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1、DISCOVERINGADISTINGUISHEDWRITER’SFIRSTBOOKOFPOEMSByEleanorBerryForthepastseveraldecades,GeorgeVennhasbeenaprominentfigureamongOregoncontemporarywriters.Widelyacclaimedforhisessaysandstoriesaswellashispoetry,Vennisalsorecognizedforhisworkasaneditorandscholar.In2002heretiredfromEasternOregonUnive
2、rsity,wherehehadtaughtintheEnglish/Writingprogramsince1970.HecontinuestoliveandwriteintheGrandRondeValley.Recently,browsingamongthebooksintheOregonPoetryCollectionattheStateLibrary,IcameuponVenn’sfirstbookofpoems,OfftheMainRoad,publishedin1978.Beautifullydesigned,withdrawingsbyartistDonGrayonth
3、ecoverandatthebeginningofeachofthefoursections,itisapleasuretoperuse.Thepoetryandtheartcomplementeachotherperfectly.Bothconveyadeepandrespectfulknowledgeofaplaceanditsinhabitants.Thefirsttonesoundedinthepoemsiscelebrationoflifeinitsfullsensuousrichness.Theopeningpoem,“FallDance,”celebratesthesw
4、eetnessoftheapplesblowndownby“ashortcoldstorm.”Thesewindfallsarenotlost:We’llstartthepresstomorrowandwatchtheirjuicerunintojugsthatsavetheirlives.Thepoemcloseszestfully:“Nextyear/vinegar,wine.Ha!”Inasimilarspirit,Venncelebrates,in“PoemAgainsttheFirstGrade,”themalapropismsandmispronunciationsofh
5、isyoungson.Inveighingagainstschoolteacherswhowouldcorrectawayall“unbrokenjoywithwords,”heborrowsfromtheboy’ssound-drunkvocabulary:Thumpingthepanokeyslikeamudpiechef,hegoeswildwithwordsatthewittlewoodenarmsinside,ahundredPinoschiostosingsong.Amischievousspiritisalsoevidentinafewpoemsthattellofun
6、likelyinteractionswithbirds.“Vulture”and“Osprey”aretalltalessomewhatreminiscentofNativeAmericanstories.LikeCoyote,thenarratorofthesetalesisalittletoosmartforhisowngood.“BirdTalk”isawhimsicalaccountofthispoet’ssources—thesupposedspeechofamagpieandachicken:WhatyouhearmesayisonlywhatI’vebeentoldso
7、mehowbythiswildblackandwhitethiefofallthatgleamsandthiscreatorofbrowneggstillwarminmyhand.WhilethereismuchcelebrationinthepoemsofOfftheMainRoad,thereisalsounflinchingacknowledgmentofdarknessandpain.Inoneofthemostmovingpoems,“Forgi
