Centrum Presents Poetry on the Salish Sea’s April Reading
“As my eyes search the prairie, I feel the summer in the spring.” – Chippewa song.
By Melissa O'Neil, Centrum
Free admission
6:30 p.m. — Doors open
7:00 p.m. — Poetry Reading with Allisa Cherry, Luther “Lue” Hughes and Jacqueline Trimble
Reception following at Taps, across the street from Wheeler Theater. Food provided by Centrum and Taps. A cash bar with alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages will be available.
When I was 14 years old, I was insecure and unsure of nearly everything. My cross country coach was also my 9th grade English teacher. He was decent at both jobs, but I was insecure and aloof enough to barely let on that I thought he was good at anything. One morning, flipping through my English textbook, I found this poem:
“As my eyes search the prairie, I feel the summer in the spring.” – Chippewa song
I stopped and read it, then re-read it. I remember something inside of me shifting. It was miniscule, but I was lit up, something shifted inside of me, and I realized I loved poetry. I’ve never recovered from that moment. I’ve been chasing poetry ever since.
Centrum and Poetry on the Salish Sea welcome three exceptional poets:
Allisa Cherry, from Portland; Luther “Lue” Hughes from Seattle; and Alabama's poet laureate, Jacqueline Trimble. These poets tell stories of children and spouses, lovers and parents, stories that land then flit like hummingbirds, but the images of their stories will stay with you, like they’re imprinted on your retina.
Last year, I wrote the words of the Chippewa song on our letter board at home, and my little boy memorized it, then continued to recite it to me throughout the year, long after the message was erased. The Chippewa song was the whisper of that insecure girl to the child she would have many years later, a gift she would give him, a gift he would pull out, turn over, watch how the spring light shone through the words, lighting up both the memory of the girl and also the story of the man this boy would someday become. Thanks, Mr. So-and-So, for the Chippewa song that still sings in me to this day.
