Pictured above: Poets Andrea Thompson, Susan Glickman, Patricia Keeney and Eva Tihanyi gather at Benchmark for Ode to the Road on April 4. Pictured below: NC English professor and author Eva Tihanyi performs. Photos by Sam Janjac
Poetry is more than just haikus and sonnets; it’s speaking from the heart, like a song. In fact, song is one of the ways the women involved in Ode to Road, performed their poetry.
Niagara College’s own faculty member and author Eva Tihanyi – who co-organized the event – performed alongside fellow poets, Andrea Thompson, Patricia Keeney and Susan Glickman on April 4. The event was held at Benchmark, at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus, in honour of National Poetry Month.
The performers each executed three of their own pieces. Tihanyi conducted her own three, ‘The Bridge,’ ‘Song of the Sun’ and ‘Circles and Lines,’ which was a song written about Chet Baker, famous jazz trumpeter.
Tihanyi and her fellow poets finished up the performance part of the afternoon by 2 p.m. followed by a question-and-answer period.
She said the event was a success and that the guest poets were impressed by the College’s hospitality.
“They all remarked that they had never attended a poetry reading that was this well organized,” said Tihanyi. “I was really honoured to be part of Ode to the Road, and I can’t say enough about Karen McGrath and the NC library staff. The event could not have happened without them.”
Co-organizer Karen McGrath, NC Library director, noted that she was pleased with the turnout – about 40 people – and the event itself.
“All four poets expressed great gratitude to us for having the event and hosting them. They were very impressed with the venue – Benchmark restaurant felt more like a café and made for a really nice informal atmosphere,” said McGrath. “The audience enjoyed the opportunity they had to ask the poets questions about how they went about their writing and creating. To quote one attendee; ‘What an inspiring way to cheer up a dreary spring afternoon!”
– Submitted by Sam Janjac
