Johnson Poetry Quest
by Alicia Morissette

JOHNSON ­ Students at  Johnson Elementary School (JES) have been challenged
to find poems written by Johnson poets using a poem!
The idea was brought forth by Alexa Reber, of the Vermont Studio Center, and
was sponsored by the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and the Green Mountain
Fund.
Having originally attempted the quest before the end of last year with few
participants, Kate Riley, of JES, decided to try again. Students have been
given the option to participate, and those who accept, will be armed with a
poem and map telling them where each poem is located.
Riley said there is a ³circuit of seven places² where each poem is hidden,
and the location is directly related to each poet. Julia Shipley wrote the
poem that leads the students. In the course of the quest other poems written
by Hayden Carruth, Neil Shepard, Gary Clark, Barbara Murphy, Mark Doty and
Vermont Studio Center poets will be discovered ­ like treasures along the
way. Riley asked that the locations of these poems not be revealed, as
students have until early October to finish the quest.
However, the last stop is known.  Once the children reach the Johnson Public
Library, the last stop, they will have earned a special treasure, that may
well surprise them, too!
Rose Marie Carruth, second wife of Hayden Carruth, was asked to be part of
the quest, and said, ³Why not?² Rose Marie said, ³I¹m all for poetry,² and
she feels it is ³wonderful for kids to learn poetry... and express
themselves through poetry.² So far, Rose Marie has seen approximately 10
children, but she doesn¹t keep an eye out for them.
Riley stated, ³Rose Marie was very touched by the project.² According to
Riley, Hayden and Rose Marie lived  together in Johnson for 20 years, during
which he wrote in ³an old cow shack² on her property. Placing the poems in
the shack has allowed students to see the working environment of one of the
more well-known poets who lived in Johnson. ³I thought it was very wonderful
of her to open the shack so kids could come in and see where this famous
poet worked ­ arranged much as it was when he was working there,² said
Riley.
Rose Marie¹s writing shack was also influential to another Johnson poet,
Neil Shepard. Shepard said Rose Marie allowed him to write in the shack for
approximately one year, and during that time, Shepard wrote about Hayden and
the shack.
Shepard has been writing poetry for 30 years, and his journey to poetry was
unique. Shepard said he was originally a pre-med student at UVM, when he
became inspired by poetry. He switched his major to literature and has been
writing ever since. Now he is a published author with two books of poetry
and another book coming out soon. the new book, entitled Waterfall At
Journey¹s End is named for a popular Johnson swimming hole.
Becoming involved when his wife, Riley, asked him, he is ³very happy²
students are learning about poetry. He, like Rose Marie, hasn¹t been keeping
count of visitors, but he has ³heard some clomping² and jokingly said the
poems were ³either eaten by chipmunks or picked up!²
³I¹m very happy the students at JES had the additional chances to meet
living poets,² said Shepard, because a lot of poetry education is based upon
the deceased poets. The last two lines of Shipley¹s ³Johnson Quest Poem²
express the pride in our living local poets: ³The town of Johnson is covered
with poetry, / and here¹s your reminder of all our voices: strong, true and
lovely!²
 

1,000,000 Books to Read!

LAMOILLE VALLEY - 1,000,000 - It seems like a big number, doesn't it?
Well, that's the number a new local group calling itself Lamoille Valley
Reads has set as goal to challenge, lure, entice, encourage and in any
other way get ALL the citizens of the Lamoille Valley region to read.
Lamoille Valley Reads just wants us all to read more - for the fun of
it, to learn something.
Simply stated and setting no deadline, Lamoille Valley Reads is setting
up a region-wide challenge asking men, women, parents, children and
grandparents, folks of every reading ability to help us reach a
fantastic goal our area can brag about - having read ONE MILLION BOOKS!
A small group of perhaps 30 volunteers from the community: arts groups,
libraries, bookstores, schools and day cares has been meeting monthly
for about three months, spurred by a similar project one of the group's
charter members found that was actually accomplished in Tift County, GA.
His initial thought was if in Tift County they can do this - it ought to
be easy for us!
Lamoille Valley Reads is working on the specifics - the nuts and bolts
of the reading "Manhattan Project." It's anticipated that there will be
simple forms, like a raffle ticket, to fill out with what you have read.
It's hoped that many businesses and public places will keep a coffee can
or something similar to collect these "book ballots." The group is in
need of volunteers. Right now Lamoille Valley Reads needs collection
boxes, locations, someone or group to tabulate results, and more. If you
wish to volunteer a bit of your time, your space or your ideas, call
888-6610 before 4 p.m. and leave your name and telephone number in a
very brief message. As the organization is still forming, please
understand it may take awhile for someone to get back to you.
Details on the project are still being worked out - watch this space for
more information! Readers will be able to report their reading using a
simple form - and hopefully on-line! If YOU would like to help others
reach this great goal, you can join the all-volunteer group by leaving
your name and number at 888-6610. We need locations for free
lending-library stands or collection boxes for reading report forms,
information about summer reading programs that could help towards our
goal, and people to help organize publicity, reading programs,
fundraising, and more. Lamoille Valley Reads! is open to suggestions,
but the goal will remain simple - Let's all read...ONE MILLION BOOKS!
Developments on the 1,000,000 book project, which will actually include
reading almost any kind of printed document, can be monitored through
the News & Citizen's website at www.newsandcitizen.com by clicking on
the Lamoille Valley Reads button on the homepage. Or, of course, you can
keep reading the paper!
As yet there are no prizes or incentives for this reading except those
you can think of yourself, like surprising your children, helping teach
yourself to read or enlivening the quiet hours of summer! That doesn't
mean someone can't offer prizes for goals met...