Poetry Readings & School Visits

During my poetry readings and school presentations I speak about the inspiration and motivation behind each poem and my work. I am a resident in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. I have always enjoyed out-of-door activities and my poetry draws upon my vivid memories and experiences in the bucolic and serene areas of rural New England. Many of my poems and those in A Bed of Leaves are inspired by the natural beauty of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom, a section of northern Vermont so named for good reason. Highlands and valleys, expansive forests, rolling farmland, wildlife, Morgan horses, pristine rivers and lakes endow this 1,500-square-mile sweep of landscape with a regal beauty all its own.

My poetry speaks of days of "unspoken bonds" with my Golden Retriever, fishing for cagey brook trout on "a stream ne'er faltering on its chosen path, chiseled through ages long surpassed," gathering shells and pebbles on Cape Cod beaches, the season of spring when "buds are metamorphosed into leaves like pupae into winged butterflies," my Morgan horse "poised like a regal statue on the crest of a knoll," the "mist in the valley draped like a gossamer gown," an old horse whose "mane of flaxen hair still shines when the early morning sun hits it right," the bird watcher "recording his sightings, each grosbeak and dove," winter snowshoeing "on bear-paw snowshoes, fashioned from curved white ash and laced with rawhide," and a bed of leaves -- "each leaf giving up its life, but giving life."

From my perspective, A Bed of Leaves is a metaphor for life. The cycle of nature includes the earth's soil rejuvenating itself from the decaying of leaves. This cycle also embraces the human species, reflecting on its past. Just as new life comes from beneath a bed of leaves, humanity can grow when it learns from its past.

Information on my Readings & School Visits

In general, my audience can be of any age, 6 to 100. For school visits, I speak to kindergarten through college level. I tailor my presentation based on the age of my audience. Each presentation lasts 60 to 90 minutes.

Depending on the venue, the following materials may be needed: podium, microphone.

After my presentation, I will do book signings.

My Fees

$300 plus mileage

For more information, please contact Jerry.

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Jerry Johnson - Creek Road Poet
www.vtpoet.com
Copyright © 2004-2005 Jerry Johnson
Illustrations Copyright © 2004 Julie Petercuskie
No illustrations may be used in any form without written permission of Julie Petercuskie.
No images may be used in any form without written permission of Jerry Johnson.
All rights reserved.