Readers can find four separate posts about her writing life. If you like getting a closer look at southern poet and like reading a number of her poems, please leave a comment.
S.C. Poet Jayne Jaudon Ferrer and N.C. Poet Laureate Cathy Smith Bowers ( photo taken) at the 19th Annual NCWN West Picnic held on the grounds of Western Carolina University, Sept 5, 2010.
Jayne is the creator and host of YOUR DAILY POEM. She is dedicated to sharing poetry with the world, and especially with young people, an ambitious goal that is working well. See link to YOUR DAILY POEM below. Join free and you will receive a poem each day, some by major poets and some from poets just now beginning to practice the art and craft of writing poetry.
When Nancy Simpson asked Jayne Jaudon Ferrer for a copy of her favorite poem from among her many published poems, she sent this one, and wrote:
"How about one long poem instead of two shorter ones? One of my very favorite poems is "Almanac," from A Mother of Sons. It incorporates all the best memories I have of my sons into a sort of 'poetic calendar.' "
Almanac by Jayne Jaudon Ferrer
It is summer.
I know from wild, primal whoops that
echo
in the afternoon stillness.
From firm-fleshed rumps
glistening
like peaches in the breeze
as one, two, three!, they
bounce
in front yard sprinklers and backyard pools.
I know from sweat-damp foreheads
and blackberry-moist chins,
chubby hands
clenched
around pickle jars blinking
twi-light
twi-light
twi-i-i-light
in the cabernet softness.
It is fall.
I know from dancing eyes and
cinnamon cheeks that
peek
over smiling wisps of cocoa.
From cowboy boots
scuffling
through restless crimson and topaz leaves
like tiny torpedoes
streaking
into a school of skittish guppies.
I know from pumpkins,
their smooth flesh
hacked
and jagged where virgin fingers
sought to create ghouls
from a simple gourd.
It is winter.
I know from giddy whispers
in the halls,
carillon giggles that rival cherished carols
in their sweet, simple melodies of joy.
From fingertips frosted
pink as a newborn kitten’s nose,
their woolly red cocoons
flung aside
in pursuit of the perfect snowball.
I know from
footsteps
in the final chill before dawn ascends,
a prelude to softly rooting heads and
feebly flailing limbs in search of
warmth and safe haven
for a few moments more.
It is spring.
I know from
sweaters slung
impatiently
around slim denim hips,
the sole concession made
to still-brisk mornings.
From lace—Queen Anne’s—
pieceworked
with just-plucked stems of milkweed and Lazy Susans
presented in a pride-filled fist.
I know from bunnies,
chocolate ones and
plush ones and
terrified ones
clutched in smudged, impetuous arms
I hope will always make room
for me.
From A Mother of Sons (Loyola Press, 2004)
From A Mother of Sons (Loyola Press, 2004)
(Her books are available at any bookstore. If you do not find the book you want on the bookshelf,
the bookstore will be happy to order you ca copy. Also, books are available on Amazon.Com.)
Jayne speaks and teaches writing through the country. Check her site below to learn where she will be teaching in the future. Photo below taken at John C. Campbell Folk School (2010) She is scheduled
to each writing again at JCCFS in 2012.
3 comments:
Jayne is a terrific person and I am happy she contacted us some years ago and volunteered to be the South Carolina Rep for Netwest.
Her books make wonderful gifts for mothers. I enjoy her humor and the fact that Jayne believes, as I do, that poetry should be accessible for everyone.
Nancy,
I studied under Jayne at the John C. Campbell Folk School. I enjoyed her class very much. She is one of my favorite poets and I'm glad you have chosen her as "Poet of the Month."
I subscribe to "Your Daily Poem", and enjoy it.
This was a lovely poem that showcased Jayne' children and the seasons. I could see those children in the sprinklers!
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