The walls of Wygal Hall heard beautiful poetry on Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. from the acclaimed poet, Kelle Groom, during her presentation of her works and memoir.
The poet had a difficult start in her career, though. She was very open about her past during the presentation, admitting to being an alcoholic by the age of 19 when she was also pregnant and doing drugs.
Her aunt and uncle adopted her son, Tommy, who died soon after at 14 months old. From there, Groom spiraled somewhat until finding her clarity in her early twenties. Though she’d written works since she was a young girl, she began writing as a career. “As soon as I learned to read, I started writing poems,” Groom said.
During the presentation, Groom read primarily from “Five Kingdoms.” She claimed that her poems were inspired from not only visual art but also events and memories. Her first poem described bones found hidden in stone. The instant she began reading, it was clear that the poet’s style focused on dark and beautiful portrayals of accounts that did not seem to be so.
The title poem she read, “Five Kingdoms,” was written about the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombings. The poem could send a chill down the audience’s spines as it described visual wounds and heartache of the scene.
The next poem’s inspiration came from a book of maps that Groom admitted to being intrigued with. She loved the small size of the maps and their entrancing effects. In the poem , she described a map as “so small it fits in the palm of your hands.”
“Photograph of a Woman” told the story of a woman in a picture. The poem followed a possible story of the girl but also focused on the incredible descriptions about the picture and the background of the portrait.
The poems Groom read had a certain darkness to them, but an appeal in the clarity of the words. It is obvious that she places herself in her poems and connects them back to her life. This was even more apparent in her poem, “Songs from Far Away,” which was written after she visited her son’s grave for the first time 17 years after his passing.
Groom then continued to read several passages from her memoirs. The shockingly intimate selections she chose were moving and touching with heartbreaking stories behind them. One chapter, “How to Make a Shoe” expanded on lives being connected, similar to the way shoes are sewn together.
Her biggest inspiration to write doesn’t come from an object but rather the desire to write. Groom described her motivation to sit down and write as knowing that her writing will take her someplace else. She said, “The hardest thing is saying I’m going to the take the time” instead of creating the time on my own.
She also admired Nick Flynn as another poet and author of his own memoirs, such as, “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City.” Groom admits feeling connected to the distilled stories and poems of Flynn. Groom has written several motivation to sit down and write as knowing that her writing will take her someplace else.
She said, “The hardest thing is saying I’m going to the take the time” instead of creating the time on my own. She also admired Nick Flynn as another poet and author of his own memoirs, such as, “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City.” Groom admits feeling connected to the distilled stories and poems of Flynn.
Groom has written several poetry collections in her time including “Five Kingdoms” as well as “Luckily” and “Underwater City.” She is currently working on another memoir, a fourth collection of poems and also some short fiction, focusing on the dark and satiric side literature.
Alongside those, she has written her memoirs, “I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl,” which has been chosen as one of the Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers picks. The book is also a chosen work for the New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice and has received numerous others honors.
The memoir has been called “an unflinching yet deeply poetic memoir that captures the rawness and urgency of addiction as well as the tenderness and heartbreak surrounding the loss of a son.”
Groom is currently a Distinguished Writer-in- Residence at Sierra Nevada University where she also serves as a faculty member of the low residency MFA Program.
She has been recognized for the Pushcart Prize and can be seen in the Best American Non- Required Reading collections. This is the second but not final presenter included in this school year’s Author’s Series, coordinated by its director, Dr. Craig Challender, who also serves as Professor of Modern American Literature in the English Department. Poet Peter Makuck will present next as part of the series on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014.
