Introducing Maine Poet - JustNed/dillpickle 62
They Call Me “The Off The Cuff Blue Coll’r Poet”
I was born in the spring of 1962 in Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine.
I’m not going to lie to you and tell you it’s been easy. I’ve written a “Dear God” letter and a will from a very cold, worried hand. Even now, I sit writing in this cold cabin due to wood stove problems, of which I will have to ask the ol’woodsman about. It is 45 degrees at my desk as I write about the poetry and my way of life in the woods of Otis, Maine.
Writing has seen me through many hard times throughout my life. My own “politically free” poetry {on paper seen} has made me laugh under some extreme conditions. It has helped me figure out life’s problems and capture in ink the “Muse” of my dreams.
Poetry is a way of life for me, a way to involve and bring together people from all walks of life and ages. Having been discovered while a custodian at Ellsworth High School by students and members of the English Dept., I was coaxed to attend my first open-mic reading at Hammond Hall in Winter Harbor. I won’t say I wasn’t nervous. I had the kids behind me, that’s why I finally went public. I was also pushed by Phil Wormuth, a Hancock County Technical Center English teacher {now, my Agent.}
Here, in the peacefulness of nature, I have sat through three seasons in the woods of Otis, Maine writing poetry, sharing stories, while living new ones…sharing space with Rascal, the chipmunk, Primer,the bear {who I met as a cub,} A.J., the blind rabbit, and howling coyotes… and let’s not forget the busy beavers!
I have sat at my picnic table with the warmth of a summer’s sun against my back, wrapped within the scents of spring and the fall leaves under foot, writing of babbling brooks, blackberries, and a dill pickle juice-drinking Bigfoot in cahoots with aliens. I have sat reflecting on some very special and artistic young people that I have met in my travels.
I write for the enjoyment that it brings to people, sharing all that I have learned and experienced, and to show the young that, if they put their minds to whatever they wish to accomplish, it can happen {even if it is twenty-five years later!}
I have been writing poetry and short stories since 1976. If anything, I have always been a writer, a poet. Poetry is a great way for the young and old to come together, connect. Recently, I had the opportunity to read and participate in the “GEN NEX Poetry Project” produced an anthology of local poets under thirty. Sitting in the front row was an eight-year-old. Her face was red with laughter. I almost didn’t get through the piece I was reading…For me, that is Poetry. JustNed
I do not suffer from writer’s block. Having way too many projects and not enough time. I am currently working on two books. “Maine Short, Short Stories as Told” and “All The Sense of Summer” a book of prose and poetry. I live my books, my writings. Having been giftedly born into hilarious situations and surviving quite by accident. I am now able to share the wealth of imagination with the public through the written word. I’d have to say that my favorite poem is “The Perfect Pearl”. Because she lives. She is Mon Muse…
http://www.bluecollarpoet.com/index.html