Outreach: An Invitation

CavanKerry’s mission is dual – to serve art and community. CavanKerry writers provide the backbone of the press’s community programs by contractually committing to offer several free outreach events annually while their books are in print.

Currently, Joan offers free readings and workshops for incarcerated women and for cancer patients at Gilda’s Club Cancer Support Center. Another group she enjoys working with are creative writing students – undergrad and graduate. Her readings and discussions usually focus on Voice – what is it? where/how to ‘find’ it, what inhibits it?

As part of this outreach, CavanKerry gifts free copies of Joan’s book, GlOrious, to all students/participants. Joan gifts a CD of her reading from that book as well.

Teachers/administrators who are interested in inviting Joan to speak/read to classes/groups can contact her at:

joan@joancustackhandler.com
joan@cavankerrypress.org

Accolades:

Kean University
Advanced Poetry Workshop, Spring 2009

A state school, serving first-generation college students, immigrants, second career students, and Equal Educational Opportunity provider, Kean has been an entry point for so many to transform their lives. Joan Cusack Handler and CavanKerry Press are significant contributors to our Writing Program. She generously donated books and audio tapes to our students; and travels frequently to read to them to coach them in their writing process—all on a voluntary basis.

Students speak of Joan (for they address her so) as “inspiring,” “amazing,” and “a real role model.” Their own writing is freed up by Joan’s amazing technical and personal risks. They are amazed with the service the press provides in bringing poetry into the community, especially to those most at risk for failure and despair. I modeled our new Advanced Writing Poetry Seminar on CavanKerry’s model to include community outreach to hospitals, hospices, prisons, rape crisis centers, and senior care homes.

Susanna Rich Ph.D.
Professor, Kean University
Advanced Poetry Workshop
Dear Joan,

We are all still aGLOw from our exquisite evening with you. I enclose here the students’ letters. They simply adore your poetry, your devotion to bringing it into the world – and just YOU!

Thank you so much for all that you bring to us, on so many levels.

Much love,
Susanna

Glorious…..

is truly what defines Joan Cusack Handler’s work. Joan is a delightful woman whose poetry is insightful and unique; unlike any type of writing I have ever seen. She is blunt and truthful, but also has a deep understanding for her listeners. Joan is a true champion as she holds nothing back and writes exactly what she feels; an inspiration for any aspiring poet. Her poetry is full of energy and anticipation, and she presents it in such a way that both readers & listeners are left wanting more. The creative manner in which she writes and presents her poetry makes the collection all the more memorable. One can genuinely feels the pain, loss, and betrayal she has experienced throughout her lifetime. Joan was a pleasure to meet with as she has touched each member of our class on an individual level. I will continue to red her work and hope to personally encounter her again on my intellectual & emotional poetic journey.

~ N.S.

Before reading Joan Cusack Handler’s poetry, I was not aware that poetry could be laid upon the page in that way. I was used to poetry either being pushed and prodded to the edges of the paper or lined so neat and perfect in the center of the page. But what Mrs. Handler does – it is like she breathes into her words and constructs poetry that not only lives within the reader, but upon the page.

Each line and word tells a story. The way she presents certain words like ‘kneeling’ in ‘Perfect’ and displays the act in the way she puts it on the page is amazing. Or the ‘GIGANTIC’ used in ‘Big’ to show the true weight of the word.

I have never fully accepted my height of 6’0”. Or my heftier weight to go along with my seemingly GIGANTIC frame. Always being larger than the males I was maybe interested in (but never go the return attention). So I lied to myself. Like how Mrs. Handler did when she was younger, I told myself that I didn’t need the love or attention from a male. That I enjoyed being single and was content on my situation. But that thought began to crack and break the older I got. I couldn’t keep up my life and fully believe it anymore. My mind began to twist to the thoughts I told myself I could not have. Those thoughts, those dangerous and fearful thoughts, were the types that could sink a hook in my skin and drag me deep inside the darkness that was evident in the poem ‘Sad’: “Sad is the place that secrets go; It’s the place I go when there’s no place else tobesmall.”

The recurring thought was that no person would want me because I was not small. I was huge and ugly and reminded others of men. I lived on this wave of thought for quite a long time and this is the main reason why I haven’t really lived until last year. Received my first kiss last year and I’ve opened myself to accept people liking me. In that way.

As I sat there and listened to Mrs. Handler, I began to realize that my life isn’t summarized by the height I am or the extra weight I carry. My life is something besides that. It could even be something grand.

~ N.L.

I loved having Joan Handler come to class. Hearing her speak about each poem that she read – the history behind each one, her thoughts – gave everything a new context and added an extra bit of enrichment to the poetry.

I also loved hearing Joan talk about her thoughts on writing poetry, and it helped me out with my own writing. The one thing I took away – that hit me the hardest – was when she said, if there’s a feeling or a thought you get and it triggers a response of “I can’t write about that!”, then you have to write it; and it helped me to address an issue of my own through the catharsis of poetry.

The poem that I loved the most was “Anger”; I loved Joan’s use of metaphors and her strings of words that she used to describe or personify anger. I identified with what she conveyed in the poem – she said that she loved anger and it was all she ever wanted, but it was one of the emotions that she was taught not to feel – that it was sinful. I can’t say that I had that strict Catholic upbringing, like my mom did, but I always carried around a sense of guilt about anger and accepting that I feel it. This poem conveyed to me that you should accept your emotions and not condemn them; embrace them – something I rarely do.

The other poem I identified with was “The Body Complains”. I never had height issues, but I have had a love-hate relationship with my body. I have had a constant battle with weight my whole life – only to become a plus-size woman as an adult. When I was young, I was teased and bullied everyday over my weight because, in our small class, I was one of only two overweight girls – my friends were all skinny and proportioned. As a teenager, I still tried to battle that weight issue but several bad choices of association made it harder. As an adult, I feel like my body is still trying to get me to accept my weight and love myself as I am. My friends say they’re jealous because I have such nice curves and they say I’m ‘voluptuous’ – but I always look in the mirror and see just my stomach and love-handles. It felt good to read a poem and feel like somebody understood where I was coming from – that battle to accept yourself and love yourself as you are.

I truly enjoyed having Joan come to the class – I almost wish it were a part of every poetry class in every school; hearing the poet’s perspective on their own writing, their background, and thoughts on the writing process provides a new window of thought for the writer.

~ K.B.

Joan Handler’s poetry is extremely moving and so full of energy and movement that I didn’t think it could be any better. That is, until I heard her read her poems out loud to us. She has a loud, strong voice so full of passion and emotion. It is a completely different, awe-inspiring experience to hear a poet read their own work. I really love the structure and style of her poetry. Her openness in structure and content is so inspiring that I wrote a poem playing with structure in tribute to GlOrious. One of my favorites is Bad – it’s about discovering her body – something considered taboo even in today’s society. I love how she creates a breast with the words when describing one. She truly has a gift. It takes great courage to go to those dark, painful places inside of us to bring the world poetry like hers. I can’t wait to read more of her work.

~ A.A.

I am a college student attending Kean University. I am currently taking a course for advanced poetry. Joan Handler attended a class and presented a handful of poems from her book GlOrious.

She taught us to write without restrictions; to be ourselves when forming our works of art. She provided effective ways to write poetry as well as talk about her own life experiences. Being a writer has always been a goal in my life and Joan made this goal realistic.

She is truly a gem to the writing industry. I was able to relate to many of her poems by just the manner in which she wrote them. She did not restrict us in the way we wanted to interpret them and explained that all writing can have many meanings. Of all the classes I have taken at the university, this was definitely the most life altering.

~ K.B.

It was a great privilege to meet Joan Handler. Although I wish it was far more than a couple of hours, the time spent with her was an experience I will always remember. When I read her poetry on my own for the first time, it was a style I had never seen before. It was so interestingly unique that it showed me there were ways to write that I never thought of. Then, hearing her read the poems, the way she read them, with such ownership and emotion, made them even better – I could feel them even more than before.

Joan’s readings and the open discussions that followed really opened my eyes to many new and fascinating ways to write, and listen to, poetry. I am very new to the world of poetry, but I always thought of it as a way for a person to express themselves. Except, I had always assumed there were many strict guidelines and rules that had to be followed, which actually discouraged me from wanting to pursue writing. It was because of this, I never explored any possible abilities I may possess. I didn’t think I would be able to write under so many restrictions, but Joan completely changed my view on poetry. Joan told us to write about what we can’t write about and to try to write in the voice of another. She gave me a new sense of freedom for my writing.

Joan Handler gave me new insight and appreciation for an artist’s ability to express themselves. Her poetry is real, it is what she feels without restrictions, and that is something I never witnessed before. If only all new poets could have the opportunity to sit and listen to Joan as I did, I really believe it would help them find their voices and, in a fresh new way, give poetry the recognition it has deserved for so long!

~ L.M.

"GlOrious”, you are! Thank you for letting me into your existence. I read and re-read GlOrious siphoning each word off the page into my soul. Not knowing you as an author, I read silently. I re-read aloud, taking note of the placement of the words on the page. It was a new awakening as I paused in the blank spots and realized the impact of a pause; that short savored suspension in time. Your words slapped me, teased me, loved me, hated me, angered me, hugged me, and made me scream out loud. I couldn’t wait to meet you.

You convene on our class like a beautiful butterfly gently landing on a huge flower. Each petal, circled around the center sat quietly awaiting your presence. You landed and touched upon each petal pollinating our minds to experience your beautiful words and thoughts. I was honored to be a flower in your garden. Your recitation of the requested works was magnificent. You spoke those words exuberating compassion, sincerity, integrity and truthfulness. I love that you stood to read your poetry. Your body position made the words ring out from deep within your soul and journeyed upward and outward filling the blank airspace. I absorbed each and every word before they could float into the abyss.

Before reading your book, you were a stranger. Upon meeting you, you became real. You spoke passionately from your heart, letting each and everyone of us enter into your world. You took each and everyone of us on an adventurous ride; like a roller coaster, the uphill anticipation, the downward emotional spiral, ascending back into reality, only to continue going up and down with anticipation, emotion, realism, honesty, love, insight, joy. What a ride!

Thank you for letting me tape the session. I especially enjoyed the advice and insight you gave on writing poetry. From your words:

“…make that kind of commitment. Put two words together, don’t even write them down,
just let yourself be in that place where you are facing the thing you can’t write about.”

Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

Your gift of poetry through the CavanKerry Press just blew me away. What an unselfish project. “Poetry IS for everyone and BELONGS everywhere.”

I re-read selected poems from GlOrious this weekend along with the CD. What an experience. I can’t wait to indulge in The Red Canoe: Love in Its Making. Again, I thank you and I especially thank Dr. Rich for planting seeds so that I may blossom.

~ R.L.S.

Kean University
Poetry Writing Workshop, Spring 2008

Joan Cusack Handler has the energy of an explosion. She is no holds barred pure emotion. No apologies, no holding back. She speaks from true life experience, pains and triumphs. Watching her perform her work is truly an experience to witness and remember.
~ R.W.

Joan Handler is inspiring to upcoming poets to be fee in their ideas and structure. The structure of her poems is poetry itself – a work of art that speaks to the mind and captures the soul. She is not afraid of her poetry in both writing and delivering it. Readers are able to capture unforgettable images and follow Joan on her path during their reading of GlOrious, her book of poetry. Her words provide a successful energy for poets to crave the act of writing. Joan Handler is truly a remarkable poet.
~ L.M.

The journey you took to unveil your truth and present it in GlOrious, liberated me to begin to excavate my inner life.
~ Dana

I enjoyed listening to Joan Cusack Handler. The ways she talked about her poetry was very passionate. She inspired me to continue to work on poetry beyond this semester. I love how she paints her poetry on the page that appeals to the contemporary poet. I believe this was an excellent treat. That you very much for the book and CD.
~ J.M.

I just wanted to tell you how wonderful Joan Cusack Handler’s visit was. She is an inspiring woman that I am truly thankful I got to meet. Her words are not just gorgeous art, but her form is as well. She helped me to see how free poetry is or better put, should be. Since her visit I have been experimenting with form and greatly enjoying the experience. I will never forget her energy and beauty. I will definitely be watching for her next book.
~ C.L.

Having Joan Cusack Handler come to our class and read to was an amazing experience in itself, of having a personal poetry reading from an established poet that influences our entire class. However, due to her amiable personality and her willingness to be open and actually include the class in her presentation, I felt she encompassed the true meaning of what poetry is supposed to be. Also, she displayed her endless generosity to our class by not only giving us her book GlOrious for free, but also her audio CD to go with it. This act proved that she was not concerned with the “glory” of being a renowned poet, but proved her humbleness and understanding that poetry is to be shared and embraced as a whole. This made the event much more accessible and inviting to the audience, and it was exciting that she wanted us to be a part of it just as much as she was.
~ A.D.

Having Joan Cusack Handler present her works to the class is an event I will not soon forget. Her book was truly inspirational and her reading style was sensational. After Handler’s reading, I was enthused to write for the rest of the day.
~ N.M.

Joan Cusack Handler’s experimentation with punctuation forces the reader to look deeper into the poetry. She does the same with her use of capitalization which causes the reader to look deeper into why she is using it at the moment. This adds to the daringness of the poetry, giving it intensity and flavor. She spices up her personal, family poems. I thoroughly enjoyed the experimentation in her work, as it is different then most poetry out there. She has interesting flavor that is full of life.
~ No Name

I personally enjoyed reading the work of Joan Handler because her book GlOrious really gives the sense of a life time. The voice the poet uses grows from a very childish one to that of a mature woman. This really gives the impression of the speaker as a full person. GlOrious is very personal and specific, nevertheless, the subject matter is such that everyone can in some way relate because it deals with religion, family, and the self. It is not often that in a book, the reader can get such a sense of the writer within the honest context of a complete life, nor through that communion, a sense of themselves. I did not hear Joan Handler read. I wish I had because the shape of the poems are so interesting and distinct, I would have liked to hear how she orally interpreted them. However, even without hearing the author read these poems aloud, by the nature of their honesty and subject matter, I was deeply affected by these poems and feel that I know myself better as a result of reading Joan Handler’s work.
~ E.R.

After reading Joan’s poetry it put a new view on the traditional way of writing poetry. When I opened the book I thought that the writing was different but it seemed different in a good way. IT seemed like the poetry was going to be an easy read. The words flowed on the paper, in the same tone that they were written. I think it was a beautiful way to write poetry and an amazing way to capture the audience and bring them in. The poetry was amazing and I would love to see what she comes up with next
~ C.G.

It was an honor for us to have you come and read your poetry to the entire class. Thank You. Your poetry without a doubt reflects a very unique style. The placement of words, the font, and the spacing on a page make each and every single one of your poems that much more powerful. Your ability to be honest and open with your audience about the subjects in your poems displays your strength as a poet. The emotion and feeling you conveyed while reading each poem made it feel like it was coming straight from the heart. Please continue to inspire others just like you have inspired all of us.
~ M.H.

The experience of reading Handler’s GlOrious, then having her perform some poetry for us was a learning experience as well as an inspiration for living a fulfilling life. Her generosity with the GlOrious book/CD and her live performance was priceless because it was genuine. I enjoyed her positive attitude on life and how poetry is a part of her, always had been, and how she persevered to accomplish her goal. I will carry with me her philosophy to write poetry for myself vs. allowing my poetry to be manipulated by any audience, money, or acclaim. I appreciate and understand her risk taking poetry/message. It was exciting to read poetry where the words are placed on a page in a manner that make my eyes dance rather than function like an old typewriter. I truly appreciated reading her book from cover to cover.
~ C.R.