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Seeking Village's Help For
Poetry Center The Independent Groups of poets are scattered sporadically across the North and South Forks, meeting at various locales, such as coffee shops or private homes, to share their work and encourage and teach their peers. The local poetry scene has been gaining momentum, but still its members have no formal meeting place they can call their own. Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan is looking to change that. Donations to LIPAC by Vince Clemente Nuzzo-Morgan Plans a Poetry ArchiveBy Pat RogersIf poet Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan has her way, the East End will become home to the Long Island Poetry Archive. Though it is currently a mere twinkle of an idea, the archive may become a reality due largely to a flurry of planning activities currently underway. Ms. Nuzzo-Morgan, the founder and president of the North Sea Poetry Scene, formed a committee, launched a capital campaign drive and is writing grant proposals. The goal of the non-profit group is to establish a permanent home for Long Island poets where poetry rules. “There’s a history of poetry on Long Island that’s being lost,” Ms. Nuzzo-Morgan said during an interview at East Enders Coffee House in Riverhead, where poetry readings are held regularly. “The Poetry Archive would be a place where you could find poetry written on Long Island from the historical to what’s going on right now. It would be an important resource.” Building or no building, Ms. Nuzzo-Morgan has already started collecting books to stock the planned center’s bookcases. For about five years, she has combed through internet sites, used books stores, yard sales, library book sales, historical society book sales, garages and basements to locate poetry books containing Long Island verse. These efforts have produced stacks and stacks of poetry collections that include slim verses by solitary poets, hardcover, soft cover and paper cover books by reknowned and little-known poets who have lived (or currently live) on Long Island. One writer who will be well represented is the late David Ignatow, the award-winning poet who lived in East Hampton and produced around 16 volumes of poetry and three prose collections, garnered fellowships, taught extensively at universities and was the poet emeritus of the Poetry Society of America. Other poets from earlier times include the artist Fairfield Porter, Anne Porter, Walt Whitman, Kenneth Koch and others. Modern poets, like beat poet Ray Freed and award-winning poet and fisherman Allen Planz, are also represented in the collection. Works by Robert Long, Philip Appleman, Siv Cedering and Vince Clemente also appear. Ms. Nuzzo-Morgan discovered books with the poetry of Graham Everett, plus recordings featuring his poetry band, Middle Class. Her collection also contains works by former Suffolk County Poet Laureate George Wallace, as well as her own poems. Nominated recently as the Suffolk County Poet Laureate for her work in bringing poetry to the masses, Ms. Nuzzo-Morgan has released a compact disc of her recorded poetry and several books of poetry. Her latest release, “One Woman’s Voice,” was published this year by the North Sea Poetry Scene Press and features 62 poems written between 1989 and 2005. The North Sea Poetry Scene Press also released “Long Island Sound 2005: An Anthology of Poetry from Maspeth to Montauk”—a collection slated for the much-hoped for Poetry Archive Center. “[I’m] collecting the works of all the poets who read for the North Sea Poetry Scene,” Ms. Nuzzo-Morgan said. “We’re creating our own history of poetry on Long Island.” The planned center will also include compact disc recordings of Spoke Word artists, videotapes of poetry readings starting from the year 2000, and photographs of poets who appeared at North Sea Poetry Events. “It wouldn’t be just books,” Ms. Nuzzo-Morgan said. “I videotape all our readings, so I have a video history too. Students could come and learn about poetry that was written right here on Long Island. It would be a valuable resource for research.” For now, the hard work of raising money and finding land or a building has just begun. Within the last three weeks, a committee of four has been appointed, letters of support for the center have been collected and the search for a possible land donor is in the works. “That’s my ultimate dream,” Ms. Nuzzo-Morgan said. “That someone would donate a piece of property so we could have the Archive Center here. Southampton would be a great location. But if someone donates property in Patchogue, I’ll take it.” For information on the effort to establish a Long Island Poetry Archive Center, visit http://groups.msn.com/TheNorthSeaPoetryScene or call 204-1240. The North Sea Poetry Scene, which is spearheading the effort, is a non-profit organization. Issue Date: Southampton Press 10-06-05 Copyright, The Southampton Press |
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