the first public poetry reading of this year in the project-- at the kutztown community library & a trip to firefly bookstore.

the first official public poetry reading for the second year of this project came together as a small get-together at the kutztown community library. betty umberger served as the main guest and reflected on more recently stirred memories of her shoe factory days in kutztown. lilly jay hetrick-ludy contributed with photography as well as reading one of her own poems as well as several new poems from this project in her own eight-year-old voice.

after the reading, lilly jay and i ventured to firefly bookstore, which brimmed with shoppers because it's such a neat local place but also in gratitude of the best kept secrets tour in berks county. and simply put, we love books. just about as equally, we love bookstores.

books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. ― charles william eliot

a glimpse: betty umberger, born 1928.

finally (internet-stirred drum roll, please), here is the very first hint of poems from the second year of this project and the upcoming book of 25 poems, which will be released by autumn through foothills publishing.

betty umberger who knew shoe-thinking kind of living by day in the kutztown area will be the main featured guest for my upcoming poetry reading at the kutztown community library (70 bieber alley, kutztown, pa 19530) this saturday afternoon, june 25 @ 1 p.m. there are still some life-minutes yet to RSVP to 610.401.3392 or thelaborsofourfingertips@yahoo.com.

below is an excerpt from umberger's poem.

*

at 191 willow street in kutztown, i kept busy at wenton shoe

factory starting in 1970 or 1971. the bosses let me work when

i could be there, after i had to drop my son joel off at school

and before i picked him up at the end of a weekday. i used

a skiving machine, about the same size as a standard sewing

machine. you sat in front of it, cutting—thinning hickory nut

shell or wing of crow-colored leather to tuck under the vamp.

the section just behind the bones of toes is what they call

the vamp. i’d shave lean layers of leather off, down. you had

to adjust the skiving machine’s settings to be sure you didn’t

take off too much leather, too thick of a slice. i didn’t touch

finished shoes, just the raw pieces. a person came and took

your completed pieces away, brought you more new stacks

of leather for your workload. the machines hummed, a chorus

of noise, a symphony of roaring across factory aficionados.

but the place shut down by the end of the decade.

by 1980, i heard adidas USA, inc. moved into the building,

that they were looking for new workers. a lot of us shoe-folks

who knew the building well were brought in again. at rehire,

some people were sent overseas to herzogenaurach, germany,

for detailed training. the thick-accented man in charge of us

in kutztown pounded quality-thinking into us. he always had

the final say, eckert spaeth, although recalling how he spelled

his name isn’t easy to remember. 

*

summer poetry readings for the second year of this project.

below are currently scheduled poetry readings for the second year of this poetry project, including a good number of new types of products and industries through the older seniors i interview. and some of the poem-sources are from less expected places and up-there sort of ages this year, too. the first poetry reading, which is in kutztown, will feature betty umberger as a guest. born in 1928, she worked in two shoe factories in the borough for several decades.

• saturday, june 25 @ 1 p.m. at the kutztown community library at 70 bieber alley, kutztown, pa 19530

• sunday, july 17 @ 1 p.m. at studio b at 39a east philadelphia avenue, boyertown, pa 19512

• thursday, august 4 @ 6 p.m. via berks bards at goggleworks at 201 washington street, reading, pa 19601

if you can attend any of these readings, please RSVP, as seating is limited in some of the venues. you are welcome to RSVP to 610.401.3392 or thelaborsofourfingertips@yahoo.com.

*

betty umberger of kutztown borough--she knew shoe-making well.

visiting the lost chapters, a writing group based at the hamburg public library.

a writing group called the lost chapters, based at the hamburg public library, hosted the labors of our fingertips: poems from manufacturing history in berks county at its monthly meeting monday evening.

while the get-together only took shape as a small group, conversations about approaches to writing and storytelling poetry were full of energy throughout the evening.

and good news is that this poetry project will be a part of a potentially larger meeting of the lost chapters later this year.

and thank you to dan larue for photography 

assistance with the group eye-scene above.

a review of this poetry project by therese holzapfel.

students in certain creative writing classes at clarion university wrote academic responses to me taking the labors of our fingertips: poems from manufacturing history in berks county to the western pennsylvania campus in the final week of april. therese holzapfel offered her assignment to share as a way to show how this poetry project's efforts impacted her as a student in the english department and the co-editor of the campus literary and artistic journal which i managed in my time there, too.

Jennifer Hetrick Reading Review

By Therese Holzapfel (pictured above at a Tobeco open mic)

On Thursday, April 28th from 6:00 to 8:00pm, I attended a poetry reading and open mic at Michelle’s Café featuring Jennifer Hetrick as the visiting poet.  Hetrick is the author of the labors of our fingertips, the first of a three-volume project that collects the stories of senior citizens who worked in mills or factories in the past.  Hetrick uses the stories as inspiration for her poems, several of which she read at the open mic.  The event also included readings from several different students of Clarion University, as well as poetry from one faculty member, Dr. Melissa Downes.

For me, Hetrick’s poetry stood out from the rest of the visiting writers’ works this year because it had such a strong narrative element.  Obviously, other writers we have studied in class have told stories through their poems, but Hetrick’s works are deliberately centered on sharing the senior citizens’ stories.  I think that that is an impressive blending of two different genres because Hetrick tells interesting narratives while still using the form of poetry, which is difficult as she needs to choose the most powerful and significant details of a story to put into a poetic form.

I also really admire Hetrick’s dedication to this project.  In classes and at the open mic she explained every poem that she read, her method of gathering the stories, and her writing process to actually create the poems, all of which reveal the effort she has expended for her craft.  I was also glad to see that Hetrick really seems to care about the people who inspire her poems and that they are so involved in her writing process.  Hetrick’s commitment to her books and to the people who have inspired her poems was evident when she spoke about them and in the time she has put into “the labors of our fingertips” project.  I think that it’s very important for writers to understand the level of time and energy that must be put into writing, whether it’s poetry, prose, critical, or any other type of writing, in order to develop it to the best level it can attain.

The students who read at the open mic also presented impressive work, and it was really enjoyable to hear them read.  One student read his poem, “The Checklist of an African American,” while another performed a slam piece about prejudice in our society today.  I thought it was fascinating that both of these poems focused on a similar topic, but did so in completely different ways.  There were also very strong examples of prose works at the open mic.  For instance, a junior read her piece “Interwoven Fabrics,” and a freshman read her short story “The Customer is Always Right.”  Both are pieces that were published in the 2015-2016 edition of the Tobeco Literary & Arts Journal.  I read both of these pieces while selecting submissions to put in this year’s journal and was impressed with both; however, it was really great to hear them aloud and get a better sense of the writers’ voices.

Attending this open mic night gave me the opportunity to learn more about the craft of writing, not only from Jennifer Hetrick but from my fellow students as well.  Hetrick’s poetry is an example for me of how to choose the best details to place in a work, whether it is prose or poetry, as well as how to integrate those details so that they are as effective as possible.  Listening to the students’ pieces also emphasized the significance of finding one’s own style and voice, as each writer presented a work that was completely unique to him or her.

berks county's manufacturing poems travel route i-80 to clarion university.

for several days in the last week of april, i spent time sharing this poetry project with students at clarion university, where i studied english writing as my minor in college, including a focus in poetry. the trip five hours west involved visiting three classes in the english department housed in davis hall and serving as the featured poet for an open mic i used to run in my time there for the campus literary and artistic journal, tobeco. the second half of the open mic always involves others stepping up to the microphone to read their poetry or perform, too.

dr. melissa downes' class, english 304: craft of poetry

photography: todd crawford

across three different creative writing classes spanning into two days, students had an interesting variety of questions about the interviewing, writing, and publishing processes, questions which don't always get asked at poetry readings in berks county. so talking about these aspects felt very rewarding and also led me to drink a hell of a lot of tea with plenty of honey in it, plus a good number of trips to make water (à la driving miss daisy) to get the tea on out.

dr. philip terman's class, english 202: beginning creative writing

photography: hannah collings

dr. terman's class, english 404: advanced creative writing

photography: paige mccracken

the tobeco open mic @ michelle's café @ 
611 main street, clarion, pa 16214

photography: therese holzapfel

michelle's café, a must-love spot on the main street, still serves as the location for open mics run by the editors and staff of tobeco, just like in my days there. the owner and staff at the café are wonderful and so supportive with these literary efforts. and the autumn apple toddy, topped with cinnamon, is an absolute must.

 a fellow poet once told me that many people have written poetry about the stars on these curtains below. i was in that number, too, of course.

enthusiasm and gratitude for absorbing more about the project and learning the perspective of an alumni translated beautifully my way through these kind professors, students, and residents in the community of clarion. traveling for a wealth of such warmth is well worth it. a trip for next year and the next phase of the project is potentially in the works, too. thank you again to everyone who became a part of these moments and allowed these opportunities to blossom. hearing so many students reading their poetry of such quality and individuality served as such a heart-plus on my end, too.