Debbie Clement

On Saturday, May 28, she will be featured in a book-signing event at Charlene’s Galley Ten in Gills Rock from 3 – 5 pm. But, an appearance by Debbie Clement always provides a bit of the unexpected. While much of her work is focused on engaging children in a participatory learning experience through art and music, her latest multi-media work, “Red, White and Blue,” also carries a message. It’s a song, a book and a series of 16 original narrative quilts that all came about following the events of September 11, 2001.

“I had a bag of flags, and the little lyric that came to me was ‘red, white and blue, I love you’,” explains the artist. “I started on a quilt following that. It became a 5-year project that I finally wrapped up last summer while in Door County.”

Debbie and her husband spend quiet summers here on the Peninsula but she recently returned from a European USO-style tour that celebrated the “Month-of-the-Young-Child” at four US military bases across Germany and Italy. She was there performing for children and giving family concerts as well as providing staff-training events.

This was the adventure of a lifetime,” she explains. “I also gave concerts in Reggio Emilia while in Italy – which was a huge professional opportunity.”

Reggio Emilia is famous for spawning an educational philosophy that focuses on preschool and primary education. It was started by Loris Malaguzzi and the parents of the villages around Reggio Emilia in Italy after World War II. With the destruction of the war all around them, parents believed it was time for a new, quick approach to teaching their children. They felt that it is in the early years of development that children form who they eventually become as adults. This led to the creation of a program based on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests of the children expressed through a self-guided curriculum.

The Reggio Emilia approach to teaching young children puts the natural development of children as well as the close relationships that they share with their environment at the center of its philosophy. Early childhood programs that have successfully adapted to this educational philosophy share that they are attracted to Reggio because of the way it views and respects the child.

This philosophy lies at the core of Debbie’s work. Her book contains a CD with the core song that any 3, 4 or 5-year old can sing while they see the imagery contained in the pages of her book. The illustrations are comprised of the 16 small quilts she fashioned, which will also be on display at Gallery Ten.

“I write the songs for a book first,” Debbie explains. “I’ve written over 120 original songs. In performances, I teach the song to the children in words and in sign language as well, with the signing also included in the back of each book.”

She feels that universal sign-language is a bridge between children and cultures world-wide. She works to empower children as they sing, dance and make art in response to her performances. So, this event at Gallery Ten is a great opportunity for parents and grandparents to bring children and share an enriching experience. There is no charge and you can learn more about Debbie Clements’ work at: www.RainbowsWithinReach.com.

This event is one of several participatory art events scheduled this season at Gallery Ten. On Saturday, July 9, painter Ray Kapfamer will present a one-day working, workshop for artists on landscape painting, with everyone working in plein air in the woods surrounding the gallery.

Charlene’s Gallery Ten represents over 100 artists in a gallery collection that is contemporary, original and eclectic, opening daily from 10 AM to 5 PM at 12625 Hwy 42 in Gills Rock.

GT Coffee, complements the gallery, serving espresso drinks and Door County cherry pie by-the-slice daily from 8 AM to 5 PM. Telephone 920.854.9907 for further information or visit on-line at www.GalleryTen.com.

Eleven new voices, including youth poets, will highlight the series. Bruce Dethlefsen, Poet Laureate of Wisconsin is the fourth individual to be honored with that distinction. Norbert Blei is one of Door County’s best known writers, editors and publishers. “Obvious Dog” features the ‘Lip’py poems of Cathryn Cofell to the rocking music of Bruce Dethlefsen and Bill Orth. June Nirschl and Judy Roy recently published the poetry book Slightly Off Q.

They are members of the Wallace Poetry Group. Sarah and Al Stuart are talented in art, music and poetry and maintain a gallery in Fish Creek. Edward Dimaio has often read at the open mic in this series. As well as writing poetry, Henry Timm directs, writes and/or acts in many plays. Marybeth Mattson is a poet of lyrical touches and startling imagery. David Clowers is a prolific poet who acts in local productions and still finds time to be a lawyer. Francha Barnard, a retired librarian, was the winner of the 2010 Peninsula Pulse Poetry Prize. The readings by young poets have been so successful that the series will again feature a full evening of poetry by youths.

Each year UUFDC sponsors these monthly poetry readings named in honor of this famous poet. The readings are held at 7:00 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month and include a featured poet for half the program, followed by an open mic and then a few more poems from the featured reader. The series begins each year in April to commemorate National Poetry Month.

The schedule for 2011-2012 is as follows:

2011

April 13 – Norert Blei

May 11 – “Obvious Dog”

June 8 – June Nirschl

July 13 – Sarah and Al Stuart

August 10 – Judy Roy

September 14 – Edward Dimaio

*October 19 – Bruce Dethlefsen

November 9 – Henry Timm

December 14 – Marybeth Mattson

2012

January 11 – David Clowers

February 8 – Youth Readers

March 7 – Francha Barnard

* This reading is the third Wednesday of October in conjunction with a reading for the Friends of Door County Libraries at the Sturgeon Bay Library on Thursday, October 20.

The poetry community in Door County is extremely vital. The Dickinson Series features both beginning and established poets and provides a comfortable setting for the reading of new work. These evenings also attract new listeners, some of whom then become readers. The series is intended to enhance both the appreciation and the writing of poetry.

All readings are held at the UU Fellowship, 10341 Water Street (Hwy 42), on the north side of Ephraim, next to the Green Gables Shops. Brochures describing the series are available at local libraries, bookstores, and information centers. The readings are free and open to the public. All those who love poetry are welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information visit www.uufdc.org.

Norbert Blei

The UUFDC Dickinson Series begins each year in April, acknowledging National Poetry Month and this reading is also one of the featured events in Door County’s celebration of that event. Norbert Blei is Door County’s best-known writer, teacher, editor and publisher. He moved here from Chicago in 1969. Although his early writings were about Chicago, he has written most extensively about Door County and Wisconsin. He has taught, lectured, given writing workshops throughout the state and Midwest, and is Writer-in-Residence at The Clearing.

Blei has been published in many of the state’s leading periodicals and literary magazines and is a frequent commentator on Wisconsin Public Radio. He has won regional, state and national awards for his writing in diverse genres: poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. His recognition comes from the Wisconsin Library Association, the Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts and Letters, The Council of Wisconsin Writers and Pushcart Press.

He is the author of 17 books and in 1997 began his own press, CROSS+ROADS PRESS, dedicated to the publication of first chapbooks by poets, short story writers, novelist, and artists. His own Wisconsin work includes the award winning trilogy: Door Way, Door Steps, and Door to Door, as well as Meditations on a Small Lake and the controversial Chronicles of a Rural Journalist in America–dedicated to the preservation of the rural landscape.

Please join Norb for this enlightening evening! An open mic will follow Blei’s reading. The Dickinson Series is free and open to the public. The UU Fellowship is located at 10341 Hwy. 42, Ephraim. For more information visit www.uufdc.org or call 920.854.7559.

This is the inaugural event in Door County’s celebration of National Poetry Month, which begins April 1. Memory Keepers is the second volume of selected poems read by featured poets during the previous 12 months of the Fellowship’s Dickinson Poetry Series. The book includes 28 poems by 15 poets. The title is a variation of the title of one of the poems in the book and reminds us that good poetry is indeed a repository of observations, ideas, and feelings we have all experienced.

The featured poets include: Katie Schnorr, Barbara Larsen, Nancy Rafal, Ellen Kort, Ralph Murre, Loraine Brink, Jack Redell, Sharon Auberle, Caleb Whitney, Gary Jones and Michael Farmer; plus young poets at Gibraltar High School: Caitlin Weber, Brandon Bogenschϋtz, Morgan Petersilka and Rachael Mickelson. The poems reflect on the local scene, travel, language, social issues, nature and human interactions – subjects with a long history in poetry.

The publication celebration will include refreshments, music, impromptu readings of poems by their authors, and opportunity for the poets to autograph their pages in the books that have been purchased. The cost of the book is $10, with proceeds funding community service activities as well as promoting greater interest in poetry. Memory Keepers will be available at poetry events taking place on a county- and state-wide range, as well as at UUFDC events.

The issuance of this Volume II confirms the intention of UUFDC to make poetry collections from the Dickinson Series an annual publication. Volume I, released in April, 2010 was No Breath is Lost. Both volumes were produced by Helene Di Iulio.

The Dickinson Poetry Series is presented by the UUFDC the second Wednesday of each month offering an opportunity for both experienced and new poets to share their works. It is free and open to the public. The UU Fellowship is located at 10341 Hwy. 42, Ephraim. For more information visit their website at www.uufdc.org.

That certainly will be the case in the coming week. This winter, we have the privilege of hosting several events for Door County Reads. This program, sponsored by the Door County Libraries, encourages everyone in the Door County to read the science fiction classic Fahrenheit 451.

After a month of stimulating programs, the Grand Finale of the celebration is a lecture entitled, “The Strange & Wonderful Futures of Ray Bradbury” to be presented by David Zach. As a professional futurist, Zach has worked with associations, corporations and colleges offering insights on the personal and professional impact of strategic trends. In other words, he gives funny and thought-provoking talks about the future of technology, economics, business, education, demographics and society. The free program will be held at 7 pm in the lecture hall of the Collins Learning Center on Saturday, February 18.

Just a couple weeks in the past, there was a significant snowstorm in Chicago. Consequently, Sam Weller, who wrote the award-winning, best-selling biography and intimate portrait of Ray Bradbury, was unable to make it to Door County when scheduled. So Door County Reads will add a Bonus Finale during which Weller will present his look into the past of the author who brought us Fahenheit 451 and other hauntingly memorable novels. The lecture has been rescheduled for 2:00 on Saturday, February 19 at 2:00 in the lecture hall at Crossroads.

One of the ways we recreate the past at Crossroads is by maintaining our Heritage Garden. Members of the Sturgeon Bay Home and Garden Club and Master Gardeners plant heirloom seeds–heritage plants that yield delicious vegetables. When people say that veggies aren’t what they used to be, they are right. Modern vegetables do not taste as good, nor do they have the nutrional value of vegetables of the past.

On Thursday, Feburary 17, Sustain Door will continue their film series with a screening of Fresh. This movie features thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. This is not a future we desire. Perhaps we should look to the past.

Inspired by FRESH, or by food prices, or by the desire to eat better, many people dream of planting their own garden, but are a little vague on exactly how to go about getting a garden up and growing. On Tuesday, February 22, at 7:00 Dean Volenberg, UW Extension Ag. Agent, will present ““Gardening from the Ground Up- Your First Garden” in which he will share the steps to preparing for, starting and growing a garden. Even experienced gardeners will learn from this free presentation which is sponsored by Master Gardeners of Door County.

Crossroads at Big Creek is a donor-supported learning preserve welcoming learners of all ages to programs in science, history and the environment. The Collins Learning Center, at 2041 Michigan Street (County TT) just east of Sturgeon Bay, is open daily 2:00-5:00.

Thursday February 17, 7:00 pm
Sustain Door Film Series: FRESH

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.The film shows alternative approaches to food production that should be effective in Door County. Free and open to the public

Friday, February 18, 7:00
Door County Reads Grand Finale Lecture: “The Strange & Wonderful Futures of Ray Bradbury”

David Zach is one of the few professionally trained futurists on this planet, having earned a master’s degree in Studies of the Future from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. He is known for funny and thought-provoking talks about the future of technology, economics, business, education, demographics and society.
Saturday, February 19, 2:00 Door County Reads Bonus Finale

2:00
Keynote Speaker Sam Weller

Biographer Sam Weller will discuss the life and works of Fahrenheit 451 author Ray Bradbury. His award-winning, best-selling book is the first-ever biography and intimate portrait of Ray Bradbury. Free and open to the public.

Sunday, February 20, 1:00-3:00
Community Ski

Friends of Crossroads invite the community to get in touch with nature by using our skis or snowshoes. Anyone can borrow equipment between 1:00-3:00. Skis are to be returned by dusk. There is no charge for this program. Collins Learning Center.

Tuesday, February 22, 7:00
Master Gardener Lecture: “Gardening from the Ground Up – Your First Garden”

Dean Volenberg of the UW Extension will be leading a public program designed to help those who are starting out in gardening and planning for the spring. This program is a response to those who requested something for the new gardener. How you do start? What steps do you take? Even experienced gardeners will profit from Dean’s expertise. Free and open to the public.

Cover illustration, one of several in pen and ink with ink wash by the author

I spent a quiet evening alone, enjoying Wisconsin River of Grace while soft powdery snow was silently blanketing the woods around my home in Fish Creek. I didn’t know until I started reading the first entry, why this book has been waiting patiently since September for my attention.

It’s hard to explain, but the first time I picked it up and started reading, the sentences seemed to swim apart like random thoughts. All I can say is that it just wasn’t the right time… Now, every phrase is in sharp focus, logical and precisely aimed at slapping me awake and sometimes hitting the funny bone.

The humerus, in this case runs on a line lovingly traced south over several years by the displaced author, a Wisconsinite who reconciles his losses and gains from an observation point in northern Illinois. Many of Kyle White’s pieces were written in and about places in Door County and some first published in the former Door Peninsula Voice and the Peninsula Pulse.

I’ve never met the author but after reading his works, I feel like we should be friends. His vision and mine regarding what-is-it-about-Wisconsin-? resonate. Mine came about opposite to his, in that I was born in Illinois and eventually migrated north to set my roots in Door County. Like Kyle, I remember a somewhat mystical feeling that would come over me as a child when we crossed the state line and paid homage to the Mars Cheese Castle.

In Wisconsin, everything was clean and fresh. There were Garter snakes, dragonflies and fields of Sumac, sprinkled with Milkweed pods. I remember how much I became aware of the sky each summer spent in Door County and how attuned that made me to changes in the weather. And sadly, I recall how that same awareness faded within a few short weeks of returning to Illinois.

Kyle White speaks about these spiritual powers, the natural currents of grace running throughout Wisconsin:

Tomorrow morning, I’ll wake here in Illinois, step out on our porch on a cool, clear, breezy morning, and my kids will roll their eyes: “I know what Dad’s going to say, ‘It’s a Door County day!’” And it is. Minus the water and trees. Minus the smooth, bleach-white stones. But still, there’s some hint on the wind of the grace of Door County. And, of Ephraim. Of harbors and boat launches. The grace of this old man dreaming dreams. Now, becoming a young man seeing visions.

I knew from childhood summers spent in Wisconsin, in Door County, that I was connecting and disconnecting with the source. And Kyle White, in writing his 26 essays, formulates his own take on making and losing that connection. His season-by-season collection is the perfect way to take stock of one’s thoughts and responses to life in Wisconsin, so intimately linked to the changing cycles of nature. On a cold winter night, I really enjoyed the time spent swimming through Kyle’s Wisconsin River of Grace.

Order a copy of “Wisconsin River of Grace” online at author and Illustrator Kyle L White’s Blog. Copies of Wisconsin River of Grace may also be purchased at Wisconsin bookstores or obtained from Cornerstone Press Website: www.uwsp.edu/english/cornerstone.

Wisconsin River of Grace by Kyle L. White on Facebook.

Plan to attend and participate in the adventure of our whole community reading, discussing and thinking about the same book this winter!

Free copies of the book will be available at all Door County libraries beginning Monday, January 3, courtesy of Friends of Door County Libraries.    Presentations, theatrical performances, book discussions, film showings, and other programs and events for  “Door County Reads” 2011 will begin on Monday, January 24 and continue through Friday, February 18.   Find up-to-date program and book details online at  DoorCountyReads.org and read the book so you can join in!

Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury which was first published in a shorter form as “The Fireman” (Galaxy Science Fiction, Vol. 1 No. 5, February 1951). Bradbury’s novel presents a future American society in which the masses are hedonistic and critical thought through reading is outlawed.

The central character, Guy Montag, is employed as a “fireman” (which, in this future, means “bookburner”). The novel’s title refers to the supposed temperature at which book paper combusts.

In an introduction to the 40th anniversary edition of the novel, Bradbury states that the “firemen” burn them “for the good of humanity”. Written in the early years of the Cold War, the novel is a critique of what Bradbury saw as issues in American society of the era.

Ralph Murre is the author of “Crude Red Boat” and a collection of his poems and art entitled, “Psalms.” He released a third book of original works this summer. He is also the editor of several books of prose, poetry, photography and drawings by other authors and artists, published under his own Little Eagle Press. Ordering information for these books is available from littleeaglepress@gmail.com.

On November 20, 2010 he announced the fifth anniversary of the Arem Arvinson Log, a blog filled with observations, poems, original art and photographs. Here’s the latest poem posted there…

Weak Link

No stronger the chain,
they would say,
as they cast their glances
his way, the chances
that he would not be weakest
never even considered
as he frittered away
what they called their honor,
these colonels and better
from the 1800’s ‘til today.
Every silence, every wheel
turning against him
at the family table,
he enlisted in the fray.
Every cell of his cells
resisted his decision,
as the single-bar lieutenant’s
division went to war.
His Echo Company landed
amid sporadic blasts
on the first hot day
and by December
every ember of his pride
had darkened,
every platoon sergeant
and squad leader
hoped to frag him,
but he moved them,
against orders,
to a village
at the unseen gravel border,
where an air-strike
had been called on an emir.
There are children,
There are children,
he kept calling to the airmen,
There are children.
We’re going in.

It was friendly fire
that claimed him,
from a patriot PFC,
but the bombing was averted,
and the emir, if he was there,
and the children,
one more day,
went free.

- Ralph Murre

The Arem Arvinson Log  is about all sorts of things and it’s huge, very well tagged and categorized, so plan to spend some time there… regularly. Everyone always wants to know who or what is Arem Arvinson. I had to dig back to the first Anniversary log to discover the story provided by Murre below:

Who is this Arem Arvinson, for instance? I first met him a few years ago and found that we had some things in common, including this body and this skull we share. Even his name, Arem, is pronounced like my initials: R.M., and my dad was named Arvin. Just where he came from is uncertain, but he seeks to counsel the neophyte writer in me – and to influence me in other areas – for which I must be on my guard.

Arem is the sort of guy who buys motorcycles instead of life insurance, has a bar tab instead of a savings account, would take a lover instead of a wife, believes in everything, worships nothing, has salt water and hot blood in his veins, and writes better haiku in a few seconds than I ever will in a lifetime. He’s more at ease on a tops’l yard in a gale than he is at a dinner party and while I fear him, I also envy him.

When I can get him to talk, this blog will be about his voyage; when he’s silent, I’ll keep filling in with bits from my own mundane journey.

Ralph Murre is a member of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. His latest book, The Price of Gravity, from Auk Ward Editions, is a fine example of unique things Made in Door County.

Even though this is Ralph’s third book, he claims to be… “as excited about this one as a bear with salmon, a baron with mousse, a mouse with brie.”

“I was lucky to have editor Charles Nevsimal to save me from myself.  A real wheat-from-chaff man, Charles, though I sneaked in a few things when he wasn’t looking. Poems in this book run the gamut of subject matter (perhaps something to offend everyone, as the tag-line for the film, The Loved One, put it) and the writing ranges from about seven weeks to seven years old, many of the pieces having been published individually in a variety of print and on-line journals and anthologies.”

At 92 pages and 81 poems, this is a great way to spend $10. You can find it at local bookstores or you can add $3 shipping and handling and order it the old-fashioned way by mailing a letter with a check for $13 enclosed to:

Ralph Murre
PO Box 684
Baileys Harbor WI 54202

The “Made in Door County Series” is part of our efforts to help establish a more permanent culture in northeastern Wisconsin… or perma-culture as it has come to be known among sustainability advocates. Find out more at SpendingLocally.com and “Like” us on Facebook to learn more.

Rabbi Jay Brickman is a frequent speaker in Door County, spending summers at his Ellison Bay home for more than thirty years. He teaches a popular summer course in Biblical history each year in Ephraim at the Unitarian Fellowship. In the off-season he returns to his own congregation in Milwaukee. From the contents of his latest published work, it is apparent that he is always observing and taking notes on the status of life.

He calls his observations “poetry doodles” and emphasizes the relationship by partnering with artist Jo Anna Poehlmann in the publication of his latest book. Poetry Doodles – a blend of thoughtful insights enhanced with numerous pen and ink drawing and typography enhancements. You can dip into it anywhere, much like a box of chocolates and pull out a treat or a thought-provoking short take on life as Brickman sees or lives it.

Several people have shared the thought that this is the perfect book to keep beside the bed, handy for calling up a thought with which to begin or end the day. My friend Del Close used to describe this habit as, “book divination… just open it to any page, then read and let the book speak to you about the now.”

Here’s a random example, testing Del’s theory using Poetry Doodles…page 62 starts off with, “Please do not share with me esoteric doctrine; I find dealing with the ordinary sufficiently complex.” Another try… “To succeed in dieting one must limit the goal of taking off weight to a single pound.”

Short, simple and often profound, this bright yellow book with the raccoon mascot on the cover has only one flaw. Much like that box of chocolates, you may regret gobbling it up too quickly wishing there were more. If gluttony, one of the seven deadly sins pervades your life, Brickman provides the answer: “One is not a sinner for having sinned, only for having sinned and slept soundly.”

The book’s motto graces the Poetry Doodles Facebook Fan Page, “Life is complex. Wisdom comes in many shapes and sizes.” Readers are encouraged to stop by online and share their own poetry doodles. Rumor has it they may be combined with Brickman’s own doodles in the next volume. In any case, you can download a free Poetry Doodles Sampler containing several pages of the original book if you “Like” it…

Poetry Doodles is available at your local bookstore or online at PoetryDoodles.com.

www.facebook.com/PoetryDoodles

Becky Melby and Cynthia Ruchti's latest book, A Door County Christmas

A Door County Christmas, a novella collection published by Barbour Publishing, well known for its Christmas novella series called Romancing America, is set among the villages and harbors of Wisconsin’s Door County Peninsula.

“When the idea came to collaborate on a collection of novellas,” notes Ruchti, “both Becky and I knew Door County was the perfect setting. Our files of pleasant memories overflow with moments in Door County, biking or hiking through its parks, eating pickled beets and herring at Al Johnson’s, watching the rhythmic nod of sailboats moored in the crook of Ephraim’s elbow, watching the ceremonial fish boil in the courtyard at the White Gull Inn.”

With their roots in Wisconsin, similar tastes for finding humor in life’s mishaps, and a habit of discovering nuggets of faith tucked among leaves of the everyday, Melby and Ruchti brainstormed stories that could help readers capture the wonder and charm of Door County. Two other authors joined the project to write the other two of four novellas in the collection.

A Door County Christmas entertains its readers with laugh-your-way-to-love stories and a glimpse at the true heart of one of Wisconsin’s prime tourist attractions as well as the true heart of Christmas.