If you have not yet picked up a paper or virtual copy of MCC’s 2015-16 Creative Arts brochure, you should. Once again, our Creative Arts Committee has curated an outstanding diversity of events. MCC’s commitment to the arts and the power of cultural experiences to enrich the lives of our students and our community is a hallmark of our College. It speaks to the College’s academic excellence; it sets MCC apart.
This week, you have the chance to attend the Fall Vocal and Instrumental Concert and to hear our Honor Choir. If you would rather immerse yourself in poetry, Visiting Poet Jericho Brown will be doing a public reading and offering a workshop. And, you still can catch the MCC Alumni Art Exhibition in the Mercer Gallery.
One of Spring’s highlights will be a visit from playwright John Cariani, author of the romantic comedy Almost, Maine, which will be on stage at the MCC Theater. I mention this work because this weekend, in search of some seasonal fall poems, I came across this gorgeous work by Megan Grumbling, “Raking Near the Great Works,” one of a series of poems she wrote about life in Maine. In capturing a sharp, brightly flaming moment in fall, she reveals the power of art: it makes you see the world anew through eyes that are not your own but have somehow improved your vision and changed your perspective.
Raking Near the Great Works
By Megan Grumbling
October, and the leaves turned late but strong.
Rock maples and the reds, clear brazen, blaze
long-burning feats of sugar through our ways.
Their strident hold upon the back roads pulls
our morning drive, out to where Oak Woods Road
crosses the river that they call Great Works.
The nearby fields so rich it’s hard to breathe—
the hay treacly with auburn, grasses bronzed—
we stop before a red farmhouse, just shy
of where the river runs, where maple trees
have laid the front lawns ravished with their loss.
From Booker’s truck we pull out sacks and tools,
proceed to gather up the autumn’s spoils.
He holds each big bag open, and I rake
the broad red leaves together and inside.
The crop is so much greater than our work
could ever capture, even as we press
it in, right close, to fill October’s urge,
but we have cleared a windfall just the same:
A clarity, the season’s morning hues,
and our sweet chore have worked an art of fall.
As autumn and the Great Works trickle by,
we skim as much brimmed crimson as these few
stout bags will hold within, enough to lay
four inches of the fall upon his fields.
October's task has raked the colors high.
To turn 'em in, the soil to bed with yield,
is just as good as planting winter rye.
It is an honor to be at a College so committed to the vibrancy of the arts, to inviting our students to explore a world “so much greater than our work / could ever capture.” I hope you will find a moment this fall to attend one of the many cultural events at MCC—and mark your calendars for spring, too.
Anne M. Kress
Office of the President
10/14/2015 |