GRACE OF ALL TIME

I think I am an imaginer because I believe in the invisible and that is where everything exists. We just have to pull it all down through us—in words and paint. So every day I do: I write or make a picture, all to stay connected to the invisible. That is where the comfort is.

My name is Grace Cavalieri and had a beautiful husband who left the world nine years ago. He was an aviator and then a metal sculptor of great works. We have four grown daughters, four grandchildren and a great grandson. I am very connected to their everyday lives, and all are a life force for me.

I believe I am an artist because I like to make things that did not exist before, whether with language, color, or even food. Cooking is extremely creative. Some say art is a collaboration with the Divine. I only know that we collaborate with something outside of ourselves when we make something “new.” I call it “energy.”

My life has been, let me say, had some achievements and in 2019, was another year where I was appointed a Poet Laureate. To each one appointed “Laureate,” this means something different. In my case, I take it as a mission to spread the word that poetry: heals; rinses off language; makes us slow down; allows us to appreciate nature and notice more; and makes us less lonely. Everyone is entitled to try a hand at writing, because each person has a story like no other. I also like to record poets and make them permanent- as a Poet Laureate project- and have broadcast and archived many Maryland poets in the past three years.

It has been a journey and I can say, it has been good. A. R. Ammons (the poet) said, “If you are nothing, you can say and do anything.” I took this as a personal message. I have always felt I was an ordinary woman and, therefore nothing was at stake and I could write and paint what I wanted because it did not matter. I was not famous, or a celebrity; I was a wife and a mother (how common is that) so that entitled me to do whatever I wanted.

I have had several poetry collections, and each has been inspired differently. All books are on AMAZON.COM. The titles usually come from poems’ titles within the book. Every book is different, but the usual number of pages is about 70. Some are more.

I was into plays and staging of play readings for more than 50 years, that is, between 1966 and 2019. In 1966, (I was a Navy wife) my husband finally had shore duty where we could settle in one place. All my pent-up energy wanted to be expressed after many years in the house with small children while Ken was at sea. Lucky for me it was the “cultural revolution” and the world was scrambling for new ideas. I wrote a play for a contest and won, and with that encouragement and a welcoming stage, saw 10 more plays produced in ten years. I do not think those plays would work today. They were very much of a time and place in history. I met a New York City Director who encouraged me and my fulllength plays began under her staging and finally went elsewhere in the country. When you write a play, you have to turn it over to collaborators and not worry about it

Diversity, I can say drives me. From poetry 36 to play writing and having to be a founder of The Bunny and the Crocodile Press/ Forest Woods Media Productions in 1979. This small press began because there were so many good poets and so few publishing opportunities. We published dozens of poets and also fiction and novels. My daughter Cindy did the book designs for production and, as an artist, she was a great asset. Of course, she was patient too because poets are demanding about every comma and line break. The books are beautiful and we published the first works of some who have become luminaries today. Those were the days before “print on demand.” We worked with a real printer and a real production company.

In 1976, I co-founded WPFW FM. I did this because I wanted poetry to be on-air— after teaching where I could only reach 20 in a classroom or 200 in a lecture hall. When I heard a new FM station was launched in Washington DC, I quit teaching and raised money for 2 years before the station went live. If you want something “find the money!” Poetry was finally on Prime Time to 200,000 listeners. After 20 years on regional radio, I took the program to the Library of Congress for national distribution. That marks 25 years at The Library: 45 on-air total. We now also circulate on Apple podcasts and websites.

I have received more than twenty literary awards in my life as an artist. I can say that is possible because of four things: 1. One book at a time. 2. Giving up fear. 3. Willing to fail. 4. Keeping going.

As for the future, I take a glimpse at it every single day. Actually, I will turn 90 in October 2022, so I’m not old yet! As long as I can see my friends every week, and I can continue teaching on Zoom (Covid put us on the monitors) and having groups at my house I can cook for—it is looking good from here.

To get hold of me, my handles are: www.gracecavalieri.com The Poet and the Poem+ Grace Cavalieri (YouTube) The Poet and the Poem (apple podcasts) Grace _ Cavalieri_ writer (Instagram) https://sites.google.com/view/grace-art/home (my art gallery) George Washington University “The Grace Cavalieri Papers”

My word of advice to fellow artists in USA and the world over is; do it for yourself. The world does not care about you as much as you think. You have nothing to lose. Tell your story, or you will come and go, and we will not have known you.

Interviewed by: Martin Chivaku @DA_Scripta