January 01, 2005
Two life-changing events happened in 1984---her son was born and she moved to Orange County. Things would never be the same for Costa Mesa resident Charlene M.Ashendorf. A talent that teachers identified in elementary school; a gift that has been shared with nonprofits for which she has written grants, and a hobby that has turned into a passion for poetry; Charlene writes whenever whatever! At 54, there isn’t enough time to write for the pleasure of it. With a career, community activism, gerontology studies, caring for her family or house and garden, interest in sports; distractions are everywhere.
Paraphrasing Victorian Poet Laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson, The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence of but pursuit and mastery of his passions. In this age of sound bites, e-mail and talk and talk, talk radio, we need poetry more than ever. In its inspirational sense, it is communication on its most visceral and seminal level. Poetic communication is honest, it comes from the heart and it can be crafted into the best free-standing work we can. Writing can be lonely, but it is in the writing that new friends are made. We all have emotions. We all suffer from highs and low points. Short of expensive therapy, writing is cathartic and healing and it engages others in the private places of the heart. Writing makes feelings and the past come to life. Life can seem so ordinary and writing adds color to an empty canvas. As well, there is importance in writing for making things permanent and for recording the moment.
Paraphrasing Victorian Poet Laureate, Alfred Lord Tennyson, The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence of but pursuit and mastery of his passions. In this age of sound bites, e-mail and talk and talk, talk radio, we need poetry more than ever. In its inspirational sense, it is communication on its most visceral and seminal level. Poetic communication is honest, it comes from the heart and it can be crafted into the best free-standing work we can. Writing can be lonely, but it is in the writing that new friends are made. We all have emotions. We all suffer from highs and low points. Short of expensive therapy, writing is cathartic and healing and it engages others in the private places of the heart. Writing makes feelings and the past come to life. Life can seem so ordinary and writing adds color to an empty canvas. As well, there is importance in writing for making things permanent and for recording the moment.
Charlene hasn’t actually written journals, but if you check the boxes in her garage or the folders on her computer you will find endless journal entries. Because she writes something, some time every day, she recognizes the importance for a writer because a single journal entry may become a work point or a centerpiece in a poem. Living in Orange County offers challenges and opportunities for a writer. The luxury of living in a great area, with near-perfect temperatures, it can be difficult to find despair or grief or tragedy for inspiration. But having spent years working and writing for charities that serve people whose lives are broken, whose hearts are torn there is a wellspring of love and hope from which to draw.
While people around her may be reading a good book or the daily news, Charlene eavesdrops on others’ conversations and watches everyone around her. You may not find meat, but you will meet with depth and soul. Poetry helps with that. Because Orange County is perceived as materialistic and politically insular, poetry is ethereal and spiritual in its basics and its emotions. Writing can soften some of the crassness and materialism that modern society is all about. Writing makes you permanent. If you die tomorrow, writing will survive you. Writing will make you immortal.
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