March 16 , 2017 The SEGway News Page 3
March 16 , 2017 The SEGway News Page 3
Personality
Pogue Literature Festival set
Founder of the Festival
Wes Rediger , Upland resident , had delivered the Indianapolis Star to Barton Rees Pogue when he was 12 . In 2010 , Rediger experienced renewed interest in Pogue . He went on the internet , found and ordered all of his books . Rediger used Pogue ’ s poem In 1976 to inspire a group of parents when he was Dean of Students at Eastern Mennonite College in Virginia . He read Pogue ’ s “ The Kid Has Gone to College ”. Another poem that Rediger understands to be about Upland is “ Fortunes and Friendship ”. Rediger ’ s hope was that letting people know about Pogue , through the Annual Barton Rees Pogue Poetry and Arts Festival , would establish Upland ’ s identity and make it a destination .
Barton Rees Pogue
Barton Rees Pogue was born in Monon , Indiana , in 1891 and passed away in 1965 at the age of 74 . He grew up in Greenfield , Indiana , home of James Whitcomb Riley . He attended Manual High School in Indianapolis , Taylor University , Boston School of Theology and the University of Michigan . With his style resembling Riley , he travelled the lecture circuit in 20 states reading his poetry 3000 times and for 12 years had a radio
by LaRea Slater
When planning a topic for your participation in the Barton Rees Pogue Poetry and Arts Festival , consider a tradition that has been prominent in the last 150 years . One entry that has already been submitted has as its subject the chivalrous tradition of the man walking on the outside of the lady while walking down the street . In horse and buggy days , the carriage might have splashed the lady ' s dress if she were walking on the outside , or worse , the horse might have show in Cincinnati . At the time of his death , he worked at the Upland Library , which has been named in his honor , the Barton Rees Pogue Memorial Library .
Pogue said about himself that he was a Hoosier , “ born , bred and buttered ”. “ I wandered aimlessly through the grades , ‘ flunked ’ solid subjects in high school for two years , finally got my mental eyes open ” and graduated high school . “ I have never been daffy about work , but an early age discovered the
veered into the sidewalk injuring the lady . Then , when automobiles came along the same dangers would have been present . So , the chivalrous man would be willing to get splashed or even field a possible injury to protect the lady . Hats off to you gentlemen who still observe this tradition !
Besides traditions of being civil to one another on the street or in a business setting , there would be many family traditions surrounding Halloween , Thanksgiving and Christmas that could be topics for your writing . economic value of money . I have been Pogue the Polisher of Shoes , Paper Boy , Parcel Wrapper and Cashier in a department store , Photographer , Preacher , Professor , Poet of the Printed Page and Radio , Politician , Platform Superintendent of Chautauqua Platform Churches . As a professor , I was 12 years in the speech department of Taylor , and Indiana Universities . I was 12 years in radio at station WLW in Cincinnati and published five books of my own verse .”
Think of the wars and conflicts that have occurred since 1867 , just out of the Civil War , World War I , World War II , Korean War , Vietnam War , etc . The sinking of the Titanic in 1912 could be both a tragic and romantic topic .
Upland is proud of its railroad heritage with the tracks still in place and the beautiful restored depot . Sit back and imagine yourself getting off a train in Upland with baggage ready to arrive in Upland for a family visit .
Hopefully , you will find a subject that will inspire
“ As a professor , I was 12 years in the speech department of Taylor , and Indiana Universities . I was 12 years in radio at station WLW and published five books of my own verse .”
Stumped on a topic for the BRP Poetry and Arts Festival ?
you to write for this 7th Annual Barton Rees Pogue Poetry and Arts Festival . The website is www . bartonreespogue . org or call 765- 998-7747 . Registrations forms are at the Barton Rees Pogue Memorial LIbrary . Please get your entries in as soon as possible : Youth by March 29 and Adults by April 5 . You may also mail your registration and poem to Poetry Festival , Box 6 , Upland , IN 46989 .
Artists who would like to exhibit may also find forms on the website and at the library .
Someone who knew Pogue
by LaRea Slater
We were just graduating from high school in 1965 when Barton Rees Pogue passed away , as plans were being made to honor him . Below is a poem that was
MY FIRST FAMOUS PERSON by John Sherman
his posture of poetic comedy was acted out in a one room country church only miles from our farm bombastic hands waving his white hair in search of a comb
written for last year ' s poetry festival by John Sherman . It is a very touching tribute to Barton Rees Pogue especially in the last stanza . How many of us have the desire to inspire the next generation ?
the grandeur of being known by three names : barton rees and pogue that alone gave us pause as I gazed upon this man who became my first famous person in my whole six year old life
a string of names so befitting this poet who entertained us in his predictably amusing reading of a post office pen gone awry
his mouthing of wibbly and wobbly corroded and cursed inky and dinky stubby and groggy each of those pairs of wonderful words built upon the previous set each had its own wave of laughter not yet gone before the next one hit
we knew the poem from the radio and had been looking forward to it as we sat bundled in our coats the wood-burning stove at the rear of the room as always not quite doing its duty where the pulpit was occupied not by a stern predictor of the fate of our souls but by a joyful man as we sat just feet away from this unbridled merriment of our fellow hoosier
our first poet our most famous person
but we could never have done justice to the familiar words as did the poet himself in his practiced delivery so fresh to us our thoughts perhaps on our own travails with sputtering pens in post offices and banks where splotches and spurts of indelible ink only made us think of this three-named man who had captured for us our mutual frustrations with what was to have been our helpmate but became our foe made us forget ink on a sleeve or an envelope and remember the words of his poem as we forgave the pen and smiled to ourselves
today as I travel to schools and libraries and museums I seek to emulate this man as I read my own stanzas my goal can be no grander than this : let me be someone else ’ s barton rees pogue