A little boy took the Colorado sky
folded it up and tucked it into his pocket.
It tugged his pants down with all that weight (all that blue)
and barely fit in his small hands.
But he took it anyway
Bunched it up like a clean fitted sheet (still warm).
He ran away.
Through rivers, wildflowers, and golden sunbeams, CSU student Anya Guttormson brought cerulean-stained dreams to life at the second annual Howl of the Hearts Poetry Reading.
Though this was Guttormson’s first time participating in the event, she said that she has been writing since she was in elementary school.
“It’s fun to write words and change the meaning of them,” she said, “It’s one of those things that’s so personal, being able to write and read poetry has let me get closer to my friends and family.”
Letting people have this opportunity for self-expressions is what Larry Holgerson and Laura Puls said Howl of the Hearts is all about.
Holgerson, more commonly known as “Booger”, is a local poetry MC who led the reading.
Holgerson has been involved with Howl of the Hearts ever since it started, and hosts other poetry events around Fort Collins as well.
Holgerson said he first got involved with the local poetry scene in 2004, when he attended slams at the Bean Cycle cafe. When the original owners left, he took over the event and kept it running as “a creative space for poets to come and be able to put their words out publicly.”
However, after two fellow poets took their lives, Holgerson said it has since transformed into “an opportunity for people to express their needs and catch them before they hurt themselves.”
“Other people get depressed, other people talk about suicide,” he said. “And when they write these dark poems and present them, other poets who have them slap them on the back and say ‘I know how you feel, I’ve been there, you’re not alone.’”
Puls, senior librarian at Harmony Library, expressed similar sentiments about the importance of wordsmithing.
“Poetry is something where we’re able to express things that otherwise are difficult to get at,” she said. “It’s deeply personal, but it’s still something that people feel echoes from when they listen to it.”
Puls said that Howl of the Hearts came to be when a colleague asked her if she was interested in reviving Battle of the Bards, a poetry competition hosted at Harmony Library.
Puls said that Howl of the Hearts has already seen growth in the two years it has been held, with entries having increased from 76 in the first year to 88 in the second.
The poetry reading featured finalists and honorable mentions from the teen and adult categories reciting their poems.
The adult finalists for this year were Anya Guttormson, Marj Hahne, and Chris Matier, with honorable mentions for Michael P. Hill and Bryan Roth.
The teen finalists for this year were Jaliyah Austin, Makari Egbuji, and Lily Young, with honorable mentions for Elinor Bickley and Mylo Welchman.
Poem submissions are open in February, while the reading takes place in April during National Poetry Month.
More details about Howl of the Hearts can be found on the Poudre Libraries page.
https://poudrelibraries.org/howl-of-the-hearts-poetry-competition/
