Windfall for Wheel of Light

Last weekend, the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation joined with Hendrix's Theatre Arts and Dance Department to celebrate some big birthdays. The foundation, a source of much literary and language-related largesse for our campus, turned 40, as did our main stage, Cabe Theatre; Dr. Rosemary Henenberg, a beloved Professor Emerita of Theatre, turned 80. In honor of these milestones we held a three-in-one occasion, part birthday party, part tribute, and part academic panel. For me, an unexpected outcome of the festivities was that one of the invited speakers, Dr. Jeanne H. Griggs of Kenyon College, happened upon a copy of my poetry book, The Wheel of Light, and subsequently wrote this review.

One of my favorite poems, Dylan Thomas's "Fern Hill," contains the hair-raising phrase "rivers of windfall light." This review fell out of the sky, gratis, an early-fall boon--hence the title of today's post. Thanks for the gift, Jeanne, and come back soon.