Coffee Culture: Poet Laureate wows crowd
And while they were enjoying the culture, guests were able to enjoy gourmet coffee and cookies during the Families In Crisis fund-raising event which was called a success by officials present.
“We are happy to be able to make people more aware there are beautiful things in the world and are happy we can share some of them,” said Julia Boyd, FIC director. Boyd said the agency serves to help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, which makes having the fund-raiser which profiles the good things in life that much sweeter.
Vaughn, now 63 years old, was designated for life as state Poet Laureate in 1999. She stole the show with her classic poems and stories of everyday life in the South which gave listeners an intense yearning for yesteryear. Describing backroads, front porches and stories about mothers, her tales aroused both tears and laughter in her audience.
“My mother wanted Shirley Temple but she got Huck Finn,” Vaughn said, adding she was the one member of her otherwise “by the book” family who took the road less traveled and became a poet.
“Don’t give up on your dreams,” she added, telling the group which included some high school and college students you could make your dreams come true. Wanting to be a poet almost all her life, Vaughn made it a reality and has even been awarded a Mark Twain fellowship which allowed her to work in the home of the late Mark Twain for two weeks.
Vaughn said the secret to her success is her poetry is of simple things everyone can relate to, and not what she described as “Ph.D. poetry” where you can’t understand the meaning behind the poetry.
Tennessee’s Poet Laureate’s performance was accented by the harp music of Farrell, which filled the air with the heavenly sounds reflecting the professionalism of someone seeking a degree in harp performance from the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music, located in London, England.
And, like icing on a cake, Young’s art work made the scene complete. Young, besides paint and sculpture, is also quite adept at interior design. Her techniques use depth and design to create realistic scenes inside homes which can include a forest walkway among many realistic scenes which give the illusion of space. Besides working on many local homes, Young has even worked for celebrity clients including Tennessee Titans’ Kevin Carter, where she designed a room which included an “indoor tree.”
If you know someone, or are yourself a victim of domestic abuse, you can get help by calling Families In Crisis at 1-800-675-0766.