Mid-Ohio Valley poets spread their words at Wood County Public Library
Actors Guild of Parkersburg member and poet David Prather acts out his poem during the Poets in Motion reading Saturday at the Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
Writer Sherrell Wigal, right, reads one of her poetry selections while Wilma Acree, left, and David Prather, center, watch during the Poets in Motion reading Saturday at the Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
Wilma Acree raises her arms to demonstrate a bird flying while reading “If You See Buzzards” during the Poets in Motion reading Saturday at the Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
Actors Guild of Parkersburg member and poet David Prather acts out his poem during the Poets in Motion reading Saturday at the Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
Writer Sherrell Wigal, right, reads one of her poetry selections while Wilma Acree, left, and David Prather, center, watch during the Poets in Motion reading Saturday at the Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
Wilma Acree raises her arms to demonstrate a bird flying while reading “If You See Buzzards” during the Poets in Motion reading Saturday at the Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library. (Photo by Kristen Hainkel)
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PARKERSBURG -- Three local poets shared selections from their work at the Poets in Motion poetry reading Saturday at the Parkersburg and Wood County Public Library.
Poets in Motion was organized in honor of National Poetry Month in April. Among topics discussed in the poems were the seasons, grief and sexuality.
Sherrell Wigal said her family had recently lost an infant and she was writing her way through the grief. She read "Upon Us," "Last Duty" and "Mourning," which were inspired by the experience.
On a happier note, she also read "Strawberry," which talks about the beginning of the summer months.
"Schoolhouses are empty, our children chase us into June. Maximum light, minimum darkness, this is our doorway into summer," she read.
Before beginning, David Prather compared his and Wigal's writing styles.
"I love how many of Sherrell's poems are almost like little spikes of wisdom. Mine are not," he said, laughing.
Wigal replied, "Yes they are."
His first selection drew from his childhood interest in superheroes and supervillains. It was an ode to Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in 1992's "Batman Returns," "Letter to Catwoman, Second Skin" and began, "Dearest, villainous feline. Part-time crook. Part-time crusader."
Prather also read selections from an upcoming anthology, "Bending Light With Bare Hands," which is a physics metaphor. He said the majority of the content was written during the pandemic lock down.
"The poems were like journal entries," Prather said. "I would take one little tiny thing that happened that day and blow it up into a poem."
Wilma Acree said one of her muses is her great-grandson, who is now 16. She read a piece that depicted him growing up and how she loved him in every season.
Acree said her poem "If You See Buzzards" was among her favorites. It has an evolving symbolism in it, she said.
"I like how it goes from a symbol of beauty to a symbol of ugliness then a symbol of rebirth," she said.
Kristen Hainkel can be reached at khainkel@newsandsentinel.com.