Geneva Kachman
A Brief History of the Kachman Trolling Reel
Great-uncle Steve, tool-and-die maker for GM,
And Dad, Bendix Research Labs engineer,
Made prototypes out of aluminum
For the Kachman Trolling Reel, a step up from
Crude reels made of milk crate and Victrola motor.
Great-uncle Steve, trolling all night to Port Huron,
Would zigzag across the shipping channels, and jump
Overboard almost, when suddenly a freighter
Would shine a spotlight and blow its horn at him.
His reel's still in production, having been given
New life in the high-end planer board by Riviera.
Would Great-uncle Steve be surprised Dad kept them,
These oversized silver yo-yo's without any inner
Workings, hollow as the bankrupt factories whose entire
Contents have been palleted and shrink-wrapped, for
Loading onto freighters bound for Southeast Asia.
Will we be the Motor City once again? Ever?
Great-uncle Steve, tool-and-die maker for GM,
Made prototypes out of aluminum.
I Saw Her Sitting There
"She--looked at me--and I--I could see..."
- Beatles
Mom had her legs worked by physical therapist Stacy
Three times a week in her two-story Troy colonial.
Stacy said: "Go up and down the stairs on your fanny
Like when you were a little girl." Mom wasn't too crazy
About rehab, after a back step/black ice slip'n'fall.
Stacy said: "Swing your legs up when you get to the landing,
That way you can scoot into your bedroom real easy."
First, I had to move crates of unworn clothes and saved junk mail:
Mom was ashamed of her hoarding and her housekeeping.
One night, I flicked the light on in the upstairs hallway
From downstairs, to find mom perched up there in pink flannel.
She said: "Out of the darkness come radical changes.
Creation, then re-creation--that's the only certainty."
Makeup-less, her closed eyes were mere shadows in their hollows.
Above white tube socks, mom's knees seemed austere as Lincoln's,
Her voice melancholy as his "shall not perish from the earth."
Yet joyful, too, as if revelation of a miracle.
I saw Goddess sitting at the top of the staircase.
She said: "Out of the darkness come radical changes."
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>We are pleased to announce that Anne-Marie Thompson is the recipient of the Mezzo Cammin scholarship at the West Chester University Poetry Conference and Wendy Sloan is the recipient of The Mezzo Cammin Women Poets Timeline Project scholarship.
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Judith Schaecter: I found the beauty of stained glass to be the perfect counterpoint to ugly and difficult subjects. Although the figures I work with are supposed to be ordinary people doing ordinary things, I see them as having much in common with the old medieval windows of saints and martyrs. They seem to be caught in a transitional moment when despair becomes hope or darkness becomes inspiration. They seem poised between the threshold of everyday reality and epiphany, caught between tragedy and comedy.
My work is centered on the idea of transforming the wretched into the beautiful--say, unspeakable grief, unbearable sentimentality or nerve wracking ambivalence, and representing it in such a way that it is inviting and safe to contemplate and captivating to look at. I am at one with those who believe art is a way of feeling ones feelings in a deeper, more poignant way.
I would describe my process as derived almost entirely from traditional techniques in use for centuries. The imagery is predominantly engraved into layers of glass; only the black and yellow are painted and fired on in a kiln. The pieces are soldered together in a copperfoil and lead matrix.
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