April 14, 2009 JoAnne Preiser at the Needham Library


In the morning I spent more time with Rachel, Alicia May and Taryn. We played ping pong. Well, we chased that tiny bouncing ball into every cobwebby corner in my basement. That’s more like it. 

Later, Mom and I ventured over to the newly constructed Needham library to hear our fellow Fine Line Poet, JoAnne Preiser give a poetry reading. She read from her book, Confirmation, and from some of her newer poems which drop the listener onto various movie sets and film productions. The way she described the scenes in one poem, she enticed us to watch the Japanese movie, After Life
In this Hirokazu Kore-ada’s film, 22 dead people are told to select one memory each which they will carry with them into their after life. Wow! Which one would I choose? As JoAnne says in her poem, I’d have to pick one day “with the four of us.” But to be cruising forever? That might not do it. It would have to be an ordinary day, but one without nose bleeds or sick stomachs… please!
Kevin McIntosh followed with one of his short stories about life in an Irish family. He kept us in stitches.  
(Photo: JoAnne Preiser and Kevin McIntosh)