Michael Robertson Image by kenne
“Conroe, Texas, does not seem, at first glance, a promising spot for poetry,” writes Michael Robertson in his 2008 book, “Worshipping Walt – The Whitman Disciples.” Robertson first experienced our annual celebration of Walt Whitman’s birthday in May 2005.
“ Parsons [Dave] kicked off the 2005 Whitman birthday celebration by inviting members from the audience to come up and read Whitman poems that matter to them,” Robertson continues on. “They had come to otherwise deserted downtown Conroe on a weeknight, not for aesthetic pleasure – or not only for that – but for the chance to testify to this poetry’s meaning in their lives.”
Robertson returned again for the celebration in 2007 and will be making his third appearance on May 20th, 3:00 p.m., in the Lone Star College – Montgomery library. Later in the evening (7:00 p.m.), he will participate in the “Gathering of Poets” reading Whitman poetry at the Corner Pub in downtown Conroe. For those of us who have been a part of the “Writers in Performance Series” and the annual Whitman celebration, and as the Montgomery County disciples of Whitman, it is an honor to be recognized by noted Whitman expert Michael Robertson.
We encourage all to come worship with us on May 20th. You will find that nobody will talk about Whitman as a spiritual leader, but as Robertson wrote, “ . . . that all expressed a deep personal connection to his poetry.”
kenne
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