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New Hampshire Poet Showcase
From NH Poet Laureate, Walter E. Butts

At my request, the NH Arts Council is providing me with a link to the poet laureate page on their website in order that I may continue to showcase poems by a number of New Hampshire Poets. The poets will be by my invitation only, but I plan to include those who are seriously working at their craft from many areas of the state.

Featured Poet: Mary Ann Sullivan, New Durham

Mary Ann SullivanMary Ann Sullivan has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Norwich University and a Doctor of Arts degree from Franklin Pierce University. As a cloistered Cistercian and later Dominican nun, Mary Ann wrote poetry using a monastic practice called lectio divina. That poetry appears in her e-chap Mending My Black Sweater, published by eratio Editions, a Brooklyn-based publishing company. Her poems have been published online at places such as the BBC Arts Online and BlazeVox.  Her literary interviews and commentaries appear in sites like Jacket and The Poetry Library, Southbank Centre, London.  An Associate Professor at Hesser College in New Hampshire, Mary Ann teaches creative writing, composition and communications courses.  Primarily a digital poet, she is the editor of The Tower Journal and enjoys lecturing on the topic of  Digital Poetry, having done so at places like The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and the American Association of University Professors’ 2010 conference.  Her dissertation is called “Digital Poetry and the Greek Notion of Nous.”  Samples of her digital poetry can be found at the links below.
 
I wrote David and Goliath at a time when the pressures of life were hindering my ability to write poetry.  For me, old testament figures serve as symbols and metaphors.  In this case, Goliath symbolizes all that hinders me from creating, whether it be actual human beings, the business of life, or my own personal flaws.  With this poem, I confront and slay the giant.
 
David and Goliath

 
 I will take one small stone
 and I will stand before the giant
 who threatened so many
 
 and while the crowd screams,
 goads on
 mocks
 
 with experience gained alone
 at my leisure
 with a solitary sling
 
 I will in a short moment
 To the forehead
 Send a stone
 Direct
 
 There
 
 And then
 And then
 
 Having felled the glumox
 
 Continue
 at my leisure
 
 to right
 to writing
 write
 right
  

 For more information about Mary Ann Sullivan visit: 

 

 

 

Click here for a list of previous Poet Showcases

Last updated: September 1, 2010

 
 
 
 
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