July Column

First published in The Evening Sun on July 25, 2010:

A few weeks ago, Hanover lost one of its most influential leaders. Mayor Maggie Hormel made Hanover a better place in many ways. Today, I’d like to emphasize her magnanimous contribution to the arts, most of all to Hanover’s poetry community. In fact, without Mayor Hormel, this column would not exist because the poet laureate position would not exist.

Hanover installed its first Poet Laureate, Anna Manahan Bowman, on May 8, 2002. Mayor Hormel created this position. Reflecting on her experience, Bowman said, “Mayor Maggie was an advocate for Hanover's history and culture. When approached with the prospect of naming a poet laureate to serve the community, she gained the support of Borough Council and drafted a resolution to create the position, now an on-going tradition—the first borough in the state to do so.”

Bowman holds fond memories of her tenure working with Mayor Hormel. She also remembers the small moments she shared with her: “Another memory I cherish is the time we assembled on Carlisle Street to ride together in a parade and she instructed me on how to wave--never from the wrist, always from the elbow. ‘Then,’ she said, ‘your hand doesn’t get tired.’”

Furthermore, Bowman remembers, “I learned the depth of her caring and sensitivity when she asked me to write a poem for the Memorial Day Service at Mount Olivet Cemetery. A few days before the event, I decided to read my Hanover poem to her in her office. Glancing up midway through my reading, I saw the tears of compassion for our soldiers in her eyes.”

Mayor Hormel, moved by poetry, loved the art, but also intended to make poetry a more influential part of our community. In a sense, she planted the seeds that continue to bloom. With this metaphor, Bowman pays tribute to Mayor Hormel’s work in her poem “Mayor.”

Mayor


You were planting a flower
when we met:
coleus—pale green tipping
to purple
in the borough lobby,
your fuchsia blazer blending
as though spring had sent
a welcome sign.

“You must be Anna,” you said.
And from there we talked of
growing things
like the town you carry with you,
even to Arizona.
Constant are your hands;
plucking weeds,
planting laureates.

I think of you now:
sitting in your brown leather chair,
your head bending over your desk,
eyes furrowing papers, pencil
inclined;
tending garden.

As Mayor Hormel’s plants continued to bloom in our community, she also inspired Hanover’s second Poet Laureate, Dana Larkin Sauers, to preserve her legacy in verse:

In Praise of Our Mayor


Costumed children
and small animals too
ride in Time’s parade,
find comfort knowing
broad shoulders, visionary eyes,
these encircling arms—
our Mayor Maggie’s might.
She rises to greatness
by being tender, genuine,
so small that others barely
notice, except for the Beauty.
She testifies
through freshly painted frontages
flower-bedecked corners,
and cultivates
order and law
by lingering long enough
to keep a promise.
She takes in all
by giving all away,
gives voice and verse to the many
secures a model to preside
over company she serves:
Wisdom, Strength, Pride.
Hanover’s delight.


Both of these poems speak to the beautiful grace with which Mayor Hormel led our community. Sauers writes, “She takes in all / by giving all away.” These lines capture not only her work, but also her character in general.

Though I did not have the opportunity to work directly with Mayor Hormel, I had the chance to meet her at the Poets Laureate reading at the Eichelberger Performing Arts Center in April. She graciously took my hands and expressed her pleasure in seeing the progress of poetry in our community. She said this humbly, not acknowledging that the blooming came from seeds she had sown. Today I want to acknowledge Mayor Hormel’s influence, and the wonderful poetry community grown out of her passionate leadership.

“She will be sadly missed,” said Anna Manahan Bowman, “but what she began will continue. Her vision and goals for Hanover remain; her influence remains.”

Article About My Recent Move

Hanover Area Poetry Critique

If you are a writer or are interested in reading/writing, please join the Hanover Poets for their monthly critique. They meet the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Giant Market Cafe on Eisenhower Drive. Come with some copies of a poem or just bring yourself. All are welcome! Led by former Poet Laureate, Anna Manahan Bowman, the group is always a lot of fun and a great learning experience.

Next meeting: Monday, July 19 at 7:30 p.m.