‘Influence of Poetry’

Newbern’s ‘Love and the Eye’ gives listeners poetic insight

The poet smoothed her hair and sipped some water. The Campus Black Box Theatre fell silent. The poet’s voice, soft and captivating, took center stage.

Laura Newbern, associate professor of English and creative writing, was the poet and voice behind the Jan. 19 “Poetry and Influence” reading, an installment of the Georgia College Faculty Research and Teaching Colloquium Series.
Newbern read various selections from her 2010 book, “Love and the Eye,” while also reading poems “Arrival at Santos” and “Crusoe in England” by Elizabeth Bishop and “Low Fields and Light” by W.S. Merwin.
Admittedly running from poetry by originally studying political science and journalism in college, Newbern was quick to acknowledge the power of poetry in her life.
“Poetry can be found in borderlands, rooms full of poets, or the corner of a bookstore,” Newbern said. “I write poems because it is my own way of playing an instrument.”
As the recipient of the 2011 Georgia College Excellence in Artistic Endeavor Award, Newbern’s published work has been well-received by faculty and students alike.
“Last academic year, I asked a class to attend one of Newbern’s readings and write online about the event. The reading included poems from ‘Love and the Eye,’” Elaine Whitaker, chair of the English and rhetoric department, said. “These students, now sophomores, expressed delight both in the poems and in Laura Newbern’s manner of sharing her work.”
At last week’s reading, Newbern repeatedly referenced works by Elizabeth Bishop, attributing much of her creative inspiration to the poet.
“I find her precise and utterly authentic. There is a sense of longing for close companionship in her work, which proves that there is no bliss in solitude at all,” Newbern said of Bishop. “She is tender and vulnerable, and it felt like something I could emulate in my own work.”
The GC poet also draws much of her literary influence from poets like W.S. Merwin, who she introduced during her reading of “Low Fields and Light.” The poem is an eloquent narrative of the fields of Virginia and the poignant observations such a place evokes.
“Literal light and darkness never seem to leave my own poems,” Newbern said.
“Poetry and Influence” concluded with a brief excerpt from “Love and the Eye” and a reading of one of Newbern’s newest poems, titled “Moon Street,” which leaned heavily on the influences of modern day suburbia culture. The work embodied a “fly on the wall” feel, complete with in-depth observations of the speaker’s methodical neighbor.
“I’m taking away inspiration and a profound stillness from this reading,” said Matt Jurak, a creative-writing graduate student. “I believe these readings are of great importance at GC and it’s great to hear them from a local source like Laura.”
Whitaker urges students to take full advantage of the literary opportunities on campus, which give insight into different perspectives, both concrete and imaginative.
“A poetry reading provides opportunities to encounter the depth of meaning in apparently small moments in time that might otherwise have been ignored,” Whitaker said. “Through hearing poetry, we gain empathy and, in my experience, lighten up and laugh at our shared human condition.”
Newbern’s “Love and the Eye” is available for purchase through Amazon.com, select bookstores and Kore Press. For more information on the author and future readings visit lauranewbern.net.