Recalling the power of poetry to connect strangers across the country

Two poets were waiting for me when we pulled into a gas station somewhere on the Texas Panhandle.

My husband and I were moving back to California after spending the first year of our marriage in Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Interior Department and I had started a poetry magazine. 

When I mentioned in an editor’s note about our road trip to the West Coast, several of the poets I published asked if we would be passing through their town. If so, they wanted to meet up. I was delighted, and we designed our route so we could accommodate short visits with a few of them. I was pregnant at the time, so several baby-to-be poems were born of these visits. 

The early contributors had become like family as we corresponded by handwritten notes about their work. They had rallied to my invitation to subscribe to my quarterly magazine, RUFUS, in advance of publication, thereby helping me finance my dream adventure. We had all been published in other “little magazines” as they were called, so we knew each other through our poetry.

While my goal was to give voice to lesser-known poets, I also wanted to offer feedback, something I had wished for whenever I submitted a piece for publication. I set up an editorial review board to critique and comment on each submission. It was comprised of four people in four different parts of the country.

We had a round-robin communication. The submissions came to my P.O. box in California. I made my notes and mailed a package of poems to a board member who did the same. We published the poems that had the most positive comments, but everyone got a handwritten note on our process.

Although I didn’t realize it at the time, that format would become the foundation for my grant application to the National Endowment for the Arts. By adding an education component, RUFUS distinguished itself and received the grant. It took two tries, but the second was the charm.

Thanks to the grant money, we were able to give cash awards to our poets, add photography submissions and upgrade printing and design. We became affiliated with the Pasadena Community Arts Center, where RUFUS was provided office space and promotional assistance. Our volunteer staff expanded, and guest editor opportunities were created. 

The NEA grant gave voice, honor and power to an audience of poets who nurtured the gift and returned it to society. May it be ever thus.

 Email patriciabunin@sbcglobal.net. Follow her on Patriciabunin.com