Notes for The Only One in the Room with White Socks

These end notes were included in the original chapbook from which the published book The Only on in the Room with White Socks was created. I am making them available partly for clarification but mainly to provide background about how some of these poems came into being or were adjusted for the anthology, and to give some hint about what the writing process is like for me.

p. 9. “Second Drowning” and several other poems in this chapbook including “Letter from Dubai” and “Deciduous” were poems found in old notebooks or journals but that I reread with new interest and thought belonged in this book.

p. 20. “Maggie in the pool” was originally the third section in a poem sequence about Puerto Rico that was extracted and expanded upon to a full poem.

p. 29. “At a Café in Montreal” was originally the middle section of a longer poem “Canada Triptych,” but that I think it works better as a stand alone poem.

p. 33. “City” was written in response to a poem by Bob Herz in his book The City. Bob the editor of Nine Mile, who had an encyclopedic knowledge of poetry, died in July of 2023. He thought the poem had potential.

p. 35. An abecedarian poem is one in which the first word of each line begins with a new letter in alphabetic sequence. This poem also introduces a sequence of the chapbook’s poems that are more experimental than I usually write.

p. 45. “Cento for David Simpson.” A cento is a poem that is composed of lines from other poems. In this case, the lines are all lines from poems in Simpson’s collection The Way Love Comes to Me. Simpson, who wrote about being blind, died in 2018.

p. 47. “Schrödinger’s Cat Again.” Denise March. a member of the Inglis House Poetry Workshop and one of the original editors of Wordgathering died in October of last year. (See note below.) Schrödinger’s cat is a theme in quantum physics that I seem to keep returning to in my many of my poems.

p. 48. “To Larry Eigner.”I was writing a review of Sustaining Air, a biography of poet Larry Eigner, for Wordgathering when I got the news of Denise March’s death. (See note above.)

p. 49. “Bar Routine” was originally written as an assignment on prose poems for a creative non-fiction workshop led by Minter Krotzer in Philadelphia in 2012, but seems appropriate to this sequence on experiment with form here.

p. 50. “mycelium” is an attempt to imagine the pathways that a poem following a mycelium movement might take. The idea came when reading Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life about fungi.

p. 54. “Ice Storm.” I have been using prompts from Diane Lockwood’s The Crafty Poet as a poetic seed bank. “Ice Storm” resulted from one of them as did “The Day Before I Died.”

p. 58. “Laurel Hill.” It is obvious from the subject and language that “Laurel Hill” and the second stanza of “Crocuses” cover the same territory, but I have included both because I think they result in very different poems.

Family Members in U. S. History (4): War of 1812

One metaphor for the history of the United States might be is that it is like a thick rope made up of strands that are the collective strands of all the individuals who lives made up that history. In that image, the rope is one that is continually changing in texture and appearance. The family genealogies reflected in American history from colonial times up until the writing of the Constitution have focused principally on those families whose roots go back to the English speakers of the British Isles. Specifically, Mary Beth’s family roots (the Burdettes and Lords) and the Northen family roots (Northen and Lewis), with occasionally reference to the Rita’s Roy family roots that stretch back into the French part of North America that became Canada. With the 1800’s the flood gates opened and almost everyone can find some family members who first made their way to the country. In fact, so much is going on at that point that organizing with an eye to history becomes a bit problematic. I’m suggesting two possible ways to look at the 1800’s: military events and immigration patterns. By military events, I mean the war of 1812 and the Civil War. A great many of the records from the 1800’s are connected with events that led up to or were connected with the wars. Immigrations patterns are based upon the fact that groups of non-British people voluntarily coming into this country tended to be concentrated during certain time periods. In the 1800’s these were principally people from German-speaking countries and Ireland. Most Americans of German and Irish descent trace their first American ancestors to this time. In the last decade of the 1800’s, though the door began opening even wider to include people of other European countries. (None of this, of course, addresses issues of those whose ancestors came involuntarily as slaves.) Both ways of looking at history (militarily and immigration) cover the same time periods, so I will be toggling between the two. Probably the only thing that most people remember about the War of 1812 is that it is when Francis Scot Key wrote the national anthem. Really, it was part of a much larger war in Europe, primarily between England and France. The United States got involved for two reasons. The first is that the British (and French) ships raided American ships to get supplies and commandeer men to fight in its army. The other reason is that most Americans (including our ancestors who were here) still lived east of the Appalachian Mountains in the original thirteen colonies. Americans wanted to moved past the mountains and occupy territory, but there was a problem - Native Americans were already there. Britain backed the rights of many of the Native American tribes and this did not sit too well with most of the colonial Americans. So President Madison declared war. The American army that fought in the War of 1812 was much closer to the armies that fought in the Revolutionary War than today’s army. Each state raised its own army and the men who joined had to supply their own weapons and provisions. Because of where the war took place many of our ancestors in Virginia probably took part. In Virginia, Edward Jones Northen was a captain in the 41st Virginia militia regiment, but most Northen ancestors who fought, such as Charles Henry Lewis (in the 37th Virginia miltia regiment) and Thomas W. Rice were privates. According to a document called “Records of Men in the U.S. Army Prior to the Peace of the Peace Establishment May 17, 1815,” Rice seems to have been involved in a number of battles but also put on trial for desertion and sentenced to hard labor for the duration of the war in 1814. It is likely that some of Mary Beth’s ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War also fought in the War of 1812, however, Maryland did not appear to keep many records of them. Ironically, the only one of her ancestors we have a direct record of fighting is William Lord of Enfield, Connecticut, whose father, Jeremiah Lord had fought with the Continental Army in the American Revoluion. Even though some American troops tried to invade Canada, the part that they invaded was called Lower Canada, which had been settled by the British. Those who lived in the area of Upper Canada (including Quebec), like Rita’s ancestors Jean-Raphael Roy dit Voisine and his wife Marie Louise Caron, did not participate in the fighting. They called themselves Canadiens and still identified more with the France and French culture than the British that Americans were fighting. Also living at the same time, in Karamouska, the village where Jean-Raphael and Marie resided, was another of Rita’s ancestors Jean Baptiste Oulette. Both men seem to have been farmers and not involved in the fighting. In fact, Jean Baptsite married Marienne Berube on November21, 1814, just was the War of 1812 was coming to an end in the United States. It is interesting to note that Jean Baptiste Oulette’s mother was Marguerite Roi, so the relationships between the Roy and Oulette families go back a long way - at least when they were living in Karamouska over 200 years ago. Many Americans at the time thought that after the War of 1812 those living in Canada would be eager to become part of the United States. This did not happen and the borders between the two countries stayed pretty much what they were. However, shortly after the war, in 1820, Maine became a state and just a few decades later, some of the Canadiens, such as Rita ancestors began moving down into that area.

Northen Family Collage

 

The Northen News blog  was originally created to share stories, information, pictures and other things of interest about the family almost seventeen years ago.  A few things have changed since then, mostly family members.   The collage below is one  I created recently out of my obsession for turning collages into jigsaw puzzles that I work.  It gives a fairly up-to-date picture of my immediate family – parents, siblings, children and their spouses, and grandchildren.

 

 

Anyone who can identify all 29 portraits deserves to be an honorary Northen family member – blood relative or not.   (It is also kind of fun to see if you can recall where some of  the pictures were taken.)

Family Blogs - 3

This is the final post in my “mini-series” about the Northen family blogs. I want to sample the remaining four blogs, those that were not mentioned in the last post. Maura Northen Augelli describes some of the comments to avoid making when talking to friends with mood disorders. . Maura Madden Northen looks at how women are often reluctant to seek financial planners. Michael Northen describes a colonial ancestor who was sued by his wife for divorce. Maya Augelli Northen describes yoga as physical surrender.

 

Maya Northen Augelli – from Lilies and Elephants

“The Most Frustrating Things People Say To Someone With a Mood Disorder”

It's no secret that there's a huge stigma surrounding mental health. I've blogged before about the myths of mood cycling conditions, and even some of the positives I've gleaned from mine, but I thought I'd address some of the other statements and negativity we get dealt with on a regular basis, just for being ourselves

• "You're way too emotional.
  "I've actually been admonished for "being a baby" for tears that people didn't understand. Yes, I'm probably more emotional than a lot of people. But I'm not a baby. I'm not weak. I'm not spoiled. I have a big heart. I feel things greatly, deeply. It means if you were in trouble, I'd feel it so greatly I'd move mountains to help you. It means I also feel joy and excitement greatly too. Is that such a bad thing?
  
• "You're unrealistic/delusional."
  Mood cyclers have expansive brains. They stretch to extremes. They're often incredibly creative, imaginative, visionary. Did you know that Beethoven, Van Gogh, and Picasso are all said to have had (or were actually diagnosed with) Bipolar Disorder? Just because our dreams and brains stretch a bit further into areas some can't understand, just because our paths aren't always the same as yours, doesn't make us unrealistic or delusional. It may well mean we reach heights or discover paths others don't think to go.

(Continue reading about negative statements people with mood disorders deal with at http://liliesandelephants.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-most-frustrating-things-people-say.html)

**

Maura Northen Madden – from Women + Money = Power

“Traditional Financial Planning Has Overlooked Women”

Within the traditional sphere of personal finance, which has its foundation in patriarchy, women are often ignored. When women are acknowledged it is as a target market. In industry publications you will see plenty of articles stating that more money is moving into the hands of women, followed by instructing on how advisors and planners can appeal to these female potential clients. There is frequent conversation on the financial planning topics viewed as “female”: Longer life expediencies, challenges of being a caregiver, the wage gap. It is necessary to recognize the differing financial needs of women. Unfortunately, that is usually where the conversation ends. Rarely is there any discussion of how to best provide service to women. Rather, the focus seems to be on how to manipulate women into behaving like men. (Sound familiar? I’m guessing that more than a few readers have experienced this in employment, education, consumerism, and many other areas of life.) I believe that this is where feminist financial planning can step in and actually address the needs of women through communication methods, relationship building, and topics of discussion.

((To see what feminist financial planning has to offer see https://mauramadden.com/feminist-financial-planning/)

**

Michael Northen – from Northen History

“William Northen”

In doing research on the Northen family, most of the material that I run across are lists of names and dates, but occasionally something colorful comes along that shows what some of our ancestors were really like. That is the case with William Northen and his wife Abigail Minty. William was born in 1719. He and Abigail were married sometime between 1738 and 1742 and lived in Richmond County, Virginia. He was active in politics, voting for members of the Virginia’s House of Burgesses. He was also occasionally summoned to court, though much less so than his father. In 1753 he was made surveyor of the road from Clark’s Run to Totusky Bridge and Red Mill. This was just at the time when a younger George Washington was finishing up his stint as a surveyor, so it was a job that was accorded some respect. He also seems to have been acquiring property in addition to what he inherited from his mother and his wife’s family because on October 20, 1766 he is granted “a Certain tract of waist and ungranted land” in Richmond County. The will of another resident of Richmond County also gave William and his heirs unlimited fishing rights on his property. Then, In 1775 (one year before the Declaration of Independence), Abigail sued her husband. What happened? Apparently William posted a note on the courthouse door saying that he was selling four or five hundred acres of land long with all of his cattle, household goods and eleven slaves. Abigail went to court to stop him. Why would she want to do that? Well, they had seventeen children and he had not supported them in any material way for the past two years. Abigail claims he had not even given her linen to make clothes for the kids.

(To read about how the situation turns out for William, Abigail and their descendents continue at https://northenhistory.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/william-northen/)

**

Maya Northen Augelli – from Maya Augelli Blog

“Surrendering Into What Serves Me Best”

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of surrender. Not surrender in terms of giving up but more in terms of an allowing, a letting go of some of the things we hold onto so tightly that it holds us back, a sinking into what serves us instead of resisting it. Last week I taught a Yin/Vin Pop-Up class, and I felt this surrender in a physical way. In Yin Yoga, we hold poses for significantly longer - usually somewhere between one to five minutes. When you’re holding a pose, say a hip opener like Pigeon/Sleeping Swan or Frog, the body’s natural tendency, or at least mine, is tense up so that you don’t sink into anything that feels uncomfortable. Sometimes, we even do this without realizing we’re doing so. But when you do this, you’re just holding tension in your body, which ultimately doesn’t feel better and often takes more energy and effort than just letting yourself surrender into the pose. If you do allow yourself to release the tension and to sink in naturally (surrender of this nature is not forced), you’ll find that once you get past the initial moments of discomfort, it actually begins to feel better. Additionally, in this practice we used props when needed/desired, which allowed us to sink in while still being supported. It wasn’t a “free for all” of forcing ourselves past what made sense in our bodies in that moment. We simply sank in, surrendered into the props or the mat or our bodies instead of actively resisting, which may sound easy enough, but can feel quite difficult in practice. (Caveat - of course if you have an injury or other reason to not go into a pose or variation, definitely listen to your body!).

(Much more can be read about yoga can be at https://maya-augelli.com/blog/2020/9/25/surrendering-into-what-serves-me-best)

 

In to the blogs excerpted above, the blog that are reading now Northen News has many stories, poems or anecdotes from and about family members. Just click on the links to the side to explore them.

Family Blogs - Part 2

 

In my last post, I described the nine blogs that my daughters and I had initiated over the past decade or so, giving links to each of them with a brief description.  As I also mentioned, I want to continue giving a feel for how these blogs read by sampling each of them.  Since, excluding the one you are reading now, there are eight blogs, I am going to split this sampling in two, posting four here and four in a future post.

As I post the first four, I’m delighted by the diversity that these blogs portray. Maura Northen Madden writes about her first experience with chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Melissa Northen Cotter describes what it is like for first time parents to try camping with an infant.  Maya Northen Augelli describes a trip as well but this one to Zimbabwe. Michael Northen (yours truly) tells about attending a reading by the late poet and playwright David Simpson.

 

Maura Northen Madden –  from Staying (mostly) Upbeat

“First Treatment”

I had my first Chemotherapy treatment and my first Radiation treatment yesterday.  All in all, it went pretty smoothly.  The radiation will take a bit longer on Mondays because there is extra “positioning” and doctor reviews at the beginning of the week.  The radiation seems like it will be a cinch.  I just change my pants (no zippers allowed), lay on the table, wait 5-10 minutes, change back to my street clothes and head on my merry way.

The radiation seems like it will be a bit more time-consuming.  Fortunately, I only need to get hooked up on Mondays.  I have to get blood tests then sit there and wait for the tests to come back.  Then they give the order to mix my special concoction in the pharmacy.  I wait for a while for that to arrive.  Then the nurse hooks me up and I am on my merry way.

So far, the worst thing is the bulk of the fanny pack.  Plus, I cannot shower while I have it, so sponge baths only Monday through Friday.  I am well aware that these are small inconveniences and that I am fortunate for all these marvels of modern medicine.  But, it still does not mean I cannot be a bit grumpy about lugging this pack around (with greasy hair) for the next five weeks.

Fortunately, the Oncologist does not expect that I will have too many side effects from the Chemo.  I have pills for nausea on standby, but have not yet had to use them.  She anticipates that my hair will get brittle and thin, but will not fall out.  I hope that she is right about that.  I guess I just have to wait and see what comes next…

(To find out what does come next check back in at the blog home page https://mauraupdates.wordpress.com/2013/06/)

***

 Melissa Cotter Northen–  from Swell Notes 

“Fourth of July Camping”

Yesterday, we dusted off our gear to prepare for our first family camping trip in 2 years.   We love to camp.  It is sad to think that it has been this long since our last trip.  Okay, that isn't quite accurate.  My husband and I love to camp, my children love to eat marshmallows.  This is why we have not been camping in 2 years.


When Amelia was 6 months old, we took her camping.  We packed and planned as we always did.   

1. 1 two person tent, two sleeping bags
2. 2 vizsla dogs
3. minimal clothes
4. hiking gear
5. small camp stove
6. compact food
7. random survival essentails

Of course, we added in Amelia's clothes, diapers, a few small toys, an infant carrier and bedding.  It sounded so simple.  The baby would enjoy the fresh air, sleeping close to her parents and watching the dogs frolic around the campsite.  The reality didn't follow the dream.  The baby cried.  No, not cried, she screamed.  She screamed in the car.  She screamed while we unloaded and set up, she screamed while we (tag team) ate.  At home, my salvation had always been taking Amelia for a walk.  So, around nap time, we strapped her in to our Kelty carrier and set off for a hike.  She screamed for 3 miles until we gave up and turned around.  She finally fell asleep about a mile from our site.  This was not camping. 

Two years and one child later, we went on a group family camping trip (maybe some of you were there with us?).  Having giving up the notion that we were authentic campers anymore, we came prepared.   We brought everything listed above and...

(The saga continues at http://swellnotes.blogspot.com/2011/07/forth-of-july-camping.html)

 ***

Maya Northen Augelli –  from Chimera Travel  Blog,

“Why I Went to Zimbabwe”

 

My most recent blogs have featured destinations that most others aren’t – either destinations I’ve visited, or want to, that I feel are worth sharing with others. Last year, I went to southern Africa for 16 days and I couldn’t pass up the chance to go to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Victoria Falls can be seen from both Zambia and Zimbabwe. Given the fact that Zimbabwe’s currency has fallen to the point that it’s no longer accepted even in it’s own country, and that the nation has suffered more than its share of political turmoil, most people would opt to see the Falls via Zambia.

My family, however, decided to go to Zimbabwe. Why chance it? First, I feel one has to separate the country’s politics and domestic turmoil with the way they treat foreigners. I’ve been given this respect when traveling to countries that didn’t like American politics and I like to do the same for others. Despite all of the hardship Zimbabwe has undergone, there had not, at least near the time that we were traveling, been an issue with trouble or violence towards visitors. We suspected, and were proven correct, that the locals loved having us there. After all, for a country whose currency is no longer legitimate, having Americans spending their comparatively strong currency must make them ecstatic (it did)!

 

(There was much more to Zimbabwe.  Read about it at http://chimera-travel.com/blog/2010/09/22/why-i-went-to-zimbabwe/)

***

Michael Northen – from Dispoet  

“David Simpson: The Way Love Comes to Me”

It is rare to come away from a book launch somehow feeling a little bit better about humanity, but that was my experience last night attending  the first public outing for David Simpson’s collection of poetry, The Way Love Comes to Me.  Those who know Dave Simpson’s work – which is probably most people likely to be reading this - know that he and his twin brother Dan, both poets and musicians, were born blind.  Several years ago they combined their work to produce a CD called, straightforwardly enough, Audio Chapbook, but the volume being shown off last night was Dave’s first published print book of poetry.

Dave sat at a table in the front of the room, flanked on either side by poets Molly Peacock and Ona Gritz whose combined efforts had helped to see Dave’s book come to life through Mutual Muse Press. The line forming to  have Dave sign books stretched back to the entrance of the room in Avianna restaurant where the event was held.  Though the room was humming with activity, Dave knew just about every person who came up to have a book signed and told Ona what he wanted written down for each person as she signed the books for him.  Dan, who was serving as emcee for the evening announced, after several attempts to break through all the conversation of the writers, musicians and lifelong friends, that Dave would be reading for twenty minutes or so at about 7:30.  Dan himself was surrounded by people who came up to ask him about his own upcoming book.

(See more about David Simpson’s reading at http://dispoet.blogspot.com/2014/10/david-simpson-way-love-comes-to-me.html )

In the next post, I will bring in excerpts from the remaining four blogs.

Family Blogs

 

 

For a family like mine that enjoys expressing themselves in writing, the first decade or two of the twentieth century has been a time of great opportunity.  With the invention of Blogger in 1999, blogs provided an opportunity for individuals to put their own work out to the public without it having to be run through a gated gauntlet of publishers. Blogs were an invitation to families like mine to take hold of the issues that were important to them and put their thoughts out in a format that allowed them to express themselves without interruption but also allowed for comments and observations by others.

My three daughters – Maura, Melissa, Maya – and I have all taken a substantial stab at making use of blogs.  Together, we have produced nine separate blogs. Some were time-limited, some (such a s this one) have essentially met their demise, but a few are still going strong.   Taken together, we have covered quite a bit of territory.   Before a new upgrade or transformation in computers makes all of this work inaccessible, I want to take a few minutes to list and describe the work we have done with the hopes that it might pique or rekindle interest.   I’ll take a chronological approach, providing the name of the blog and blogger, the dates that frame it, the link to the blog home page, and a brief description.

Michael Northen – Dispoet  (3/05-2/21) https://dispoet.blogspot.com/  This  blog was established to promote the work of disabled poets.  It describes the work of individual poets, promotes some of the activities in which they were involved and recommends work for interested readers to take a look at.

Michael  Northen – Northen News ( 5/05-5-21)  https://northen.blogspot.com/  When this blog was created, I envisioned it as a communal space where family members could post stories or information about their families or, basically, anything they thought might interest other family members.  I chose family members to be blog facilitators.  Initially it seemed to work and others like my sister Judi, brother Ed and daughter Melissa all contribute posts about the family, but interest waned and I ended up being the sole contributor.

Maya Northen Augelli – Chimera Travel  Blog,( 8/9-9/12) http://chimera-travel.com/blog/2009/08/ . This travel blog was launched in connection with Chimera Travel, Maya's personalized travel business.  It gave useful information for potential travelers but also described places that Maya herself had traveled with the intention of interesting others. A brief follow up to this blog is continued at Travel Luxe (2018) https://mytraveluxe.wordpress.com/.

Melissa Cotter Northen– Swell Notes  (/6/11-7/12) http://swellnotes.blogspot.com  Often tongue-in-cheek, Swell Notes explores the vicissitudes of being a “stay at home Mom” in the early twenty-first century, attempting to balance child rearing and creativity through a wide range of topics.

Maya  Northen Augelli – Lilies and Elephants  (8-11- Present)  http://liliesandelephants.blogspot.com/   After being diagnosed with cyclothymia, Maya began advocating for mental health.  In these posts she tries to support others with mood disorders through an exploration of her own experiences. 

Maura Northen Madden – Staying (mostly) Upbeat ( 6/13-5/14) https://mauraupdates.wordpress.com/   Maura began this blog when she was diagnosed with cancer.  It follows her through the year of her surgery and the beginning of her recovery describing not only the medical experience but the social, cultural and emotional ramifications. 

Michael  Northen – Northen History (11-2013-Present)  https://northenhistory.wordpress.com/   As the family’s default genealogist, I was interested in getting out information about the history of the Northen and Wilkins branches of the family for family members to read and comment on.

Maura Madden Northen Blog  – Women + Money = Power  5/21-Present)   https://mauramadden.com/blog/  In May 2021 Maura launched her new business as a feminist financial planner.  This blog works to counter male-dominated financial advice by empowering women to take charge of their own financial decision-making by providing them with the tools, knowledge and encouragement they need.

Maya  Augelli Northen –  Blog (6/20- Present)  https://maya-augelli.com/blog . This blog accompanies Maya’s professional website putting  a personal face on her various roles as a yoga & wellness instructor, health advocate, travel planner and writer by integrating them in relating her own experiences.   

Clearly, these blogs represent a diverse number of topics, interests and styles.  It is my hope that other family members will find their interest whetted enough to browse them. I think you will also agree that the three women whose blogs are represented here are all excellent writers.  If there is interest, I am hoping to make further posts on this site sampling a few of the more thought provoking or entertaining blogs.