The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
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Bright Hill Center is at 94 Church St. in Treadwell. Continued from Page 16 Bright Hill Press Next to the door one must pass through to get in and out of the library sits a smaller shelf, which holds the work that has been published by Bright Hill Press. The books that line it, all of poetry in different forms, are also small, but they are displayed clearly. As she showed them to me, Rogers’ giddy enthusiasm quickly took hold again. “We’re a small press, so the fact is that none of these are burning up the shelves,” she said, “but we’ve published some really wonderful books by some really terrific writers, and we’re so proud of them.” She takes special pride in a certain distinction: the geographical diversity of Bright Hill’s published poets. Along with several from New York state, poets hail from locations including Utah, Maryland, Connecticut, Vermont, Min- nesota, Florida, Michigan, Cape Cod, Washington, D.C., and even Switzer- land. While some of the featured regional poets have been chosen specifically, two primary sources by which to find talent for new publications are Bright Hill’s two yearly competitions. A poetry chapbook competition, which is judged by a panel of local or regional writers, always has a submission deadline of July Artist Anna Sea and her partner, Craig Rodriguez, set up her exhibit of visual art, which will be in the Bright Hill Center’s Word and Image Gallery in April. 31, and a full-length poetry competi- tion, which is judged by an outside professional hired specifically for that purpose, always has a deadline of Nov. 30. Word and Image Gallery Also prominent in the Bright Hill Center is the Word and Image Gallery, which has developed over time along with the Center itself, and which has space to feature two visual artists at a time. Currently displayed are works by Anna Sea, an artist alternately from Walton and Brooklyn, and Zena Gurbo, who lives in Gilbertsville and is the artistic coordinator and curator for The Arc Otsego’s Center For Self Expres- sion (Main View Gallery) in Oneonta. Children’s programs, literary mapping and educating Aside from the endeavors of profes- sionals, educational workshops for chil- dren that focus on literary expression and artistic crafts, take place in another annex. This year, Rogers has also ar- ranged field trips for young students to historical and artistic institutions throughout New York. The New York State Literary Map, which features historical background information on various types of writers who have lived in the state throughout its existence, is a NYS Council on the Arts project that has included Bright Hill from the outset. So far, Rogers estimates that 40,000 copies of the map have been distributed to every public and private library, every public, pri- vate or BOCES school and every high school or middle school English teacher in the state. Along with that, the map’s website, nyslittree.org, receives about 40,000 visits each week. The schedule certainly is massive, but above all else, Rogers takes joy in sim- ply making sure Bright Hill continues exist each day. She must, because it’s not how she makes her living; she’s also a master teaching artist, of both writing and visual art, who travels throughout the state in residencies at different schools for K-12 students. On top of that, she was also named the first Poet Laureate of Delaware County in 2005. But while Bright Hill doesn’t put money in her pocket, she feels that it provides something just as valuable to her community as a whole. “Part of our mission … it’s not just to present each other, but to bring in these other people so that we can hear their unique voices,” Rogers said. “It’s easy in a small community to become insular, and that’s why it’s vital and just so wonderful to bring in great artists from other regions and cultures.” There’s also a simpler reason that she has never for a moment stopped devot- ing herself to the cause, and her face lit up as she told it me. “Gosh, it’s just fun!” — Sam Spokony Word Thursdays THURSDAY, APRIL 7 7 P.M. OPEN MIC Followed by readings by translator of French poetry Philip Mosley and poet Deborah Bernhardt. Mosley, of Dunmore, Pa., is professor of English and compara- tive literature at Penn State University. Mosley’s book publications include works on Ingmar Berg- man, Belgian cinema and Pennsylvania Coal Region plays. His latest book, on the films of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, is forthcoming. He has translated a number of Belgian authors from French to English. Poet Deborah Bernhardt, of Mas- sachusetts, has received multiple writing fellow- ships and grants. Her first collection, “Echola- lia,” was published in 2006 as winner of the Intro Prize for Poetry. Her poems have ap- peared in literary magazines such as Barrow Street, Columbia Poetry Review and others. April 7, 2011 O-Town Scene 17