for Salem’s State’s Writers’ series. The meeting was held in the MLK room. The guest writers were Keith Leonard, originally from Martha’s Vineyard but who now hails from Ohio, and Salem State’s own Professor Regina Flynn. Professor J.D. Srimgeour welcomed attendees and then introduced both writers. Leonard read from his newly published book of poetry, Ramshackle Ode. Leonard it should be noted, looks far too young to have graduated from Westfield State University, earning an MFA in poetry from Indiana State University, and also having been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Currently, he is on the faculty of the Wellington School in Columbus, Ohio. Leonard stated that his book, Ramshackle Ode, was heavily influenced by the recent birth of his son, Noah, who is now nineteen months old. In his mentioning of Noah he inadvertently stated that he was nineteen years old which drew slight laughter from the audience. His poetry, however, belies his youthful appearance. Leonard admitted that his recent fatherhood informs much of his poetry, he said.  The first poem that he read, “The Doubling,” is a poem about creating new life. “…where two legs become six legs – and that is not impossible math. I could believe the world only wants to double.” Leonard prefaced his next poem, “Strawberries for Dinner,” with a question, “Which fruit has all of its seeds on the outside?” He was surprised to hear so many people answer “strawberries,” which was the segue that he needed to read that poem and to congratulate the strawberry for: For wearing all its seeds on its skin - Too few things say here’s all of me like the – not the apple and its wooden center stones, not the peach’s chipped tooth pit, not me in my muddy work shirts, which I generally ditch after slumping home at the end of the day                                                 the instant I hear the front door click… Other poems included “Osiris Ode, “The Third Commandment, Monarch on Milkweed” and “Ode to Two Syllables.” The latter poem the result of Leonard asking people what their favorite word might be. His friend Ashley, however, responded that her favorite word was her name. In response Leonard wrote this poem, I say hooray to whatever inspired Ashley To say Ashley was her favorite word In the whole damn language – | The gumption to dredge up A little self-praise there, Another poem with a story attached to it was “Grocery Store Manager.” That poem was inspired by Leonard’s experience working in a Trader Joe’s. All employees were required to wear a smile all day long but, Leonard refused to do so. Thus he was relegated to a back room  where there was little customer contact except for small kids who might discover him through a half opened door. The back room, however, was a place not only for Keith to work but to memorize poetry. When asked how it was that he came to be a poet, he mentioned that his grandfather used to write poems disparaging family members and that is what caught Keith’s interest. As a new resident of Bloomington, Indiana, Leonard became involved in a project to plant trees. He may well have been a latter day Johnny Appleseed except he not only planted apple trees but peach trees, and cherry trees. This interest in planting and growing flows into his poetry as he writes about the nurturing and growing of plants as well as his young son Noah. When asked, at the end of the interview, about his work and poetic inspirations, he spoke quietly and offered this explanation, “It takes conscious work to recognize that the only reason you feel sorrow, is because you love something deeply. To hold love and sorrow is an act of joy.” The evening’s second writer was Professor Regina Flynn who presented the audience not only with an essay concerning her travels to Spain in 2015 but a photographic presentation as well. Professor Flynn is an inveterate walker and traveler. She teaches creative non-fiction and memoir writing and is the Coordinator of the Professional Writing Program in the English Department. Her subject was the Camino de Santiago, or the Way of St. James, which is an ancient 480 mile pilgrimage that begins in St. Pied-de-Port in France, and ends at the Cathedral de Santiago in the Galicia Region in Northwestern Spain. Legend has it that the earthly remains of St. James are buried in the cathedral, and pilgrims have been walking the “Way” for over a thousand years. The symbol of the walk is a scallop shell. According to myth and legend, St. James was beheaded in Jerusalem in 44 A.D. and his body was brought by ship to the Iberian Peninsula when the ship sank in the Atlantic. Subsequently, St James’s body was washed up on the coast at Finisterre, covered in scallop shells.  Pilgrims on the Camino either wear the scallop shell like a talisman or keep in on their person. Professor Flynn’s acquaintance with the Camino de Santiago came by chance. She was shopping in a Target store in early 2012 and she saw a video for sale, entitled “The Way,” which concerned the life of a man whose son had died while hiking along “the Way.” It was then that Flynn decided to make the journey herself to see if it might be a travel option for students.

Professor Flynn’s presentation included many beautiful photos, but her descriptive, and often poetic, words, were really what held the audience’s attention.

“You walk west all day, past granite farmhouses, and rock walls so old they support thick coatings of lichen, vines, and pink flowers that  struggled to find the sun through the layers of stones.  In October even near noon time, the shadows are always lengthening.  Since we started  each morning at dawn, we were blessed with the sunrise of each new day, that drenched landscapes in gold.  Curtains of morning fog  secreted cornfields, veiled graveyards, shrouded hillsides in inexplicable  earth bound mists, shot through with sunlight.  Before us at every turn were meadows where the grasses were diamonded with dew.”

All in all, Professor Flynn created an appealing and moving presentation. The Camino de Santiago, is a journey that pilgrims have been taking for over a thousand years. Regina Flynn’s presentation has added new life and vibrancy to this ancient trek.

Keith Leonard and Regina Flynn reinforced how beautiful language can be used to paint a picture, capture a feeling, or transport listeners or readers to another place of beauty and to see and hear things that are apart from everyday life. In short, it was another excellent Writers’ Series event. Joe McGurn is a student in SSU’s Graduate Program in English. An avid runner, marathoner and business owner, he is also a devoted attendee at readings at Salem State and elsewhere on the North Shore.