Diane Lockwood

Whether in a Prius, Pontiac, Chevy, or Ford, Susanna Rich skillfully navigates the "hard road of life," calling on old boyfriends, travelling the tricky terrain of family, and revisiting long-ago baseball games, kitchens, shoe stores, and funeral parlors.  In carefully honed lines and stanzas, she combines humor with utter seriousness and blasphemy with reverence for all things human.

  

- Diane Lockward, Poet
Temptation by Water

 


Workshop Themes:

- Psychology of commuting
- Your car—your self
- The road and productivity

 

 

B. J. Ward

Entering the world of The Drive Home is like opening the front door to a house party.  Patti Smith is blasting on the stereo and William Carlos Williams is in the kitchen discussing how fast cars should go with Sharon Olds...fearless and fun.

                

- BJ Ward, Poet
Gravedigger’s Birthday

 


12 poems including:

  • “Making Up in the Car”
    (Karmann Ghia & Mack Titan)

  • “The Psychology of Rubbernecking” (SUV)

  • “Signaling No One in the Dark”(Prius)

  • “Ode to my ’84 Mustang” (ditto)

  • “Diesel Dyke” (Peterbilt & Harley)

 

THE DRIVE HOME

 

                Michael Monday's videoreport for THE STAR-LEDGER.  Seth Siditsky, editor.

 

From a 2013 Infiniti to a graffitied 1978 VW bug, cars, trucks, motor homes and cycles shape who we are. In this audience-interactive poetry performance and follow-up workshop, Susanna Rich explores how cars, trucks, and driving shape our personal, business, educational, and community lives.

 

 

The Star-Ledger


Blairstown artist driven to bring her words to life on the stage

By Tracy Ann Politowicz/Star-Ledger Staff
March 26, 2010, 6:11PM

“Do I need more honking?” the curly-haired woman asks with a straight face, leaning forward slightly.

The Drive Home by Susanna Rich

The man sitting opposite her, one of a few other people in the room, replies, “Yes, you should add that.” She continues speaking to a larger make-believe audience: “And I want all of you to help me get through this. Can you do a honk? Can you just turn into an audience full of geese?”

Adopting the tone of a TV preacher, Susanna Rich begins reciting her poem about drivers who adhere to the speed limit so strictly, they seem to be hugging it: “May the red wand on my speedometer align, number for number... ”     Click here to read the entire interview.