Devotees of the written word gathered at the quaint “cracker”-style home of the noted 20th century poet Laura (Riding) Jackson to attend this year’s “Three Daughters of Eve”-themed Poetry & BBQ event to benefit the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation.
Now in its sixth year, literary lovers were treated Sunday afternoon to a program featuring award winning poet/authors Alice Friman, poet-in-residence at Georgia College; Laurel Blossom, the first-ever Poet Laureate of Edgefield, South Carolina; and Sidney Wade, a 23-year professor of creative writing at the University of Florida.
A lovely breeze blew through the open-air tent where chairs had been set up alongside the house, and later a southern barbeque dinner with all the fixings was enjoyed at picnic tables in the original Jackson pole barn, accompanied by bluegrass music by the Hot Sauce Boys.
Before they were enthralled by the featured poets, attendees – many established writers in their own right – listened appreciatively to heartfelt poetry from young up-and-comers enrolled in LRJF Teen Writing Workshops, the most recent one led by Sabrina Carpenter.
“They knocked my socks off,” said Carpenter as she introduced them. “These kids shared the most intimate thoughts.”
The evening before Marie Stiefel, current chairman of the LRJF, hosted an intimate reception with the visiting poets at her beautiful home in Riomar. The evening also featured a presentation by Richard Allen (Al) Shoaf, author, alumni professor of English at the University of Florida, and a foremost authority on Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton.
“Sharon Sexton made the ‘Three Daughters of Eve’ and installed them last summer; that was the inspiration for the theme,” explained Stiefel of the delightful statuary, now right at home among the lush, beautifully landscaped grounds of her home. Intricate replica birdhouses, each a model of a real home, also dot the property, including one of the Laura (Riding) Jackson house.
“I work with the Teen Writers Workshops; that’s been a lot of fun,” said Stiefel. “We’re lucky. We’ve got three teachers, one each from Saint Edward’s, Sebastian and Vero Beach High School, and they keep us grounded. It’s been really wonderful.”
Rene VanDeVoorde is one of the few people involved in the foundation who actually knew Jackson. He served as an attorney for her trust, which managed her publications for 20 years following her death. When asked about his favorite memory of her, VanDeVoorde smiled and said, “The first time I met her. She was a little tiny woman with piercing blue eyes. When you looked into her eyes, you knew she was something special.”
Guests sat on the expansive lawn overlooking the Riomar Golf Club, with the rhythmic sound of the ocean in the background, as Sean Sexton introduced Shoaf, adding, “This is a night of beautiful weather, romance and wine.”
Shoaf spoke of Dante’s feelings on the sorrows and joys of erotic union, based on writings from what he described as the longest love poem ever written – Commedia (Devine Comedy). “Shortly after the death of his one true love, he wrote a poem unlike any poem ever written by anyone,” said Shoaf.
Laura (Riding) Jackson lived in the historic home with husband Schuyler Jackson from 1943 until her death at age 90 in 1991, and in 1994 it was transported to its current location on the grounds of the Environmental Learning Center. In addition to the home’s preservation, the foundation hosts Teen Writing and Adult Writing Workshops and a seasonal Porch Writers Group.
