7-11-2023 4:27am

Writers Reflect and Share "Legacy" Submissions

Lesley Misko Editor

by Jane Stahl

Writers who are featured in Studio B’s latest anthology of poetry, prose, and art shared the work included in the anthology, their writing process, their current projects, and efforts to promote and sell their work during a recent Writers’ Reception at Studio B.

Writers and guests: L to R, row 1: Wes Bahorik, Claudia Bahorik, Patrick Klimcho, Marilyn Klimcho; row 2: Jodie Daniels, Craig Bennett, Bob Wood; row 3: Phil Repko, unidentified, Vicki Haller Graff, Jane Palmer, Heather H. Thomas

“Legacy: Remembrance Matters” is the studio’s 10th published anthology in as many years.

Studio B has published 10 books of poetry, prose, and art in as may years.

Phil Repko, who was awarded “Best in Show” by juror Susan LeClair shared his companion poems “Augury—an Invocation” and “The Legacy Chair.” In “Augury—an Invocation” his perspective is the future, musing what he will miss and what, if anything others will remember of him “Because I have appointment/With the limits of my life/And will not be around/To see how all the art unfolds.”

"Unidentified" photograph, Luann Zambanini

In “Legacy Chair,” his perspective is the past, in keeping the “shrine” alive to “Honor those who’ve died/ And who have been so precious here/In making much of life -/Their own as well as ours.”

"Chairs" mixed media, Amy Forsyth

Award-winner Vicki Haller-Graff read “Obitu-WOW-y,” a whimsical monologue of a woman composing and inflating her own obituary. Describing her employment history, she offers that she was, “An employee for over 60 years, she was the highest paid secretary of all time. Highest paid employee of all time, most valuable employee of all time. She kept the whole institution running. Service stopped when she retired.”

"Boyertown from Cannon Hill" oil, Peter Schnore

Claudio Bahorik offers tough lessons life has offered in her essay “I Am Me” that include the "Final lesson: I am me, you be you. But always remember, if you ever get hit with a bucket of shit, be sure and close your eyes!"

"Cereal Selfie" mixed media, Susan Biebuyck

Craig Bennett read “No Footprints,” a section from his latest book More Things in Heaven and Earth in which he realizes, “I was part of that woods and every other woods or forest on the planet. I was part of the earth and the sky above. I was part of the distant ocean, the great mountain ranges of the West, and every humble stream or mighty river on every continent in every hemisphere. I was part of the universal web of life, the entire planet on which I lived, the solar system of which it is a part, the Milky Way galaxy, and the boundless reaches of deep space that exceed our human ability to measure or even imagine the extent of that reach. And so are we all….and that the most meaningful and beneficial legacy that I could leave behind me is expressed in the spelunkers’ (amateur explorers of uncommercialized caves) motto, ‘Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.’”

"Fall Sunset Dutch Mill Farm" oil, Susan Duby

Marilyn Klimcho read her poem “Ambivalence” in which, at eleven years old, she recognizes life’s dualities—" I want to be remembered./Maybe I won’t be remembered./Maybe I prefer anonymity/.Maybe I’m afraid of what they’ll learn about me.”

"Chapeau" acrylic, Lisa Muller

Writers were invited to bring publications to sell, to schedule a recording of a “B Inspired” podcast episode with host Jane Stahl, and to purchase copies of “Legacy: Remembrance Matters.”

The writers' reception; the "Legacy: Remembrance Matters" art exhibit and anthology of poetry, prose, and art; the "Scent & Memory" immersive experience; and the "Before I Die" wall mural were sponsored by a grant from the Boyertown Area Charitable Program through Berks County Community Foundation.

“Joy” is the theme for next season’s anthology. Details will be forthcoming on Studio B’s website studiobbb.org.