'Radical Heat II' Fires up Loeb

A Harvard undergraduate, a lieutenant in the Air Force, a computer programmer, writers, mothers and people from all walks of life came together last week at the Loeb Theatre to share a common bond--poetry.

They came to participate in "Radical Heat II," the second in a series of poetry readings by the Lucie Brock-Broido Poetry Workshop.

The event, which takes its name from a 1676 book by Izaak Walton, attracted nearly 100 poetry fans to last weeks' reading.

Noel C. Allen '95-'96, a Dunster House English concentrator and one of the poets in the workshop, said that she was "really impressed with the good turnout and how appreciative the audience was."

The 14 poets participating in the reading are members of a poetry group that is headed and advised by Brock-Broido, author of A Hunger and The Master Letters, which is coming out in October.

Dana C. Gotlieb '96, who is working for The Harvard/Radcliffe Summer Theater, said of the large crowd "we're feeling a bit jealous. We have to struggle to get crowds like these."

Pamela Bailey Powers, the producer of the event and a participant in the workshop, said she modeled the second "Radical Heat" after the first reading that took place on almost exactly four years ago on August 13, 1991.

All of the poets expressed their gratitude for the chance to read their work. "Pamela just felt it was time for another [reading]," said Vera Kroms, one of the poets in the workshop. "I was amazed at the amount of people. It really makes you feel loved."

Joseph L. Featherstone '62, another member of the workshop and a former editor of The Crimson, explained that the audience "got a sense of the wonderful thing about Lucy; although she writes in her own idiosyncratic and very specific style, she is open-minded about all poetry."

Featherstone continued, "She has the extraordinary ability to tune in with what you're trying to accomplish and help you without changing your own style."

After an hour and a half of poetry reading by the workshop members, the poets mingled with the audience in a brief reception.