Pat Draper and Sara Wilson PHOTO BY MARY SCHENKEL

Amateur and professional poets shared their innermost thoughts at the 14th annual Poetry & BBQ fundraiser to benefit the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation.

This year’s Mothers and Daughters themed presentation, which featured renowned poets Cathy Smith Bowers, Tina Mozelle Braziel and Sarah Freligh, as well as members of the LRJF writing groups, took place at the Richardson Center at IRSC, neighbor to the Laura (Riding) Jackson cracker style home that is cared for by the foundation.

“We start our program off today with the talents of our local poets, all of whom are participants in our writing groups,” said Carrie Adams, vice president for programming.

Groups, which meet at various days, locations and times, currently include Night Writers, Pen Points, Porch Poets and its “sister” group Pole Barn Poets, Poets Corner, Tuesday Writers and Write Life.

Adams said they are open to all skill levels, from novice to accomplished, and because of their popularity, there are waitlists for each group.

The audience heard poems by Adriana DeKanter, Anna Kenna (read by Susan Lovelace), Jacie Grady, Barb DeVoe, Michael Howard, Debbi Smith, Bonnie MacDougall, April Cole, Bruce Fraser, John DiMenna (read by wife Lynn), Christine Light and Jacque Jacobs. Pat Draper, the new Indian River County Poet Laureate, read her own poem before closing out that portion of the program by reading one by the organization’s namesake.

The writers courageously bared their souls through their works as they shared poetry about everything from love and heartache to resilience and hope.

Sean Sexton, former Indian River County Poet Laureate, had arranged for the three featured speakers and spoke a little about each of the three award-winning poets.

Tina Mozelle Braziel, from rural Alabama, has written two poetry books, “Rooted by Thirst” and “Known by Salt,” and, with husband James Braziel, co-wrote “Glass Cabin,” chronicling the 13 years they spent building their home by hand; one which still has no running water.

“I just want to thank all y’all for having me here. This is really an honor, and especially an honor to read with the local poets that read earlier. Your poetry was beautiful. It’s a hard act to follow,” said Braziel.

Sexton said that when he told Sarah Freligh she would be coming to a little town she likely hadn’t heard of, she said she had because of Dodgertown, visiting here as a newspaper sportswriter.

“Thank you so much for being here. Thank you, Sean, for inviting me,” said Freligh, the Rochester, N.Y., author of “Hereafter,” “Dear You,” “A Brief Natural History of Women,” “We,” “Sad Math,” “Sort of Gone” and “A Brief Natural History of an American Girl,” plus numerous flash fiction writings and poetry.

She added with prescience to her humor, that after listening to her two Southern colleagues, “I realized that all poetry should be read in beautiful southern accents. Please bear with me while I read you some poems in my bitter Yankee accent.”

Cathy Smith Bowers, a native of South Carolina, has five published collections of poetry: “The Love That Ended Yesterday in Texas,” “Traveling in Time of Danger,” “A Book of Minutes,” “The Candle I Hold Up to See You” and “Like Shining from Shook Foil.”

“You know, I’m not just making this up, but this is the best reading I’ve ever been to and I haven’t even read yet,” said Bowers with a laugh, thanking Sexton for putting her in touch with the other two “marvelous” poets.

“And also, you guys who read today, it’s an experience that lets us know how connected we are. I guess the word that comes to mind because I like to sound academic, is archetypal.”

For more information, visit LauraRidingJackson.org.

Photos by Mary Schenkel