Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation

Martin Farawell, Program Director, Poetry

In “Romantic Moment,” which he read at the 2006 Dodge Poetry Festival, Tony Hoagland manages to turn both love poetry and nature poetry on their heads.

For centuries, poets have asserted that poetry forces us to stop and look more closely at the world around us. Like the thousands of nature poems that have come before it, Hoagland’s poem pays meticulous attention to detail. The more specific his descriptions become, the greater the absurdity of the images evoked, and the louder the audience laughs. Although he never states it directly, the poem forces us to wonder at the absurdity of the elaborate protocols that dominate human courtship.

And yet, there is gentleness in his treatment of the couple, who finally decide to simply get some ice cream at this stage of their particular mating ritual. There is always heart at the heart of Hoagland’s humor. Although the poems can often be biting—there were several points during his readings at the Festival when the audience shared a collective gasp—Hoagland turns his wit most often against himself.

Poets have also asserted that poems force us to look inward, at ourselves. Hoagland is a relentless observer of human behavior and motivation, constantly digging into the deeper layers beneath what consciousness typically allows us to acknowledge about ourselves. His is not an escapist’s or a cynic’s humor. It is rooted in tenderness toward our human foibles and faith in our potential. He invites us to laugh, and we do because sometimes when we hurt, laughter offers greater relief than crying.

The text of “Romantic Moment ” can be found in the chapbook Hard Rain. Tony Hoagland’s most recent full-length collection was What Narcissism Means to Me, and Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty will be out soon.

Be sure to return for upcoming Poetry Fridays, when we will feature many poets from past Dodge Poetry Festivals in the weeks ahead, including Linda Hogan, Taslima Nasreen and others.

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Molly de Aguiar, Program Associate

Most non-profits could not exist without their volunteers. If you’re a New Jersey non-profit – or simply know someone who selflessly gives to their communities – here’s a wonderful way to recognize and honor volunteers: the 2010 New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Awards.

The Governor’s Office of Volunteerism will recognize volunteers in a wide variety of categories, including emergency services, environmental stewardship, youth in service, good neighbors, innovators, and “against all odds” (how great is that category?!). You can nominate volunteers for up to three of 18 categories. Winners will be celebrated at a state-wide recognition ceremony during National Volunteer Week (April 18 – 24).

Submit your nomination online, with a 300 word essay which includes:

1. How the nominee has impacted the community—specifically what is the beneficial outcome (to others) of their efforts.
2. How the nominee’s service to community is exceptional and deserving of the New Jersey Governor’s Jefferson Award, including length of service if appropriate.
3. Include contact information for one or more individuals who could also discuss the nominee’s service.

You can get the full run-down of nomination information and the nomination form here.

In light of the recent Haiti earthquake and its impact on volunteer centers across the state, the nomination deadline has been extended from January 31 to February 14.

If you are looking for volunteer opportunities or have questions about the awards, please get in touch with our friends at the Volunteer Management Centers.

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Welcome to the final installment of our January Earthwatch Mondays series.

Dodge has been working with the Earthwatch Institute to offer Educator Fellowships to New Jersey’s K-12 public school teachers “so they can return to the classroom and community to advance an ethic of environmental stewardship and empower the students’ voices.”

You can see the first installment of the Teacher Chronicles here, the second here and last week’s installment here.

This week, read about Cindy DeMaria’s adventures during her “Whales of British Columbia” trip.

I had the privilege to attend the Grey Whales of British Columbia expedition with Dr. D. Duffus and Dr. W. Megill from July 19 to July 25, 2009. It was an incredible experience to say the least!

First of all, the jaw-dropping scenery of British Columbia lends a sense of adventure and magic to every moment you spend searching for whales or taking chemical readings of the ocean. The two scientists and their dedicated graduate assistants were an unending source of information and a model of commitment and dedication. It was truly an honor to work with them and witness not only the depth of their expertise but also their love of the ocean and its creatures.

While the life of a field researcher may sound glamorous and exciting, it entails a lot of sacrifice as well, and this team did not flinch from duty no matter what it entailed. So, a vital part of what I learned was the importance of academic rigor in applying the scientific method in the field. It is essential if you really want to get answers that you can rely on and use to solve problems.

In addition, I learned how complicated it is and how difficult it is to find clear-cut answers. Is human-caused climate change leading to declining whale populations, or is it overfishing? It may be a long time before we know the answer.

I also questioned the scientist on the state of the salmon industry to try to figure out if farm-raised or wild caught salmon was a better alternative. I got conflicting advice from them and the local fishermen, and the reading I did while I was there. I would like a clear-cut black or white answer, but that is not the way it works. It is complicated and messy. There are pros and cons on both sides. I posed the same question to my students, and they learned a lot from the struggle to find and defend an answer. I gave out the seafood wallet card and got them thinking about sustainable fisheries and the impact of the decisions about what they eat have on the environment.

Furthermore, the history of Clayoquot Sound, and the activism that saved some of it from the loggers, provides wonderful examples of how important a sense of place and individual action is protecting our natural world.

I feel certain that the students benefited from my deeper understanding and ability to illuminate numerous ecological concepts and issues in many ways. One of my favorites was their reaction to the friendly whale story. They were truly mesmerized by the story of the “friendlies.” What are they trying to tell us, I wondered aloud? “Everything is connected,” one student ventured. “We need each other.” “Share the earth,” offered another.

The year is not over and I have many other plans to bring what I learned into the classroom. The experience in the field rekindled my commitment and enthusiasm to teaching my students the concepts of sustainability and stewardship. The scientists who do the work day in and day out in the field deserve that. The beautiful creatures from whales to salmon to old-growth trees need it. My students, who will need to take responsibility for stewarding the environment, require it.

I will be offering a workshop for district teachers later in the year to explore EarthWatch and other opportunities for fieldwork with them. I hope that many of my colleagues will have a similar opportunity because I know of no better way to inspire our students to environmental literacy and action than to provide authentic field experiences to their teachers.

I would like to wholeheartedly express my gratitude to the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation for supporting me in this unparalleled opportunity for personal and professional growth.

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We hope you have enjoyed the Teacher Chronicles this month. Our thanks to our friends and partners at the Earthwatch Institute and to Kathy Geiger, Matt Farber, Phil Germakian and Cindy DeMaria for sharing their wonderful stories.

Earthwatch is the nation’s leading environmental volunteer organization supporting sustainable development worldwide, recruiting volunteers from stakeholder groups (notably teachers, students, journalists, community and government leaders and multi-national corporations) to participate in innovative research programs benefiting environmental issues and capacity building. Earthwatch’s mission is to engage people in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable world.

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Martin Farawell, Program Director, Poetry

Linda Gregg’s observation of the two horses in “The Weight,” one of two poems she read at the 2006 Dodge Poetry Festival, is reverent, and the poem’s tone is almost prayerful. It is as if, for Gregg, attention to the sensual is spiritual. Her reading leaves no doubt that the horses love each other, and that Gregg loves them.

Yet Gregg avoids the word and the connotations it carries. In his equally reverent “A Blessing,” James Wright states directly of the two horses in his poem: “they love each other.” But Gregg knows she cannot name what is passing between the horses, or what passes between any intimate sentient beings. She is willing to remain in a state of wonder. Gregg is one of our rare contemporary poets who will write about wonder without irony. This is not to suggest she lacks a sense of humor, about herself or our human foibles.

In her introduction to “Alone with the Goddess,” Gregg tells the audience that she admires the families in Java that include rituals from three or more faiths in their burial ceremonies. Despite its title, the speaker in this poem is clearly not alone. Her offering ritual to the goddess is interrupted by the judgmental comment of a present observer, and young men on horseback are racing up and down the beach. Gregg’s description of the horses in this poem is also admiring and attentive, even as she notices that they wear blinders, and the young men that ride them do not look either left or right.

We don’t know why the speaker needs to protect the man she loves with a ritual from another culture, or why she is so quick to refute that her offering has been rejected. It could be that she, like the young men on horseback, is just “pretending to be brave.” Or perhaps, like the Javanese, she knows we need to seek out as many avenues as we can into life’s mysteries.

The text of “Alone with the Goddess” can be found in Things and Flesh. “The Weight” is from Linda Gregg’s most recent collection, All of It Singing.

Be sure to return for upcoming Poetry Fridays, when we will feature many poets from past Dodge Poetry Festivals in the weeks ahead, including Linda Hogan, Tony Hoagland, Taslima Nasreen and others.

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Michelle Knapik, Environment Program Director

I think I need to give over to the voice of inspiration, or at least give it equal billing with the voice of reason. What does it sound like, you ask? Well, the version that is resounding in my head and heart comes from the “Voices from the Land”  project of Educational Information and Resource Center (EIRC) and The Monarch Teachers Network. The heart part is particularly interesting, in fact, a key part of the message was that emotion is something we need to tap into and express, it is part of inspiration and motivation, and it may even be something that we need to measure (I’m thinking Dodge assessment work here).

How do we get there – to that point of creative expression, to what is possible, to a state of cognitive play? The Voices project creates the conditions for this extraordinary journey  – and it also just happens to integrate three core areas of Dodge’s grantmaking (arts, education and environment), as well as the Dodge themes of Creativity & Sustainability. Currently, the project takes the form of teacher training, and it is a poetic combination of collaboration, the creation of art in and of nature (in the vein of artist Andy Goldsworthy), and story. The masterminds behind the Voices project, EIRC’s Erik Mollenhauer and Brian Hayes, looked all the way back to our Paleolithic past to explore human survival skills that are deeply anchored in the rhythms of nature, as well as in our roles as listeners and storytellers, and then found ways to bring them forward.

It all starts with a sense of place whether it is in a field, a forest, a park, or a beach. The living classroom of your choice provides diverse entry points for observation and discovery; it offers a diversity of materials; it sparks a creative force; and it offers the space to take risks. These program elements result in shared learning and growth, and a deeper connection to nature and to the group (the exercise takes the form of groups of teachers, teachers and students, etc.). EIRC then adds language, story and performance to help participants convey their experience. This ancient recipe of “landscape and language” taps into our emotions – and it is from here that we develop a sense of caring that can inspire positive social change.

Erik and Brian left me with the following quote from Howard Thurman, an author, theologian, educator and civil rights leader:

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Clearly, the images of student work shown in this post are evidence of youth who have come alive in nature. Where do you find your voice of inspiration?

For more information visit the Voices from the Land Program and sign-up to attend the upcoming Voices training session on March 22nd and 23rd. You can also contact Erik Mollenhauer at erikm@eirc.org or Brian Hayes at bhayes@eirc.org to learn about the Voices from the Land Learning Activities guidebook.

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