By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff
In the time of COVID-19 and Zoom, the Westwood Public Library has become known for its virtual author visits. Patrons happily log on to Zoom for each visit, excited to hear what each author has to say, and to have some of their own questions answered. On Tuesday, October 20, the Friends of the Westwood Library welcomed Lynne Viti to recite some of her poetry and answer some questions from the audience.
In addition to being an accomplished poet and essayist, Viti is also the Wellesley College writing program's Senior Lecturer Emerita. Her newest publication, "Dancing at Lake Montebello: Poems," is set to be released this month.
After a quick introduction, Viti was ready to begin. She started with a poem about why she writes - perfectly fitting for the occasion. She proceeded to read her poem “Judgement,” which was published in her first poetry collection, "Baltimore Girls." In the poem, Viti describes the assassination of JFK and its aftermath, while intertwining it with her relationship with her mother at the time. Attendees could relate to the disconnect felt between mothers and daughters, nodding as they listened.
Viti even managed to give her audience a momentary glimpse, albeit unintentionally, into her writing process: she found something she wanted to edit in one of her poems, just as she read it. “I’m going to pause now because I see that I have not added one word that I wanted to add,” she said. After a few seconds, she began reading again. The listeners never knew what exactly she changed, but whatever it was, the poem, which was about gun violence, was as potent as the rest of her repertoire.
Attendees were welcomed to ask questions in the chat. One attendee asked about “Judgement,” and whether it was written in the moment of Viti’s teenage experience. “They were written many years later," she answered. "If I look at some of the stuff I wrote in high school, there was a lot of teenage angst,” explained Viti. “Whatever poet I happened to be reading at the moment, I was heavily influenced by. So if I was reading Emily Dickinson, I would try to write like her.” She added that this particular poem was written during a poetry workshop, during which she was given prompts to write about specific things.
Another attendee asked how Viti knew when a poem was finished. “That is a great question. I would think just about never. I’ve actually had the experience with this book of reading through the galleys six times so by the end you're supposed to be looking for ‘should this be in italics, is this comma, is there a word missing here,'” explained Viti. “At this point, I think it's done. I’m not changing this. But as I was reading one of the poems, I did change some of the stuff.”
Virtual attendees were treated to Viti’s poetry and an insight into the writing process, but they were also given a chance to sink back into the past and reflect on their own teenage years. They were able to think about the different sides of political issues. They were able to recollect feelings of grief and sorrow, but also joy and excitement. The night seemed a perfect showcase not only for Lynne Viti’s fantastic poetry, but for the power of poems in general.
