Radar / ARTS
The POWER of Prose Earlier this year, 23-year-old Amanda Gorman became the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history when she read “The Hill We Climb” at the White House, sparking a newfound appreciation for one of the world’s oldest art forms. In celebration of National Poetry Month, we asked three talented locals to pen original works just for you. b y T R AC Y M A R C E L LO
A boy once told me, . We are made of stars ine I imagined bits of sh inside us. broken off from stars ts — e of divine ingredien He meant, we are mad iron in our blood, calcium in our teeth, dies crafted every atom in our bo d stars. in the kiln of long-dea You. Me. et, Those we’ve never m might never know,
es of — ’ve only read the nam in cities and towns we of Rio, refoot in the streets kids playing soccer ba to school in Accra, a girl riding her bike , Alabama even the boy in Orion t— tered canvas of nigh gazing up at the spat er by stars. all of us plaited togeth On starry nights ends we’ve lost mothers, fathers, fri wink at us. , We are made of stars we dazzle.
22
ABOUT GEORGIA When Georgia Heard’s father left home for the Vietnam War, the then 8-year-old used poetry to express her mixed feelings about it. “Poetry gave me clarity,” says the North Palm Beach resident. “When I watched news of the war on TV, I was afraid that my father wouldn’t come home alive. It was difficult to talk about what I was feeling so I started writing instead.” She earned a Master of Fine Arts in poetry from Columbia University and subsequently published 19 poetry collections for children and adults. Her newest adult collection, A Field Guide to the Heart, will be published this summer. Heard has given seminars, workshops, and keynotes on writing and poetry in schools and universities all over the world. She also leads online poetry writing workshops through The Poet’s Studio (visit georgiaheard.com for details) and has been a regular at the Palm Beach Poetry Festival and the Poetry-by-the-Sea event at Jupiter Beach Resort and Spa. Through these avenues, the award-winning author helps others use poetry as a tool to endure their own hardships. “When we don’t pay attention to our inner lives, we become empty,” says Heard. “Poetry can help us nourish that inner space even though sometimes it’s not easy to do. People are often intimidated by poetry because of the way it has been taught, but I believe everyone starts out as a poet. It’s one of our greatest tools for living.”
W STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY
ade of Stars” “ We AreByM Georgia Heard
STUART | APRIL 2 0 2 1
022_ARTS_0421.indd 22
3/3/21 10:42 AM
