BY MOLLY COOK Whidbey Life Magazine contributor
July 22, 2013
Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken grew up in Richland and now lives in the Seattle area, but for three days in October 2012, she was very much a part of the Whidbey Island art scene, when she visited Whidbey as part of her outreach work as Poet Laureate.
Flenniken worked with students at all levels in Oak Harbor, Coupeville and Langley. In addition, she gave public readings for adults at the Coupeville and Freeland libraries, led workshops for teachers and engaged in informal dinner conversations in Coupeville and Langley.
Everyone who met Flenniken was charmed by her warmth and by her words. Her two books of poetry, “Famous” and “Plume,” grew out of her young life “on the Project” and her later experience living near and then working at the Hanford nuclear site. Her poetry reminds us that in the right poetic hands, even the most challenging subjects can become beautiful.
Flenniken recently let us know of some new developments with her poetry and here they are for all those who enjoyed meeting and hearing her this past October, and for those who may be new to the poet’s work.
Flenniken recorded a 30-minute interview with Dick Gordon, host of “The Story,” produced by WUNC/North Carolina Public Radio and distributed nationally. You can hear the interview here.
The poet was the subject of a five-minute documentary by Lou Karsen produced for the “Document Challenge” in March. The documentary includes original music and inspired interpretations of two poems from “Plume.” Karsen hopes the film will have its Seattle premier soon. In the meantime, you can see this powerful documentary here.
Composer Reginald Unterseher has set four poems from “Plume” to music with a string quartet and a soprano, and called it “Hanford Songs.” Flenniken wrote that “it is moving, haunting, spooky, gorgeous.” The piece was performed in Wenatchee in June and future performances and a recording are in the works. You can read more about Reg Unterseher and “Hanford Songs” here.
This week I welcome a guest — fellow writer and former Whidbey Islander Molly Cook, who recently re-discovered her penchant for visual art. Here’s Molly:
“Color is an animal that wags its own tail.”
I found this note carefully written on the cover of one of my long unused sketch books today, and I remembered where I had once been and why.
Two weeks ago I decided – although “decided” is not quite the right word – to put my writing aside and get back to art. Visual art. Painting and collage and pastels and charcoal. Since then, as I’ve made my way home along a path overgrown with words and agents and big changes in publishing, it’s been like walking toward a place I once loved, seeing familiar sights along the way, and hearing voices that offer a warm welcome.
Anna Mary Robertson, also known as “Grandma Moses,” began painting in her 70s and became famous for her primitive style work. Here she is plein aire painting in upstate New York, where she lived. (Photo courtesy of Hoosick Township Historical Society)
I’m not an artist. Not yet. But 25 years ago, I took classes in Gloucester, Massachusetts and at Montserrat and Endicott Colleges further down the coast in Beverly. When I enrolled in the first class, I told the instructor I was a real beginner. “I can’t even draw a straight line.” She laughed and told me that was a good thing. “Art is not about drawing straight lines.” I took other classes from her and a few months later she told me I should consider art school. “You have talent.”
I almost cried. It took me a few years to make good on that suggestion, but I did, finally, as a student at Maine College of Art in 1993. I headed west again for family reasons after just a year. I enrolled in art history and sculpture at Oregon State, but things went astray. The art history professor I wanted to work with received a big grant and went on a two-year sabbatical. The sculpture professor turned out to be an excellent sculptor, but not so much as a teacher.
Because I already had some history of creative writing, I was invited to sit in on a panel about writing one day and met faculty members of OSU’s excellent creative writing program. I liked them, and the possibility of earning an MFA was attractive, so I signed on and put my art supplies away. Not entirely, but for all intents and purposes.
I’ve been working hard at the writing game for the last 20 years. I’ve published two books and written more, been immersed in writing and teaching activities including my Skylark Writing Studio at the Bayview Cash Store and hosting poetry events. It’s been a great ride, but a tough one with all the changes in the publishing world now, changes that have taken much of the pleasure out of what was once a pleasure.
So a couple of weeks ago as I was pondering the next and possibly last big chunk of my life, I knew I did not want to spend it on the writing train. When the thought occurred to me two weeks ago that I wanted to do art again, I felt myself smile from the heart. And when I saw a class offered at the Kirkland Arts Center in illustrating children’s books, the smile grew wide.
I sent a note off to Whidbey’s own Deb Lund, children’s book writer extraordinaire, to ask her advice. Her encouraging reply set off a chain of contacts, information, and thoughts about becoming involved in a world that’s about as happy as it gets – creating books for kids.
So, here I am – about to enter my Grandma Moses phase, I guess. I’ve saved a lot more of my supplies than I realized, and as I pulled everything together today including some drawings and sketches that surprised me – they’re not that bad! – I felt happier than I have in a long time.
I have no idea where this is going, but that’s exactly where I want to be at the moment. I’m having fun looking at stacks of children’s books. I know very well by now that it’s important not to let the pigeon drive the bus! And folks who know me might be surprised to learn that I’ve expanded from my quintessential writer’s uniform – black turtlenecks and jeans – to color. Lots of color.
That wonderful animal that wags its own tail.
Follow Molly’s Cook’s adventures at her websketch, Good Golly Miss Molly here. Cook also lends erudite writing advice at her Skylark Writing Studio website and writes the Technology Road Trip websketch devoted to all things tech-centric.
Upcoming children’s events:
“Dig Into Magic with Jeff Evans,” 1:30 p.m. at Langley Library; 4 p.m. at Freeland Library; 7 p.m. at Clinton Library on Tuesday, June 18. The same way that the magic of books lie beneath the cover of books, the mysteries of the earth lie beneath the ground. Magician Jeff Evans unearths secrets of the deep in his all-new subterranean summer reading spectacular. The surprises are non-stop whether Jeff is mining for precious metals, discovering aquifers of drinking water, or sharing amazing facts about the world’s deepest supercave. Science stunts, creepy crawlies, and amazing magic are buried throughout the show. Funded by the Friends of the Freeland Library.
“Dig Into Summer Reading: Insect Safari,” 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 19, Coupeville Recreation Hall, 901 NW Alexander St. Do you dig bugs? Join entomologist Don Ehlen for an up-close and personal look at the fascinating lives of insects. Examine his impressive collection of specimens and meet a few who are still crawling! Funded by Friends of the Coupeville Library.
Summer Cinema: “Wreck-It Ralph,” 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 26 at Coupeville Library. Wreck-It Ralph longs to be as beloved as his game’s perfect good guy, Fix-It Felix. Problem is, nobody loves a bad guy. But they do love heroes…so when a modern first-person shooter game arrives, Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. Rated PG; 101 minutes.
Find listings for events for children and families at all Whidbey Island libraries here.
Writer at her Work MOLLY LARSON COOK, Nov. 9, 2012
Words worth fighting for
In a couple of days, we’ll celebrate Veteran’s Day, which began as Armistice Day to mark the end of World War I, a grim and costly battle for liberty, the War to End All Wars. Since then, of course, we’ve seen more wars than we’d like to remember, all in the name of liberty.
For writers and readers, that liberty includes the freedom to write and read what we choose. Among our choices are stories about the wars themselves recounted by those who were there or those who waited at home for loved ones to return. My list of the best war stories is headed by Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam novel, “The Things They Carried,” and by his nonfiction account, “If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me Home.” Close behind are Michael Ondaatje’s “The English Patient,” Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22,” and Ernest Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms.” Hemingway famously told an interviewer that he rewrote the ending to “A Farewell to Arms” 39 times. When the interviewer asked what the problem was, Hemingway replied, “Getting the words right.”
For any author, “getting the words right” is always the problem. Serious writers work hard at that task.
A young marine in Da Nang, Vietnam taken by an unknown photographer. (Photo courtesy of the National Archives website)
Although the novels I mentioned are favorites, and although the list of good war novels is long, the one that most affected me was Dalton Trumbo’s “Johnny Got His Gun.” Trumbo was a screenwriter who was inspired to write the novel after reading about a soldier who had been so badly injured in World War I that his only means of communication was to tap out Morse code on his pillow. The anti-war novel was published in 1939 and won the National Book Award, although Trumbo was later blacklisted by the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee.
Our literary freedoms do not come easily. But we keep writing and telling the truths of our lives and history.
Writers often look for prompts to get the juices going in their own work. I suggest this one in honor of Veteran’s Day and all it means. Consider the impact of war, any war, on your life. Maybe you missed the draft for Vietnam. Maybe you didn’t miss it and went to war in the 60s. Maybe your dad or grandfather fought in Europe or the Pacific in the 40s. Maybe you were a kid who understood about rationing and saving tinfoil during that same war. Maybe you or someone you loved went to Iraq. Or Afghanistan. Or stayed home to keep the home fires burning. Maybe a loved one died on a battlefield on one continent or another, and the hole in your heart will never be healed. Write about it. Let it come and see where it takes you.
It took Karl Marlantes almost 40 years to write his opus, “Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War,” but it’s a masterpiece. My own Vietnam novel is still a work-in-progress and might always be.
Writing is a way of coming to terms, and I’m still trying.
Related event:
The Freeland Library will sponsor Book-It Repertory Theatre’s presentation, “Danger: Books!” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island (20103 Highway 525, 2 miles north of Freeland.)
“Danger: Books!” is an ongoing series of readings from books that have been banned or challenged in the United States. Professional actors will present selections from “Brave New World,” “All But Alice,” and others.
Molly Larson Cook is a recent Whidbey Island ex-pat who lives in Bellevue, Wash. She is a novelist, writing coach and editor, who teaches writing through her Skylark Writing Studio. She is a prolific websketcher at Good Golly Miss Molly, a blog about everything, and at The Flowered Cow, which focuses on the craft of writing.
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