After retirement from 40 years of teaching, Windham resident Bob Clark realized he had another calling, one that the teacher turned poet enjoys sharing with his community. He’ll be sharing his passion for poetry from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 19 when he will sign copies of one of his books of poems at Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shops at 795 Roosevelt Trail in Windham.
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| Poet Bob Clark will meet the public and sign copies of one of his poetry books during an appearance at Sherman's Maine Coast Book Shop in Windham from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 19. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
Clark started on his poetry path while he was teaching.
“As a language teacher (Clark taught Spanish), I caught onto that the English department used to have a poetry month … and that the curriculum would explore poetry as opposed to short stories” or another genre,” he said. “When I retired, I had some poems and I said ‘you know I’ll go to my library and see if they want me to do a display.’ So every year in April which is National Poetry Month, I do a framed poem display in the Windham Public Library.”
He later decided he could create books made up of his own poems and poems of other people, which he has done for six years. The books usually include 20 of his own poems and 10 from other poets. Each book of poetry focuses on a theme.
"Seaside’ has a theme of the shoreline,” Clark said, “like seagull poems and lighthouse poems.”
His inspiration for writing poetry started at a young age, Clark said, adding that being read to as a child helped him to love the written word. Then, when attending Windham High School as a teenager “we had some wonderful teachers … they said ‘you know we’re gonna do some poetry’ and then we’re going to have us investigate it. … What caught my attention was that you have a storyline in a poem and it could have more than one meaning. … I always enjoyed the fact that you could be a writer and have multiple meanings.
“Teachers always seemed enthusiastic while encouraging us to figure out what was being said and to think about how imagery could be created using efficient word patterns,” Clark said. “Set against a math sequence with a single designated outcome, words seemed to poetically be able to have multiple ones.”
He is also inspired to write poetry because “I want to give back to my community,” Clark said.
On a personal level, he chooses to gift framed poems to family and friends, he said. But he also wrote a poem about the mass shooting in Lewiston on Oct. 25, 2023, and presented a copy of the poem to the Lewiston City Council. He read a copy of one of his poems before the Maine Legislature for its convocation and earlier this year he delivered his “2025 New Poetry Workshop” for the Maine Coast Men organization meeting in Linconville.
“There’s a variety of ways to give back to the community,” Clark said. “It’s like giving somebody a hug, shaking their hand, saying ‘my God, thank you all the time you put in, let me give you some of that back.’”
He says that it’s inspirational that someone might read one of his books in the library and take a book out and he’ll never know it.
Those attending Clark’s event at Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop in Windham on Saturday afternoon will be able to purchase a copy of “Seaside” and have it signed by Clark. Clark’s other books can be found at the Windham Public Library. For further details about Clark’s poetry, send an email to caribetime@gmail.com <
“Teachers always seemed enthusiastic while encouraging us to figure out what was being said and to think about how imagery could be created using efficient word patterns,” Clark said. “Set against a math sequence with a single designated outcome, words seemed to poetically be able to have multiple ones.”
He is also inspired to write poetry because “I want to give back to my community,” Clark said.
On a personal level, he chooses to gift framed poems to family and friends, he said. But he also wrote a poem about the mass shooting in Lewiston on Oct. 25, 2023, and presented a copy of the poem to the Lewiston City Council. He read a copy of one of his poems before the Maine Legislature for its convocation and earlier this year he delivered his “2025 New Poetry Workshop” for the Maine Coast Men organization meeting in Linconville.
“There’s a variety of ways to give back to the community,” Clark said. “It’s like giving somebody a hug, shaking their hand, saying ‘my God, thank you all the time you put in, let me give you some of that back.’”
He says that it’s inspirational that someone might read one of his books in the library and take a book out and he’ll never know it.
Those attending Clark’s event at Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop in Windham on Saturday afternoon will be able to purchase a copy of “Seaside” and have it signed by Clark. Clark’s other books can be found at the Windham Public Library. For further details about Clark’s poetry, send an email to caribetime@gmail.com <
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