Fools & Writers

Maxine Sheets-Johnstone

Caitlin NicholsonAnn StaleyFools and writers gathered on Friday, April 1, 2011 to celebrate Off the Page, No. 5, in Yachats, Oregon.

The fifth annual event was held at a new location — the Overleaf Lodge Event Center — and a record crowd of 80 people turned out on a rainy April Fools evening to enjoy a lively performance of poetry and prose. 

Many thanks to the featured writers: Khlo Brateng, Brian Hanna, Maxine Sheets-Johnstone, Caitlin Nicholson, Ann Staley, and Drew Myron. Singer and songwriter Richard Sharpless kicked off the evening with a musical vibe.

And many thanks to the attentive and supportive crowd, described by several as "reverent" and "encouraging."

"What an amazing night," said an audience member. "I laughed so hard I cried. I cried as my heart and soul were touched. It was a delightful spectrum." 

After the show, poet Ann Staley weaved together the evening's words:

 Beyond Forgetting
    with thanks to Khlo, Brian,
                  Maxine, Caitlin & Drew
 
Welcome that show-stopper moon,
poised between grief and joy
(still) feeling your aliveness.
What are doors, but portals into the next open space,
                  where emptiness greets emptiness.
Where will you begin?
Not playing Hamlet or Ophelia?
with Joyce’s “A Painful Case”?
Who are you living for, (anyway)?
We fish the sky for answers,
let go in the tide.
Watch stunned,
hear the groan of galloping greed.
Let my soul shine like new daffodils.
If I erase this moment,
a whole lifetime will float like confetti.
I can prove it with my eyes.

found poem
Off The Page V, readers
heard & arranged by Ann Staley
April 1, 2011