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“Demistifying” poetry with the former Poet of the State of Nebraska Matt Mason in Gallery 92 West – Fremont Tribune

“Demistifying” poetry with the former Poet of the State of Nebraska Matt Mason in Gallery 92 West – Fremont Tribune

Monica Garcia Fremont Tribune

Most will recognize the opening lines of O -Captain! My Captain!, ”One of Walt Whitman’s most famous poems:

“Oh, Captain! My captain! Our terrible journey is made;

The ship has time on every trunk, the reward we were looking for is won ”

Many believe that this is poetry – rules, suffocated, directions, frightening – but according to Matt Mason, it should not be.

As a former Nebraska State Poet, Mason made sense to “demistize” poetry, making it fun for everyone and everyone.

“I think many people are confused by poetry, they think it is much more complicated and, you know, poetry is one of the first forms in every culture of the planet,” Mason said. “This is an essential part of being a person. It doesn’t have to be complicated; It can be very simple. “

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The Association of Arts in the Fremont area has invited Mason to share its knowledge of poetry in Gallery 92 West next month. “Poetry with the State of Nebraska Poet Mat Mason” is held from 1-3: 30 on Sunday, February 16, in Gallery 92 West, 92 W. Sixth St. In the center of Fremont. This event is free and open to the public.

The event was the idea of ​​the volunteer of the Fremont Arts Association, Nancy O’Connor, who has always been interested in workshops and is open to learn about different art types. She came across the opportunity to host Mason and made her mission to do so, said Fremont Lindy Janulevich’s CEO.

“We at the Association of Arts in the Fremont area are happy to partner with Matt to offer this seminar,” Janulevic said. “He was a very professional and just wonderful, wonderful person to work with in creating this, and we appreciate that he makes poetry so accessible to everyone in our community.”

O’Connor and Janulewicz worked together on the grant application through the Nebraska Art Council, which was approved, providing funding to make this seminar happen.

In the past, the Association of Arts in the Fremont area has worked with the English department of the University of Midland to offer writing workshops in the gallery, but this will be the first official seminar to open for every level of writing, Yanulevic said.

“(Mason) made it clear that everyone at every level of comfort or every level of experience with poetry is welcome to come,” Yanulevich said. “I feel like it’s not a frightening workshop. You literally come with a piece of paper and a pencil and you are ready to go and he will direct you with the others. I think this is really attractive to people, that they can come with little or no experience and still have a wonderful time and learn something. “

Mason, who was a poet of Nebraska from 2019-2024, is interested in high school poetry. Initially, it was difficult to associate with the poems he read, he continued to write poetry because he thought it was helping him understand his feelings and experiences that his friends were going through, Mason said.

“I somehow grew up and grown until I know that it has a great influence on my life and my quality of life to spend this time writing and processing that way,” Mason said. “And also, it’s just fun!”

Mason has a Master of Arts from the University of California, Davis; He was the former CEO of the Nebraska Writers team; And in 2022 he received the Academy of American poet laureate scholarships.

The author of five books Mason is the winner of the Pushcart Award and is currently nominated for the entertainment and art award in Omaha for an exceptional poet of performance.

Each state poet has a project during his term, and Mason carries at least one poetic event in every county in Nebraska. Due to the Covid pandemic, getting to each county took a little longer than expected, he said, but his project was completed in October 2024.

Mason’s past events and the events through his project have included open microphones, poetry propulsion, poetic festivals, poetry readings and many others. Many of his events also include teaching poetry.

At the Gallery 92 West event, Mason will talk and read part of his work, read other sample poems and talk only about poetry. He will manage those present through some writing prompts, make them write and encourage to share their work. There will be plenty of time for questions, he added.

If anyone is interested but cannot attend the full event of two and a half hours, Mason encourages them to give up as long as possible.

“Everyone is welcome,” Mason said. “If you have any interest in writing something or researching a little about poetry, this is the place to come. We will not go much in depth on scanning or rhythm or wild different rhyme schemes – it is most of all writing for fun. If you do not feel that you are a poet, everything I do will turn well into a simple writing of a story or something shaped like a poem or simply recording something for your family, something like that. “

There is one additional rule when it comes to poetry that Mason shares with his students – “violates the rules. Have fun, see what happens. “

Mason’s goal with the workshop is to demistify poetry and make his students more comfortable with poetry than when they came in, and make them look at poetry in different light.

“It can be complicated, it can be difficult, it’s good, but most of the time I think it should be simple and tell a story and experience,” Mason said.

What does it take to be a poet? Just write poetry, Mason said.

It’s not about publication. If you write a poem and pull it years later and this brings you back to the moment you wrote it, you wrote a good poem, he said.

“I like to include a lot of people and to enjoy poetry again,” Mason said. “This is not a bunch of people in a room wearing black and clicking their fingers as they rub their chins. He laughs, clapping, applauding the poems they listen to. It’s about creating a fun atmosphere around poetry. “

Those who would like to attend this event are asked to bring paper and a writing tool. For more information, visit 92West.org or call 402-721-7779. To learn more about Mason, visit midverse.com.

Mason’s books will be available to buy the workshop.

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