The Spur

Issue date: 9/20/06 Section: News

Media Credit: File Photo Professor Bill Holm shares his poetry about daily lives of Canadians with students, faculty and staff on Monday Sept. 18th. Glen Sorestad, a visitor to Marshall, also read his poetry as part of the event.

As the cold blew fiercely around Marshall, many retreated into the lecture hall, CH 210, at Southwest Minnesota State University where Bill Holm and Glen Sorestad read selections of their poetry.

The evening started out with a few brief words by Judy Wilson, associate professor of English and creative writing director. Wilson welcomed everyone to the gathering and playfully referred to Bill Holm, who has a white beard, as Santa Claus.

A native of Minnesota, Bill Holm grew up in Minneota. In 1965 he graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter Minn. He has taught at SMSU for many years and spends spring semesters in Iceland. Also, he takes pride in not owning a television.

Shortly after Wilson's introduction to Holm, he gave an introduction to his fellow poet, Glen Sorestad.

"He is the Leo Dangel (also a poet) of Canada," Holm said about Sorestad.

Sorestad was originally born in South Dakota but moved to Saskatoon, Canada later in life.

Sorestad started his reading from his book named "Blood and Bone, Ice and Stone." The first poem he recited was entitled "Dreaming my grandfather's dreams." Like Dangel, many of his poems are based on personal experiences. One of the poems that struck a distinct cord with the audience was a poem called "On the outskirts of Saskatoon" in which a young native man is forced by the local police to walk from the outskirts into town during the winter.

Sorestad spoke of his membership to the Saskatoon Writers' Guild. Later he read a poem named "Springtime high school presentation," which described an actual presentation he went though and the actual reactions of the adolescents he was speaking to.

Sorestad ended his reading a poem Holm suggested titled "The woman from home care talks to mother.

After Sorestad finished Holm stepped up to the podium. His first poem described two friends battling over who eats odder food. As 8 p.m. came around, Holm ended his segment with a collection of new poems. The last poems out of the group were intended to "warm you up," as Holm said.

As night approached the temperature dropped and chilled the skin of anyone outside. But, in the crowded lecture hall, the laughter and applause from the audience showed many who listened to Holm and Sorestad were left with a warm feeling.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools