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Spring 2013 Newsletter
Garden Party 2013
Please visit our home page for details on this year's Garden Party.
Save the Dates
FALL FESTIVAL October 4 and 5. JEFFERS: ARCHITECT AND BUILDER
Carmel Mayor's Tour
by Lorna Claerbout (Docent)
I
was delighted that Carmel-by-the-Sea Mayor Jason Burnett recently
accepted my invitation for a tour of Tor House and Hawk Tower.
When he arrived, he was given a warm welcome by Foundation
President Vince Huth and First Vice President Elliot Ruchowitz-Roberts.
Then I had the pleasure of taking him on a private tour.
He seemed to enjoy both reading and hearing the poetry of
Robinson Jeffers. He was
amazed to learn that Jeffers completed his poems without editing from
anyone else, which he said is quite different from his own writing
experience as a mayor.
Mayor Burnett told me that he built a cabin in Big Sur with his own
hands from fallen trees that he milled himself and was therefore
especially interested in Jeffers' experiences with construction.
Since the Mayor has a young son of his own, I shared stories and
photos of young Donnan and Garth.
He commented that the child chair in the living room built by
Jeffers' great grandfather inspired him to think about building one for
his own son. After I shared
some of my favorite Jeffers' lines about birds, including "A flight of
pelicans is nothing lovelier to look at," he disclosed with a smile that
his middle name is Kestrel.
Poetry
Possession
by Deborah
Fleming
Immigrants a
century ago put up this house and barn,
carved bricks
from local clay,
planed logs from
nearby woods.
Since then whole
families have grown
and gone.
Now insect-hungry bats
hang in highest
rafters, cut
at dusk sharp
angles in the sky
while swallows
plaster nests of mud,
horse hair, and
straw.
Among reeds at
the pond's
edge, wild geese
and mallards
pile cattail
stems and feathers.
We too fly in,
build with what
we find,
next for a
season.
Deborah Fleming,
a Yeats and Jeffers scholar, was a featured speakers at the 2006 Tor
House Fall Festival. This
poem first appeared in
Morning, Winter Solstice published in 2012 by The Vineyard
Press, Port Jefferson, NY.
No Apology for Mundane Dreams
A tribute to Robert Brophy – Following
Loosely a poem by Robinson Jeffers
by Bruce Blosser [Fort Bragg, California]
I
Caligula's
screams never wake my dreams,
And bodies never screech from tongues
when I slumber,
But such it seems are dreams of waking torture,
Where confines the strange self-inflicted wounds,
For which I plunder
for a few lines of rhyming wonder?
But all I ever remember is mundane as dirt
Carved out my mind like
the silver sinking twirl
Of calcium and Lyme, to perch upon a waking
hurt,
Lest fish receive my quaking thunder.
Or perchance lightning is the grist of my grinding mind,
Melting sand
as it strikes on the shore of time,
And plummets beneath the sea with
quaking krill
Falling thus like shimmering ghosts, en mime:
"This
night is not a thing made subtle by the mind,
Nor made subtler by the
wind. Only rose petals list
Like angels on the breeze, to quit the
quietude of this time."
II
Perch mates twixt ships, logs, and seashells
Larks the herald
morning, that shines glitteringly
On a mirrored mantle above a
dark-sooted hearth
Roaring like a winter sea, as oak gives heat to a
sullen room,
Full of rugs and sharp-shined chairs,
Waiting for an
about to begin…
III
But what waits? I see Brophy pointing
to a bookshelf,
Never bothering to point out his own books, just
pointing,
Between
Proserpine and Petulance,
With a
stance towards scuttled sea-ships, and a list
Towards the ever
present presence of Everson and Stevenson,
But Wait! There is a
knocker at the door –Steinbeck dons his hat
And "To A God Unknown"
raises its head, then bows
And walks away… before I could even
mention it!
But what of it, it’s nothing to do with us,
Standing on the bow of
this ship of granite,
Stuck like a mast at the easterly edge of
Carmel Bay,
And glistening in the dapple light that gleams between
the mists
Of this October morning fog.
"Come in my old friend! Sit a while, certainly this old bench won't mind
The damp you shed upon us with your glistening fingers,
For I have
never felt so welcome as I do
When the fog is thick as pea soup and
drenching on cypress limbs
Like lovers thick as twigs."
IV
A mother from another land, dressed like a Vogue cover,
Bends
down on one knee, to tie her daughter's shoe,
And the daughter is
away, flittering among the rocks and sedges
Along the cliffs of
Whaler's Cove,
Happy as a tiger swallowtail in a glen full of spring
wildflowers,
And easy with the grace of a child,
With her whole
life ahead of her.
V
I have lifted too
much surety of doubt and shame
In this life of mine, and I have no
doubt I am the poorer for it:
From this point on I shall dip my cup
no further into these things
That only limit me… I know I may have
limits
But what they are, are no concern of mine,
For even as a
hawk never wonders if it is equal to the flight,
I too should know
that all who listen to their heart
Are more than equal to the task!
New and Renewed Memberships (December 2012 – March 2013)
LIFETIME MEMBERSHIPS ($1000)
Daniel Jensen
Tom & Vicky Van Saun
PATRON MEMBERSHIP ($250)
George Lober/Kathy Dalesandro
SPONSOR MEMBERSHIPS ($100)
|
Robert Brophy |
Ruth Hartmann |
Christopher & Susan Williams |
COUPLE, INDIVIDUAL, DOCENT AND SENIOR MEMBERSHIPS
|
Bob & Ann Allen |
Robert Kaler |
Janet Sablinsky |
[Please note: listings reflect only those Lifetime memberships received since the last issue of the Newsletter, as well as new and renewed memberships for the same period. Generally, the Spring Issue lists memberships for December, January, February, and March. There are no listings in the Summer Issue because of space constraints (Poetry Prize winners are published in the Summer Issue). The Fall Issue contains memberships that fall between April and August of any given year and the Winter Issue lists September through November memberships.]
Contributions (December 2012 - March 2013)
Contribution ($4,000)
Tom & Vicky Van Saun for Maintenance and Restoration
John Varady in support of the 2012 Robinson Jeffers Tor House Prize
for Poetry and poetry performance activities
Contributions ($1000)
Jason & Melissa Burnett
Donald Clark
Laura & Don Newmark, in memory of Ripple Huth
Robert Jean Taylor Fund
Contributions ($500 to $999)
John and LaRee Caughey Foundation
Edwin & Fumiko Cranston
Sean Flavin
Vince Huth
Robinson Jeffers Assoc, memory of Ripple Huth
Jim & Paula Karman
Alice Phelan Sullivan Corp
Stanley Dutton Willis
Contributions ($100-$499)
Mary Aldinger
Barbara Babcock for framing Weston print
Carol Courtney, in memory of Ripple Huth
Edwin & Fumiko Cranston
Gary Cunningham
Amy Essick, in honor of Valerie Giusi
Michael Green, in memory of Ripple Huth
Joseph Hassett, in memory of Ripple Huth
Bernice Hearn
Jim & Paula Karman
Frank & Barbara Keith
Carolyn Kleefeld
David Ligare
Roland & Martha Mace
Wm Perry/Paul Nelson Charitable Foundation
Robert & Diane Reid
Cpt & Mrs Repsher, in memory of Ripple Huth
Mr & Mrs. Jerome Ross
Jane Sanders, in memory of Ripple Huth
Deborah Sharp
Mr. & Mrs. Sherwood Smith
Alex & Fran Vardamis, in memory of Ripple Huth
Contributions
(to $99)
Susan Wallace Barnes, in memory Ripple Huth
Lorna Claerbout, in memory of Ripple Huth
Nancy Collins
Judy & Bruce Cowan
Ann Duncan, in memory of Ripple Huth
Dede Harder
Karin Hinton
Simon Hunt
Steve & Pat Kutay, in memory of Ripple Huth
Lindsay/Myoung Jeffers, memory Ripple Huth
Susanne La Haye
Barbara Livingston, in memory of Ripple Huth
Francis & Mary Anne Lloyd
George Lober
Anne Muraski
William T. Ondrechen
Philip Persons
Bob & Lynda Sayre
Renate Wunsch, in memory of Ripple Huth
Corporate ($50)
Sony Pictures, matching gift
News and Notes
With deep regret, the Foundation announces the
passing of two longtime admirers of the poetry of Robinson Jeffers.
Elisabeth Anne Sherif
passed away on
February 11, 2013.
Elisabeth was a concerned citizen,
interior designer, artist, and poet.
She has been very involved in shaping
lives through both politics and the arts.
A founding docent at Tor House and a
devoted admirer of Jeffers, her elegant and inspiring presence at
Robinson Jeffers Association Meetings and Tor House Festivals will be
sorely missed.
Paula Anita Walling,
born in 1938, passed away on March 14, 2013 after a long illness.
Paula, a beloved teacher at the
Captain Cooper School in Big Sur, was, as well, a dedicated
environmentalist and talented author.
Her
Big
Sur Inn: The
Deetjen Legacy, published under
the name Anita Alan and winner of the 2008 Lowell Thomas Travel
Journalism Bronze Award, is a beautiful and thorough biography of
Jeffers’ friend, Helmuth Deetjen, whose inn at Big Sur was a Jeffers’
favorite.
The material constitutes a
significant contribution to Jeffers biographical studies.
On a happier note,
Alan Stacy, Tor House docent
and Garden Party publicity director, was a featured speaker at the
William Everson Centennial at UCSC.
His topic was William Everson’s
Fine-Print edition of Granite and
Cypress.
Jeffers on the Web
Facebook enthusiasts might want to
check out the docent-managed
Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation page for chats, photos,
and upcoming events.
Also on Facebook, international admirers of
Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962)
have formed a Group and welcome new members.
Google Alerts
references articles about Jeffers and members of the Jeffers
community, relevant blogs, Internet sales of Jeffers materials, and
various other Jeffers-related announcements.
To receive alerts go to
http://www.google.com/alerts
and provide an e-mail address.
The service is free.
FOR
UNA
1
I built her a tower when I was young—
Sometime she will die—
I built it
with my hands, I hung
Stones in the sky.
Old but still strong I climb the stone—
Sometime she
will die—
Climb the steep rough steps alone,
And weep in the sky.
Never weep, never weep.
from Be Angry at the Sun (1941)
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Links to Jeffers Sites | Volunteer Opportunities | Officers & Board
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