The nonprofit Poetry on Brick Street hosted a private reading with poet and author Norbert Krapf March 2 at the SullivanMunce Cultural Center in Zionsville.
Poetry on Brick Street is a monthly poetry series held on the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the SullivanMunce Cultural Center.
Krapf, 80, read from his newest book of poems, “Spirit Sister Dance,” released at the end of last year. He also took questions from the audience.
“It was a full house of poets and poetry lovers,” said Rosaleen Crowley, board member of Poetry on Brick Street. “Norbert Krapf gave us an evening of understanding that sometimes events and unspoken tragedies can happen that have responses and reactions, and ultimately as poets, we have a calling to speak up and be the voice.”
“Spirit Sister Dance” is a collection of poems that Krapf said illustrates the beginning of his work in poetry.
“These poems began in the early 1970s, when I first began to write poems, and have come gradually, slowly, over the decades, beginning with ‘Sisters,’ Krapf said.
The poems tell the story of Krapf’s spiritual journey following the death of his stillborn sister and the effect it had on his family.
A Hoosier native now living in Indianapolis, Krapf said he frequently visits Zionsville.
“I like the atmosphere and community of the town, and it’s always a pleasure when visiting here,” Krapf said.
Krapf formerly taught at Long Island University, where he directed the C.W. Post Poetry Center for 18 years. His previous books include fourteen poetry collections and three volumes of prose memoirs.
One of Krapf’s poems is displayed in stained glass at Indianapolis International Airport. He also has received the Lucille Medwick Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, a Creative Renewal Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis, and a Glick Indiana Author Award.
Crowley described the author’s reading as “enunciated, paced – giving us time to reflect and understand better how we can reach those who came into our world even for a short time.”
For more, visit krapfpoetry.net.
