Editorial: Poetry and Gardening for all on Orcas

Between the cold and hibernation of winter and spring growth and stimulus programs, here on Orcas, our friends and neighbors are encouraging us to take part in cultivating poetry and our gardens.

April is celebrated across the nation as Poetry Month and as Earth Month, when our focus is drawn to non-informational expressions of words and taking care of the earth as its stewards.

The pace that many of us keep is uncivilized and crazy-making. But instead of production, achievement and deadlines, this month focuses, naturally and culturally, on our poets and our gardeners to show us how to live everyday, at a slower, more deliberate and more reflective pace.

Whether they are scribblings on scrap paper or dessicated (poetic word meaning “all dried up”!) seeds thrown into a dirt-filled pot, the gestures of believing in beauty and giving back at the simplest level are small steps towards making a difference, locally and globally.

On Orcas Island, there are many opportunities to indulge in the stewardship of poetry and gardens:

Children’s poetry at the library is displayed throughout the month of April, with a public reading event on April 17 scheduled in honor of Young People’s Poetry Week. Young Orcas poets between the ages of 7 to 18 years will participate in a public reading of their original poems.

Orcas Center and Artsmith bring the poetry of MaryLou Sanelli’s “Immigrant’s Table” to the Center on April 10.This dialogue performance with Sanelli and Orcas’ own Deborah Sparks, “poetically tells a timeless story of immigration, Italian food and wine, and the weaving of Old and New Worlds in a rich cultural tapestry.”

Sustainable San Juans Conservation, to be held on San Juan Island over  the weekend of April 17-19, explores topics of gardening and sustainability through Friday celebrations, Saturday presentations and Sunday field trips. “Finnnies,” the awards for stewardship in several categories, will be presented at this event on Saturday. Visit their site at https://www.stewardshipsjc.org/summit.html

Patrick Bennett of GoodEarthWorks is teaching a basic Gardening Your Budget Down class at the Funhouse for beginning and accomplished gardeners; interested participants can call the Funhouse at 376-7177.

“Poetry: An Evening of Poetry with Friends and Neighbors” again showcases the poetic talents of islanders we see in the markets and at meetings and classes  every day, at the Orcas Center on Saturday, April 11.

Through all these events, we can see people “just like us” paying a little more attention, taking a little more care, and producing plants and poetry as a result.

These antidotes to a false sense of “should” are a great restorative to a sense of accomplishment and happiness.

By celebration of poems and gardens, we can all nurture habits of imagination, expression and cultivation. And know great satisfaction in our “work.”