Roethke's 100th Birthday Saginaw News Article

Mayor reads "The Saginaw Song" as his hometown celebrates poet Theodore Roethke's 100th birthday

by Janet Martineau | The Saginaw News

Sunday May 25, 2008, 10:19 PM

Of all the sights and sounds on Sunday, collectively celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birthday, Theodore Roethke would have most thoroughly enjoyed a moment occurring on the windy apex of the Court Street Bridge.

Dressed in a lime green dress, perched on the back seat of a red Mustang convertible, juggling a dozen roses given as a gift, Saginaw Mayor Joyce Seals read Roethke's "The Saginaw Song" in all its glorious earthiness.

Jessica Scott | The Saginaw News
Saginaw Mayor Joyce Seals reads aloud a poem by Saginaw native and poet Theodore Roethke atop the Court Street Bridge while onlookers listen Sunday afternoon.

This is not a sweet and tender poem. Rather, its humor does not mince words about bodily functions, bartenders, the Morleys and the Burrows, and messy Swan Creek.

And the mayor, with a camera running from Midland's MCTV cable channel, read all of it with great aplomb and gusto. Nor was she done.

"I've been working on my poetry," said she -- and then she read two more as boats cruised by underneath, their occupants waving to the poetry-loving gathering of 30 on that bridge closed to traffic for an hour to honor a native son who in 1954 won a Pulitzer Prize in poetry.

Six people in all read Roethke poems on the bridge -- fanciful ones for children, a couple recalling his father's greenhouse business and others about love.

Later, at dinner, Milford poet Thomas Lynch, one of those readers on the bridge, remarked, "That you can close a bridge in middle Michigan for his birthday makes up for that little stone on his grave (in Oakwood Cemetery). Roethke is better known in England and Ireland than in America, but what you are doing here will rectify that in time."

The turn-out for the day-long festivities celebrating the life of Roethke, who died in 1963 at age 55, may have been on the small side -- never reaching more than 40 at one time.

But, as Bay City poet Judith Kerman noted, "It's not unusual to attend poetry events where the poets outnumber the audience."

Jessica Scott | The Saginaw NewsCarnations stand while Andrew V. Christ, 41, of Midland reads aloud a poem by Saginaw native and poet Theodore Roethke. Carnations were used in the celebration of Roethke as many of his poems are related to plants and flowers. Roethke also wrote a poem about a carnation.

Marilyn Taipale of Bridgeport said she read about the event in the paper "and thought, 'This is a local poet, I need to become familiar with him.'"

She showed up at the Andersen Enrichment Center, 120 Ezra Rust, promptly at 1 p.m. to hear a variety of people reading Roethke's poems and to watch parts of two videos about him.

"I enjoyed it. I was impressed," she said as she thumbed through a copy of his collected works she had purchased.

Also inside at Andersen, White Pine Middle School teacher Peggy Conlin oversaw an activity table for youngsters who were given Roethke poems and art materials to turn them into reality

Wooden sticks and pieces of yarn created his "Snake" while flat and plain stones decorated with shells, pine cones, vines, sequins and googly eyes made "Dinky" a reality.

"Once they get started it's tough for their parents to get them to leave," observed Conlin.

Rachael Walsh of Bay City spent the day handing out Roethke poems from a Roethke poetry bag -- encouraging those who fished them out to read them on the spot.

Bridge walk over, but not yet the appointed time for dinner at Jake's Old City Grill, 100 S. Hamilton, she handed a few out at the nearby Red Eye coffee house -- where a 20ish man, clad in a red Spider-Man T-shirt, gamely read "The Dream."

Listening were Phyllis and Bob Hastlings, taking in the entire Roethke day on their bicycles -- a 15-mile round-trip in all, she estimated, since they'd ridden to church first. Both were dressed in their Sunday finest, capped off with bike helmets.

At Jake's, as 36 people gathered to dine on some of Roethke's favorite foods, Friends of Theodore Roethke Foundation Director Annie Ransford read a letter from Roethke's window, remarried and living in England.

"This is a great occasion. I am sorry not to be here and even sorrier Ted is not here," Beatrice Roethke Lushington wrote. "He would have been amused, astonished and deeply touched that people in Saginaw are celebrating his birthday.

"I am always impressed by the community spirit in Saginaw, especially in this 'dark time' in Michigan. Thank you for coming, and enjoy your dinner."

Roethke, whose mother was a fantastic cook, always rated Beatrice on the meals she prepared "and she never got over a B from him," said Ransford as the gathering groaned amid prime rib, ice cream sundaes, martinis and a birthday cake.

And then, taking their cue from Mayor Seals, the gathering read "The Saginaw Song" in unison.








Author and poet Thomas Lynch of Milford reads a poem by Theodore Roethke.
Article published in The Saginaw News, May 26, 2008. Available online at http://www.mlive.com/saginawnews/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/05/mayor_reads_the_saginaw_song_a.html accessed 5/27/08.


This picture was in the May 26, 2008 issue of The Saginaw News too. I'm looking pretty studly there with Roethke's Collected Poems in my hands, reading on the Court Street bridge, don't you think? Thank you Bob Enszer for scanning & sending this to me.

Happy Birthday Ted

My friends Bob and Ruth Enszer. Bob is retired from teaching chemistry at Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, and Ruth works at a hospital where she does nursing. I met Bob when I taught chemistry at Saginaw High, the other public high school in Saginaw. Bob retired in 2000. He graciously allowed me the use of his digital camera today. And he bought two of my books. Yay!




Annie Ransford. She teaches English at Caro High School, and she was instrumental in securing the Roethke properties for posterity. She helped to found the Friends of Theodore Roethke Foundation which owns the Carl Roethke and the Otto Roethke homes. She organized the events that we enjoyed today in celebrating the 100th anniversary of Theodore Roethke's birth.




The Andersen Enrichment Center where, for two hours, we read poems by Theodore Roethke. Also, two videos were shown in the Enrichment Center: In a Dark Time which was made in the 60s, and Where Do the Roots Go? which was made in the 90s.




Linda is standing on the left and welcoming folks to the Enrichment Center. Mayor Seals (seated) is enjoying the festive atmosphere with her husband Eugene who just made it into the picture on the right. I taught their son Eugene chemistry at Saginaw High School. Mayor Seals told me her son is now going to be Director of Public Services in Buena Vista.





As you enter the Enrichment Center, you are greeted by the Welcoming Desk full of Roethke poems which are meant to be stuffed in your pockets.








A view from behind the Enrichment Center. The swans are a Marshall Fredericks sculpture. You can see more of them online at the SVSU website.







Tim Ross of Bridgeport. His passion is astronomy; he was looking for sun spots today. Don't know if he found any! He plays guitar & sings too, besides writing poetry.







Dave Romatz, retired English teacher. His wife Wilma is also a retired English teacher. She had with her a video camera from Midland Community Television, the public-access TV station in Midland, Michigan. She was running around getting footage here and there throughout the festivities.



Bill's wife Marie wrote a book of poems which he has in front of him here. Marie read 'Meadow Mouse' in the Enrichment Center after she told us the story of when she was a girl her mother wouldn't let her in the house until she had gotten rid of the mouse she had found.





Poetry people from Michigan State University. The Center for Poetry there is a new thing. Their e-mail is cpoetry@msu.edu. Sorry I don't remember their names better.







Roz Berlin with her mother Agnes' book of poems for sale. That is Tim's guitar next to her.








Marc Beaudoin who has written a novel, a book of poems, and at least one play. He directed the performance of 'Amadeus' at the Pit & Balcony Theater later this same day.







John Palen, a poet, journalist, and retired journalism teacher, among other things. You can find his books at Mayapple Press.







Rachel. She took a lot of pictures with what looked to me like a very nice camera.








Phyllis Hastings, Ph.D. She teaches poetry to inmates at the Saginaw Correctional Facility in Freeland and also to college undergrads at SVSU. In the summer of 2005, Marion and I taught at the correctional facility with her.








Betty van Ochten, a River Junction Poet for several years. She edits our Newsletter now.







Judy Kerman, owner of Mayapple Press. She conducts an informal poetry workshop at Barnes & Noble in Saginaw on the 2nd Monday of each month.









Joe Muenzer, another long-time River Junction Poet. He read a poem by Roethke titled 'Lull,' which was written in 1939. Joe, a retired professor of philosophy at John Carroll near Cleveland, made a few remarks about the poem. It's one of the few in which Roethke even approaches the idea of writing anything remotely political.





Ruth Averill (sp?)









Rosalie Reigle. She's retired from teaching in the English Department at SVSU, and she lives near Chicago now. She worked at the Mustard Seed Catholic Worker house in Saginaw, which was later renamed the Jeanine House.






Roz Berlin, another River Junction Poet. Retired from teaching art in public schools.








Ron Maxwell read 'The Bat.'








Marie read 'Meadow Mouse.'









Pat Yockey, an artist and a poet.









Lisa.









Stephen (Steven?) read the first part of 'The Lost Son' after sharing with us that he walked to Saginaw from Toledo after reading a few Roethke poems in a public library there. Nice pilgrimage.







Marion Tincknell, latest and greatest recipient of Saginaw's All-Area Arts Award. She is a founding member of the River Junction Poets and remains a pillar of our community as well as, with her husband Les, the greater Saginaw community.






Arts Activist Al Hellus. For ten years or so he organized Saginaw's Poetry Slams, and for ten years he organized the annual Rouse for Roethke in which volunteers read all of Roethke's poems (an event which takes about six hours to complete). He has a new book of poems out by Ridgeway Press.




Carol Lopez, former Treasurer for River Junction Poets.










Jim Piazza, an attorney in Saginaw.









Carnations provided by? There are three more like these on the other side of the podium.








Some of my stuff. The t-shirt says 'Center for Poetry;' the tote bag says, 'What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible,' and underneath that it says Theodore Roethke and then underneath that it says PoetsHouse. The book is Straw for the Fire, and the posters indicate events in Lansing next Fall.





After reading poems for two hours in the Enrichment Center, we headed up to the apex of the Court Street bridge for a few more poems. Annie is walking next to the car; her daughter is driving. Mayor Seals is reading 'The Saginaw Song,' and Marion is in the passenger seat.





Les Tincknell, on the left, designed the Andersen Enrichment Center. That worked out well since he's an architect. Tom Lynch, on the right, is a writer and an undertaker in Michigan. He read a few Roethke poems on the bridge with us.






Annie read two or three poems as well. One she read to her daughter but I don't remember which one. It mentioned an old maid though.








The Court Street bridge as seen from a bank of the Saginaw River.









A closer look at the bridge. See those wooden pylons sticking up in front of the concrete supports? I'd like to have small ones like that in my yard. I'd connect the tops of them with thick rope.







Roethke went to elementary school at John Moore Elementary, but it wasn't this one. The one he went to was at another location in Saginaw. This one was built in the 60s.







Across the street from the John Moore Elementary School is the First Presbyterian Church. This is where the Roethke's went to church. Ted took his sister June to Sunday School until it was nearly time for him to go to college.










































This marker is in front of the Otto Roethke House.












This is the other side of the marker.













The Carl Roethke House.





















The Otto Roethke House.























The Carl Roethke House is on the left and the Otto Roethke House is on the right.








The entrance to the Oakwood Cemetery where the Roethkes are buried.



















Otto Roethke's gravestone.









Helen Roethke's gravestone.








Theodore Roethke's gravestone.










June Roethke's gravestone.









The Roethke Family gravestones.










Two big oak trees near the entrance to the Oakwood Cemetery.








All these pictures I took myself on the day of this celebration of Roethke and his poems.