“Poetry is paying attention, sharing discoveries with word-play”Linda Varsell Smith
True to her poetic heritage – family members in the USA and in Sweden wrote poetry – Linda Varsell Smith spoke in rhyme at three years old, dictated rhymed quatrains to her mother at six, and finally illustrating her poetry booklet.
With a degree in Elementary Education from Central Connecticut State College in New Britain followed by a master’s in Educational Psychology from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Varsell Smith moved to Corvallis with her family, where she went on to change the lives of many.
While her husband Court taught anthropology at Oregon State University, she taught Creative Writing, Life Story, and Children’s Literature at Linn-Benton Community College. For her work, she received an Outstanding Part-time Instructor Award. There, her Literary Publication class produced an award-winning anthology The Eloquent Umbrella showcasing local writers and artists.
Now retired, Varsell Smith was still involved in poetry promotion until recent events. We sat down with her to discuss her life with poetics.
Teaching & Young Poets
Varsell Smith encourages young poets to learn about the craft through contemporary poets. By reading current works, attending readings, and finding as many different poetic forms as possible, a poet can learn to express their voice.
“Poetry has always been in my life and a preferred method of expression,” she said. “We just need to expose students to all the opportunities. Some style of poetry will appeal to [students] — even lyrics. Poetry is usually terse, chooses just the right word, elicits many moods in the reader.”
While there are many who teach English, Varsell Smith sees that many teachers are not trained in poetry, and may seem intimidated by it.
“Now with schools on-line, I am not sure what is happening,” she said. “ There are Poets in the Schools residencies normally. We could benefit from more exposure to poetry.”
“Well, we have a new Secretary of Education coming in,” she added. “I am hopeful the curriculum will become more relevant and include more poetry.”
Poetry Promotion & Community Impact
Over the years, Varsell Smith and her husband sponsored annual events throughout Corvallis: poetry reading at DaVinci Days, and Youth Poetry Contest at the Arts Center. In 2007, they received the Celebrate Corvallis Patrons of the Arts award. Hoping to spread love of poetry, she used to organize a poetry display at the Benton County Fair, where professionals and amateurs alike could submit their work.
Varsell Smith has been active in several writing groups such as Poetic License, Poetry Readers, and Children’s Book Writers. She was on the boards and president of both PEN Women of Portland and Oregon State Poetry Association. The latter honored her in 2020 with the Pat Banta Award for promoting poets and poetry in Oregon.
She is also known for her work at Calyx, a Corvallis publication created by women, for women. There, she was an editor for 32 years and in 2014 was recognized with the Calyx Founders Award for service to women in the arts.
To date, you can find the name Linda Varsell Smith on over 20 books of poetry and 12 Rainbow Chronicles – youth fantasy novels.
Besides promoting poetry, she also worked with the League of Women’s Voters on education and children’s issues.
Everyday Poetry
Poetry is Varsell Smith’s way of life.
“Poetry expresses the heart and soul of one’s experience and how we understand our role,” she said. “New forms are invented all the time. Poetry preferences are always evolving. Poetry in music, slams, performed with other art forms. Poetry is very versatile, and we are hearing more diverse voices.”
Varsell Smith sees poetry as something that crosses borders.
“Different cultures revere poetry differently. In the US there is a lot of protest poetry, spiritual poems, commonplace comments. It is this wide range freedom of topics and many forms of expression that make poetry so powerful.”
Poets Gathering
Still an avid writer, until the pandemic restrictions interfered, Varsell Smith had been hosting word-inspired events where she shared her art of writing poetry and prose with many amateur and advanced writers.
On the last Sunday of the month, lots of gifted wordsmiths of all walks of life, met around Linda’s large dining table for the Marys Peak Poets. Treats served, poets took turns reading under watchful eyes of angels hovering above and standing around us. There are 3000 angel figurines living in her house, hundreds of gnomes, mice, figures of Swedish folk art and elves, omnipresent, reflecting the season, coordinated with the tablecloth.
On Wednesdays, those who were not at eight-to-five jobs gathered in this fantastical mini-museum and honed skills during Varsell Smith’s playful workshops – The Wednesday Salon.
Poets on Wednesdays learned poetic forms and invented some in the process. Many poems born and polished there culminated in public readings or were published. Leading by example, this remarkable teacher and writer remains a prolific poet who will write a poem a day to celebrate National Poetry Month in April; she encouraged her partners-in-verse to do the same.
One may wonder where her inspiration would flow from.
“I have no personal formula for writing,” she said. “I research poets and forms to see what new options are around. I have a penchant for rhyme and syllabic count forms. Usually, the form evolves from the content. I have a special fondness for trente-seis, cinquains, cinquos and fibs. Many [of my] poems are unrhymed triplets. I have written hundreds of forms.”
And where does she get all of these poems?
“I get lines and stanzas for poems in my dreams. I keep pen and paper by my bed to record them before I forget them—usually.”
Poet education
Poetry aficionados can gorge themselves with the content of Linda’s three books on poetic forms: “Syllables of Velvet,” “Poetluck,” and “Word-Playful,” Her publishing website Rainbow Communications grants free access to those handbooks explaining and exploring diverse poetic forms. There, you can learn not just sonnets and haiku, but hundreds of other, modern, structural poetic forms. Examples provided.
Among nearly a thousand forms described, one deserves special attention. It’s a Varselle – created by and named after Linda Varsell Smith. It is a form of eight-line stanza, rhymed or unrhymed. The word count, another variation is a syllable count, in each line is: 2-3-4-3-5-5-4-6, if rhymed: 2a-3b-4a-3b-5c-5b-4c-6a.
Should your poem flow beyond one stanza, the creator of the form suggests experimenting with reversing the order of word count and rhymes in the following stanzas. Here is her own example of a rhymed Varselle.
Oregon Spring
Raining– Spring’s too wet! Hail is straining patience, yet sometimes sun streaks through. Sun turns chills to sweat. What can we do? Confusion remaining.
Word Play
Busy as she had been, Varsell Smith found time to host a weekly game of super-scrabble on Thursday afternoons. It was a cooperative pursuit, where ecery player began with nine tiles and a great deal of laughter. Eventually, the game grew outside of the board and the seasonal tablecloth received the creations. Nobody counted points and every player helped others make long and unusual words. One photo of a board ended up on the cover of Varsell Smith’s most recent book.
Word Geeks of the Worlds unite against the limitations!
By Joanna Rosińska
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