At a poetry reading this past Sunday at McKee Botanical Garden, roughly 60 invited guests listened enthralled as Deming Holleran read from Gypsy Song, a newly published collection of her emotive poetry.
“Deming published the book in November,” said Sheila Marshall, a cousin of Holleran’s. “We went to her first reading in Sea Oaks and thought; we’ve got to do it here as well. They’re very soulful; very thought-provoking.”
Before the reading, over wine and hors d’oeuvres prepared by Chef Chris Bireley of Osceola Bistro at McKee, guests mingled with Holleran and husband Romer; greeting old friends and making new ones. The couple, who met as classmates at Harvard roughly 50 years ago, has a winter home in Riomar and summer in New Hampshire and the St. Lawrence River’s beautiful Thousand Islands, where they first met Joan and Skip Tolette, one of two couples from The Moorings, along with Sheila and George Marshall, who hosted the event.
“They’re on an American island, we’re on a Canadian island. It takes about four minutes to go from one to the other,” she said.
Holleran only began writing poetry 20 years ago after enrolling in a poetry class at Dartmouth, where she was working on a Master’s degree. It was a cathartic approach to watching her mother’s once brilliant mind and active body deteriorate from the ravages of Alzheimer’s.
“I thought it might be an opportunity to help me deal with the emotions around this catastrophic occurrence,” said Holleran. “I didn’t know what I was dealing with; just that it was tough. It’s been a wonderful help to me.” She and the poetry teacher soon founded a workshop, the Still Puddle Poets, which continues to this day.
Holleran’s poetry clearly resonated with the audience “of a certain age” who nodded in agreement as they found themselves relating not only to the angst of watching loved ones slowly slip away but also to the realization that they themselves might also be losing some of their luster.
Between the readings of her poignant poetry, Holleran spoke of The Frost Place, a poetry center and museum at Robert Frost’s former homestead in Franconia, NH, where she attended a week-long conference as a budding poet, and now chairs its board of trustees.
Taking questions from the appreciative audience, she said her poetry centers on family, emotions and a sense of place, admitting that the process is at times difficult and painful.
“It’s a mystery to me and this is what is so much fun,” she said, in answer to where her ideas come from. “All these things come out that I didn’t know were there.”
“Oh my, I was choked up most of the time; it was so moving,” said Karen Abell. “She’s been my neighbor in Riomar 16 years, and I had no idea she wrote poetry. It’s the first time that I’ve heard a poetry reading where I understood everything. Not only were the poems beautiful, but the way she read them was so beautiful.”
Gypsy song is available at www.AntrimHouseBooks.com, where you can also read samples of her poetry.