Celebrate Poetry Month at the Vigo County Public Library on Thursday, April 18 at 12:10 pm with poet Dr. C. David Hay. Dr. Hay has been widely published nationally and internationally and is the author of four books of poetry. He was the first American to appear in the Russian independent newspaper, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, with his poem, The Arrowhead. Hay has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in Poetry and is the recipient of the Ordo Honoris Award from Kappa Delta Rho.

The sight of the Vietnam Veterans Wall in Washington D.C. inspired Dr. Hay to write one of his most famous poems. Hay says, "I couldn't sleep that night at the hotel after what I had seen at the memorial, so I got up in the middle of the night and wrote the poem The Wall." His poem, The Wall, was engraved on a metal plaque and added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the Vigo County Courthouse lawn in 2012. Dr. David Hay, a published and local poetry writer says he sees inspiration in all parts of his life through world events.

Dr. Hay is a retired dentist, having practiced in Rosedale for 42 years. He is a graduate of Wiley High School with a B.S. and Doctor of Dental Surgery Degrees from Indiana University. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from I. U. School of Dentistry in 2008. He and his wife Joy, now reside in Terre Haute. Brown bag lunches are welcome at the program and no reservations are necessary to attend.

John Maraldo retired from teaching philosophy at the University of North Florida in 2008 and moved to Terre Haute, his wife's home town. He lived several years in Japan and loves Japanese culture. No poet himself, he still likes teaching renga (or linked verse) and enjoys hiking along the Wabash.

Arthur Feinsod is a professor of theater and member of the honors faculty at Indiana State. Although also not a poet, Feinsod often works with poetry as a theater director, literature teacher and playwright. Having enjoyed teaching renga with John a couple of years ago, Feinsod now looks forward to applying this communal poetic form to the Wabash River as part of Terre Haute’s Year of the River celebration.

This is how renga works: After we explain the form, each small group writes its own poem, with each individual contributing a short verse linked to the others. We then read aloud these unique community creations.

Reflecting on renga, John writes:

Writing renga is like canoeing down a river. Imagine a big canoe with four people who alternately take the guide paddles. You paddle for awhile taking the canoe in a certain direction, then another person takes over and takes a slightly different course. And so on, alternating among all four and repeating the changeover. You don’t want to upset the canoe by shifting directions too radically, but also you don’t want to bore everyone by simple guiding the canoe in exactly the same direction. You want a kind of turn that lets everyone see the water or the coastline or things in the water from a different perspective.

Join us and take your turn at the paddle!