Whatcom Poetry Series returns after a one-year hiatus

| DANNY GAWLOWSKI THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

Bertolino taught poetry and other writing classes for 14 years at Western Washington University and has had 24 volumes of poetry published by 17 presses, from Ithaca, N.Y., to Port Townsend, including nine full volumes. He has published more than 1,200 poems and his work has been selected for numerous anthologies.

Bertolino and his partner, poet and publisher Anita K. Boyle, and local poet and artist Susan J. Erickson make up the board of directors of the Whatcom Poetry Series. Boyle operates Egress Studio Press.

Question: Jim, this is great news for poetry buffs, since we seem to have so many locally.

Answer: We’ve just received verbal approval for 501(c)(3) status and the Internal Revenue Service suggests that our nonprofit status should soon be granted, so this will help immensely with the funding.

Q: Is that why you had to halt the series last school year?

A: Yes. We ran the Whatcom Poetry Series for three school years from 2003-2006 but we didn’t have it last year. It just got too expensive. Now it’s looking like we’ll be able to fund it properly. We’ve already had donations come in. We’re really excited about this.

Q: Will you follow the same format? The previous series proved pretty popular, didn’t it?

A: It sure did prove popular. When we started, we thought we would be doing well to have 25 people attend, and we wound up with overflow crowds of more than 80 at the site, the Lucia Douglas Gallery in Fairhaven. People would come and bring a friend, and they would find themselves hooked on poetry! Anita designed and gave away a poetry broadside featuring poems by the featured poets.

We brought in a local poet and two other poets, including several national reputations, so we had three wonderful voices. We did eight or nine shows each year. We received a Mayor’s Art Award for 2004-2005.

You might say the Whatcom Poetry Series developed “street cred” in the poetry community, and the donations at the events would go entirely to the poets. Q: When do you plan to resume?

A: We’re planning to resume the Whatcom Poetry Series on Jan. 26 at the Lucia Douglas Gallery, and then we’re planning for shows in February and early in April. We’re planning to keep the series alive beyond that, of course. We’re all committed to enhancing a vibrant literary community.

Q: Poetry has changed quite a bit since I studied it in college 40 years ago, hasn’t it?

A: It sure has. Poetry has become very dynamic. At one time, say 100 years ago, there was a primary style, which was an academic style, and then what you might call a plain style. Now, poetry has developed into something like 30 different styles. Poetry is absolutely flourishing in America.

There are poetry slams and open mics all over the country. In fact, I feel Americans are crying out for poetry. Q: It’s kind of scary to write poetry, isn’t it?

A: I’ve never found it scary, but I do know writers feel they’re making themselves vulnerable when they write a poem. It’s one of the things writers so admire in other writers. Poetry touches the heart, often speaking of things that are hard to talk about. Q: You’ve had such a varied career.

A: I was writer-in-residence at Willamette University in Salem (Oregon) in 2005-06. Now I’m teaching a course at Western again, introduction to fiction writing. I got my bachelor’s at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and my master’s at Cornell (University in Ithaca, N.Y.). I’ve also taught at Cornell, the University of Cincinnati, Washington State University and Linfield, among others.

I’m not exactly a household word, but I’ve lived a long life of letters. I have a lot of admiration for people who, through opportunity and persistence, can keep their work in the public eye. Hey, my work has been translated in other countries, including Italy!

Q: Did you always feel the urge to write poetry?

A: I remember when I was 4, my parents bought an old Victrola and they always played “I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover.” So that became my mantra at age 4! Q: What’s been your top honor?

A: Having not one but two volumes win the international competition at Princeton University hosted by the Quarterly Review of Literature Award Series.