Poetry at the Art Center: October Edition – Ghosts, Revelation, and the Ancient Art of Lament
Join us Thursday, October 30, from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Bonham Creative Arts Center for an evening of poetry that embraces the haunting beauty of loss, memory and truth-telling.
Whether you write your own verses, love to share favorite poems or simply enjoy listening to the power of words, you’ve found your community. Listeners are welcome! Sometimes it’s nice to just listen to local poetry — no requirement to read or share.
Can’t attend in person? Contact Michelle Haynes for the Google Meet link to attend virtually.
No experience needed — just bring your love of language.
How Our Evening Unfolds
Round 1: Theme – “Ghosts and Revelation”
We begin with our monthly theme: “Ghosts and Revelation.” You choose what that means to you. Perhaps you’ll explore:
- The ghosts of memory that revisit us
- Halloween spirits and supernatural encounters
- Those “ghosts” of our past selves who haunt who we’ve become
- Moments when masks fall away and truth is revealed
- The revelation that comes from confronting what we’ve lost
- Unmasking hidden truths or shedding personas we wear
Any poetic form works for this round – let the theme guide you wherever it leads.
Round 2: Featured Form – The Lament
For our second round, we explore the lament, one of poetry’s oldest and most powerful forms.
A lament is a poem of grief, mourning or deep sorrow, but it’s more expansive than you might think. While laments can mourn death, they can also grieve anything precious we’ve lost: relationships that ended, youth that slipped away, places that have changed beyond recognition, dreams we’ve had to release or ways of life that have vanished.
The beauty of laments is their permission to grieve openly. They have no fixed structure — a lament can be free verse or formal, rhymed or unrhymed, brief or extended. What makes it a lament is its emotional honesty and its focus on loss.
You might know laments from W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues,” Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art” or even contemporary songs. Many popular songs function as laments, and it’s fair game to share main refrains from songs that mourn loss. Consider songs like:
- “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton – mourning the loss of his young son
- “Hurt” (Johnny Cash’s version) – grieving time’s passage and accumulated regrets
- “Yesterday” by The Beatles – lamenting simpler, happier times now gone
For this round, bring a lament — your own, a favorite poem you’ve discovered or meaningful refrains from a song that mourns what’s gone. Mourn a childhood home, a friendship, a version of yourself, a time when the world felt different. The lament gives voice to what haunts us and often reveals what we most deeply value.
Round 3: Open Forum
Share any poem, any theme, any form! You have up to two minutes. If you’re working on a book (poetry or otherwise), feel free to share a brief excerpt instead. This is your time to bring whatever words are moving through you.
Details
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025
6:30-8 p.m.
Bonham Creative Arts Center
This adult (18+) group embraces poetry’s full range, from playful to profound. No critiques, no pressure — just the joy of experiencing poetry together. We even have poems on hand if you’d like to participate but haven’t brought your own.
While it’s free to attend, we strongly prefer that you register before 11 p.m. on Oct. 29 so we can adequately prepare for the event.
Contact: Michelle Haynes | (949) 350-5335 | estellasheshop@gmail.com
Come discover how poetry helps us name what haunts us and reveal what sustains us.