Door County poet, playwright and director Henry Timm will read his poetry at the UU Fellowship’s Dickinson Poetry Series November 9th, 7 pm.
Timm has written in many poetic forms though he has probably been most influenced by his experience reading and acting Shakespeare and Ibsen. As a result these days he writes plays, narratives, meditations, character sketches, as well as soliloquies and other rhymed poems. If asked about the function of poetry, he would most likely read a recent poem which describes the process of the (so-called) primitive artists of cave wall paintings signing their work with hand prints of one kind or another. The poem concludes: “The message left is simple: ‘I was here, / I did this; now you know of me and mine.’ / That is the urgent fact of every poem / writ then and now and all our days to come.”
Timm has had a life-long fascination with the written word. He wrote drama criticism and edited a college literary magazine and studied Ibsen at the University of Oslo in Norway. Play writing followed, earning him a fellowship to Brandeis University.
He stayed on in Boston where he became a founding producer of the New England Playwright’s Guild. Upon returning to Wisconsin he founded the Midwest Institute for Theater Arts (with its performing arm, Dancing Moon Theater). Through the N. E. Playwright’s Guild, Dancing Moon Theater, Teatro Caravaggio and other producing organizations, his plays have seen production in New England, New York City and State, the Midwest and elsewhere.
Most recently, he, Nancy Rafal and Garrett Cohn joined forces to publish N.E.W. Voices, under the not-for-profit rubric of Caravaggio Press. N.E.W. Voices is a literary magazine providing a platform for regional writers. The first issue celebrates the contribution of Barbara Larsen to the poetic life of Door County.
The monthly Dickinson Poetry Series provides a forum for poets to read their works followed by an open mic for others to share their poetry. A reception follows. The Series is free and the public is welcome to attend and participate.
The UU Fellowship is located at 10341 Hwy. 42, (Water Street), Ephraim. For more information visit www.uufdc.org or phone (920) 854-7559.
