Age seems to defy prolific poet Grace Butcher in mind, body and spirit.
Age seems to defy prolific poet Grace Butcher in mind, body and spirit.
“Everything and anything inspires me,” said Butcher, of Chardon. “My life and the world around me are the raw material for my work.”
The “1992 Ohio Poet of the Year” and Chardon High School alumna released a new manuscript of her poetry “Deer in the Mall,” sharing her works April 4 at a Words and Wine poetry reading event at Rider’s Inn in Painesville.
“It’s an opportunity for our community to experience living and working poets, to hear poems read out loud and/or contribute poems of their own,” said Margie DeLong, founder of Words and Wine, a poetry reading series and open mic that takes place the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Rider’s Inn.
Butcher’s newest book, a collection of her relatively older poems, has three sections and themes, “Deer in the Mall;” “Life, Death, Love, and the Weather Report;” and “To My Grandmother’s Grandmother.”
“We are all part of the natural world and as far beyond it as our senses will take us,” is written on the book’s back cover, highlighting its focus.
Butcher’s multi-faceted biography, in no particular order, includes her titles as a writer, teacher, horsewoman, motorcyclist, actor and runner.
She competed nationally and internationally in track since 1949, winning championships and setting records, and in 2003, she won a Masters Indoor 400 meters title and is in the Greater Cleveland, Hiram College and Chardon High School sports halls of fame.
Debbie Skeen, a decades long running friend of Butcher’s, called her “a pioneer when it comes to athletics.”
An avid motorcyclist for 20 years, Butcher rode her BMW in Europe and competed in motocross and road racing, compiling her adventures in her book, “Crossroads.”
The “Best Supporting Actress” community theater veteran also recently performed in Geauga Lyric Theater’s “Leading Ladies.”
“She’s one of a kind,” Skeen said. “I love her poetry. It’s very descriptive,”
Butcher seemed at home with book in hand at the gathering of kindred souls sipping Merlot and Irish whiskey inside the historic Rider’s Inn. She felt equally at home on a recent afternoon with her quarter horse she calls “the love of my life,” Spencer, at Candlelight Farms’ indoor stables in Montville Township.
Spencer is Butcher’s inspiration for much of her most recent work.
“I’ve been a poet since at least age 11 when I wrote the first poems that I kept,” Butcher said. “Still have them.”
A sampling of Butcher’s books include “Before I Go Out on the Road,” “Child, House, World,” “Greatest Hits 1965-2000,” “Rumors of Ecstasy,” “The Poetry Anthology 1912-2002” and an anthology of “The Best American Poetry 2000.”
“I am grateful for all the poems that have come to me over the years, probably around 2,000 poems or so,” Butcher said.
She moved at age 14 with her parents, Lyman and Mary Lamb, to Geauga County in 1948.
“I eventually graduated from Hiram and Kent State and taught English for 25 years at KSU Geauga Campus,” Butcher said, adding she founded and coached the varsity cross-country running program.
She also still edits “The Listening Eye,” a literary magazine which began as a vehicle for student work and around 1992, opened up for national submissions, publishing some of the top writers of poetry and fiction in the country.
For years, James Wohlken attended Grace’s poetry workshops when she taught at KSU Geauga and later became an assistant editor of “The Listening Eye.”
“Grace’s poetry follows her rich experiences, mirroring the phases of her life,” Wohlken said. “Her latest book, ‘Deer in the Mall,’ opens a door on the heart of being.”
Butcher said major poets who influenced her are Dylan Thomas, Gerard Manley Hopkins, EE Cummings, David Wagoner, William Stafford, Wendell Berry.
DeLong met Butcher more than 20 years ago when she read at Java Joe’s Coffee in Painesville.
“I was coordinating poetry evenings then for about three years until the place burned down,” DeLong said. “She impressed me with her poetry, particularly the nature poems, since I, too, love and seek out experiences outdoors. Grace’s work is accessible, memorable and aspiring. Her worldview encompasses all that is around her. Her newest chapbook, ‘Deer in the Mall,’ is worth reading two, three, four times at least. Once you do, you will walk differently among the animals.”
Tobin Terry, Lakeland Community College department of English co-chair and
emcee for the Words and Wine events, said these poetry readings are personally fulfilling.
“There’s just something about hearing poetry read aloud that brings it to life, and as if by osmosis or some other more magical process, it makes me feel alive,” he said. “In a broader sense, continuing these poetry readings helps to keep the robust Northeast Ohio literary community alive, at least in our little corner of it, and it brings together poets of all experience levels in a supportive environment.”
Terry added, “Grace Butcher is a treasure. Her work is a pleasure to read, but just reading her poetry is no substitute for hearing her read it. Grace can really bring a poem to life.”
“Deer in the Mall” can be purchased by contacting Grace Butcher via mail at P.O. Box 274, Chardon, OH 44024
