Bringing Chinese poetry into the English world - John Digby and Leslie Bai

Leslie Hong Ai Bai and John Digby

Oyster Bay poet and collagist John Digby was already working with Chinese poetry and published a few translations by the time he met Leslie Hong Ai Bai, a linguistics scholar, currently at LIU Post, a colleague of his wife, poet Joan Digby. Leslie, born in China to Korean parents, is in command of various oriental languages in addition to English and French.

Since 2010, they collaborated on a number of themes: horses, women - particularly the neglected, unloved or no longer loved ones, animals, landscapes. They dug out poems for Cold Food Festival, forgotten holiday which now enjoys a revival. All work is by poets active until the 19th century. These are some of their published works - Cold Food Festival, The Horse in Chinese in Chinese Poetry and Culture, Simple Simple, Losing a Slave Girl, Three Neglected Chinese Women: Three Deserted Tang Poets, The Sword Dance.

In their work they try to convey the tone of the poem and stay away from the literal translation. In case of the Chinese poetry the latter is almost impossible to accomplish, as even in the original the poems can be read in many different ways.

There are very many translations of the classic 'At Summit Temple' (李白: 题峰頂寺(夜宿山寺)) by various Western poets. This is John and Leslie's take on it:

危樓高百尺﹐
手可摘星辰。
不敢高聲語﹐
恐驚天上人。

Big climb this!

Breathless dizzy
and panting I've
attained the summit

I quiet my heart
hold my breath
looking into infinity

Now I could reach up
cradle a star in my hand
but scarcely whisper a word
for fear of waking up deities

Chinese poems, minimalistic gems, are typically composed of 4 lines of 5 to 7 characters, like the one above. There is no subject, no personal pronouns, no gender, no tenses. There exists rhyme and rhythm of the rising and falling phonetics of the characters. The characters themselves may have up to 30 varied meanings and are often complex, rarely used characters to mark the skill and knowledge of a poet - poetry was a domain of highly skilled individuals who strutted their linguistic dexterity like peacocks. Many poems are not easily understood by an average person of today.

Leslie and John revising text

The process of bringing a translated poem to its satisfactory stage is long and arduous. John and Leslie agree on a topic. Leslie researches potential candidates. A choice is narrowed down to a poem. John learns as much as possible about the author's life and environment. Leslie transcribes the individual characters of the poem into Pinyin. John analyzes every Pinyin character and attempts to construct a meaning or rather a mood from the puzzle before him. Leslie elaborates on metaphors and hidden meaning in the poem, provides additional background. Initial translation is created.

At this stage the battle of wits and esthetics commences. John wants to put in every shade of meaning that transpires. Leslie strikes out half of the words. They encounter numerous cultural differences. One memorable clash happened over a translation of 'green window'. Heated discussion revealed that for John green window was a window with stained glass. For Leslie it was a color of leaves outside - old Chinese houses did not have glass windows, it was the color of leaves that reflected on paper panels. Revision after revision follows, the work may take up to six months to complete. Leslie creates commentary on the poet, poet's time and customs.

Revisions of the poem 'Cold Food':



Please come back soon to enjoy a beautiful poem 'Losing a Slave Girl' in the upcoming Long Island Poem for Sunday series.

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Merlin Talking to Himself, Long Island Poem for Halloween Sunday

In a few days princesses and witches, ghosts, pirates, skeletons, etc, will knock on your door and try to trick you. What a fun game of pretend it is. But what if you are the real thing, a grown, wizened wizard, doing magic for a very long time? We offer an inside look conjured by poet John Digby.

Collage by John Digby

Merlin Talking to Himself
for Jeremy Reed
by John Digby 

Once I could talk to water
And turn it into stone

I could behead the night
With a smile
And turn flowing blood
Into a blazing field of poppies

In any of my former lives
I could walk among the stars
And name every one
And remember each name

I could hold the sun in my left hand
And cool it with my breath

In my right hand
I could hold all the dead
And make them dance
Until they dropped from exhaustion

I could make the birds perch
On the fingers of rain
And make them sing so sweetly
That the stars would rain tears

Even in sleep
I could cut off the legs of a goat
With a wink
And make it fly around the moon

Nowadays
I can only change my shadow into a horse
And make it ride over the tops of forests
And other simple thing like that

Bah and they call that a miracle!

'Merlin Talking to Himself' by John Digby from 'Sailing Away from Night' published in 1978 by Anvil Press Poetry and Kayak Books.
Reprinted with author's permission.

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Previous Long Island Poem for Sunday - How to be kind, Long Island Poem for Sunday

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Limerick Workshop with Joan Digby

On Main Street in old Oyster Bay
We gathered on one autumn day
To write poems that rhyme
And have a fine time
Whiling this Sunday away

Joan Digby teaching
at the Limerick Workshop

Attendees of today's Limerick Workshop at Think Long Island First had a great chance to appreciate the fine art of successful limericks and were lucky to have poet Joan Digby guide them on the quest!

Joan started with an introduction of the anapest and the iamb - the metrical feet applied in a typical limerick. She spoke about the female rhyme so characteristic in the lighter poetry. Guests read their work, Joan commented on the choice of subjects and composition. The event was both highly instructive and highly enjoyable.

Her own limericks summed it all up.

In this workshop you'll write your own limerick
To do this I'll teach you the first trick
Then you'll find a rhyme
For the end of each line
And a Long Island place--that's the gimmick

With your limerick you'll enter a contest
And hope that the judges find yours best
Then you'll get a prize
That is sweet to your eyes
That you'll read at your holiday fest

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John Digby and the democratic art of collage making

John Digby, the collagist

We have already written about John Digby, the Oyster Bay poet, in our article - At home with artists Joan and John Digby. This time we concentrate on John's collage making art - a livelong, all-consuming passion.

John considers collage making a democratic art - even an inexperienced person can create a collage. Materials are humble, process relatively simple. This is a deceptive statement though - one needs a great deal of creativity to make an engaging collage, experience and manual dexterity to execute it properly, and foresight to create a lasting work. All these John has in abundance. His collages are captivating and the craftsmanship is flawless.

He created couple of different thematic series - birds and other animals and abstract work, among others. For the latter he produced his own paper designs through a laborious but esthetically satisfying process. For other collages he uses acid-free paper copies of mostly 19th century engravings or drawings from natural history or travel books.

Whatever the theme, John is trying to infuse a sense of humor into his pieces. In that he follows his great inspiration - British painter, etcher, and printmaker Samuel Palmer, whose humor carried him through many dark periods of life.



How does one read, understand a collage? John gets various responses to his work - the animal collages are usually read through the narrative, the abstract ones as a more intellectual challenge. Interestingly, John's work receive great response from surgeons, who, in addition to the esthetics, also understand the tactile aspect of his work.

John is generous with his knowledge - he and his wife Joan authored a highly informative book on the subject - 'The Collage Handbook', where, in addition to the history of the genre and examples of collages by various artists, they present John's techniques and materials.

Even with the many years of experience, John's pursuit of perfection continues. He believes that if one's work is not difficult, no progress is made. He also does not approve of the word "like". He finds it vulgar. He himself will rather either appreciate or not appreciate the effort and the outcome of an artistic undertaking.


John's collages have been exhibited internationally and found place in both museums and private collections.

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Small Business Saturday at your small local shop

We will be kicking off the holiday season with the Small Business Saturday - a day filled with creative pursuits. Please join us on November 24th between 11 am and 5 pm. We guarantee you will be well entertained, you may even leave as a soon-to-be-published author!

11 am Holiday ornaments – decorate your own
Potter Sue Adler brings majolica holiday ornaments ready for your decorating touches. Materials fee will be collected. Ornaments will be ready for pick up 2 weeks after the event.

12 pm Eco-friendly gift wrapping
Reuse, reuse, reuse - Jolanta Zamecka and Ewa Rumprecht gift wrap with minimal environmental impact. Guests are encouraged to share their own ideas and projects.

1 pm Quilts – what makes them special
Quilter Sherry Phelps, third generation quilter, presents her family heirlooms as well as her own work and explains what makes a successful quilt.

2 pm Feng Shui, crystals, stones
Jeweler Sharon LaMonica introduces the basic concepts of Feng Shui and speaks about properties of crystals and stones. Perfect chance to adjust your energy or relaxation level.

3 pm Decorate with ribbons
Kristi Halpern creates festive decorations with ribbons. She guides you on a quest for a perfect ribbon for any decorating project.

4 pm Holiday poetry reading
Bring your own or your favorite holiday poem and read it to guests. Selected poems will be published by the Prehensile Pencil Publications, ready for purchase before the holidays.

For the greater pleasure of the company fiddler Eric Marten will accompany the poems with old holiday tunes while his wife, Trudy, introduces the limber jack.

Throughout the day, guests will have a chance to observe painter Yvonne Dagger and wood carver Don Dailey work their holiday magic with brushes and knives, respectively.

Please review the event's Press Release for more information.

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Long Island Limerick Competition 2012

A WRITER WHO HAILED FROM LONG ISLAND
ONCE PENNED A LIMERICK POEM;
ENTERED THE “THINK
LONG ISLAND FIRST” THING
AND TOOK THE GRAND PRIZE HOME

Poetry Center of LIU Post and Think Long Island First are issuing a call to pens for all poets in the area to participate in the first annual Long Island Limerick Competition. Limericks must contain a name of a Long Island town, village, or site.

The contest will start with the free Limerick Workshop at Think Long Island First on Sunday, October 21st, 2012 at 2 pm. Contestants' participation in the Workshop, conducted by renowned poet and one of the judges Joan Digby, is not required but it does provide a good introduction for the novices or refresher for the experienced poets.

A limerick is a short, light poem in an AABBA form, like the one below by Digby:

A horsewoman from Oyster Bay
Fed her husband and horses on hay
Her spouse begged for steak
Said she made a mistake
Then he looked up and started to neigh.

Entries are to be submitted online at www.thinklongislandfirst.com between October 21st, 2012 and October 31st, 2012. Winners will be announced at the Award Ceremony, which will take place at Think Long Island First in Oyster Bay, on Sunday, November 4th, 2012, at 2 pm.

Awards:
1st Place - $25.00 Think Long Island First gift certificate
2nd Place - $15.00 Think Long Island First gift certificate
3rd Place - $10.00 Think Long Island First gift certificate

Winning limericks will be published in the Long Island Poem for Sunday series run by Think Long Island First.

Limericks will be judged for their creativity, metrics, and language by three distinguished Long Island poets and teachers: Joan Digby of LIU Post, Barbara Novack of Molloy College, and Diane Simone Lutz of Queensborough Community College.

For more information please refer to our Long Island Limerick Competition 2012 Press Release.

Happy Writing!

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At home with artists Joan and John Digby

A visit to the Oyster Bay home of poets, Joan and John Digby, is an unforgettable experience of wit, energy and intensity. John's framed collages compete for space with spoils from the couple's numerous trips to various parts of the world, and with shelves upon shelves of books. Scholarly works, poetry collections, illustrated albums, novels, and history books line the walls of every room in the house; essentially, every room is a library. Cats roam freely around the house and with the air of respectable bibliocats dust the shelves and work tables with their long tails.

John and Joan Digby in John's workshop. Sissy, the cat, in the foreground.

The couple met at Long Island University when John visited the C.W. Post campus on a reading tour of US. They were married soon after and settled in Oyster Bay, NY, in a house they still occupy, having expanded it over the years to accommodate their growing work, and which they have selected for reason no other than green siding (a step above another house hunting selection with rather interestingly sounding frogs in the basement).

'The Monkey's Egg'
by John Digby

John hails from England. A truant from every school he attended, he chose to spend his time playing cricket in good weather (with a chance of playing professionally - a very happy memory - John still has his left handed cricket bat from those years) or visiting the London Zoo and Natural History Museum when it rained. John, fascinated by birds from an early age ("bird" was his first spoken word), amassed vast knowledge in the field and was hired by the London Zoo as a keeper, a position he held between the age of 14 and 19. He was more recently made a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London, an honor he cherishes greatly. John remained a great animal lover, a passion he shared with his wife. He wooed her with stories of gorillas and parrots at the Zoo.

'Camels and Other Mammals'
by Joan Digby

Joan, the Bronx native and a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, studied English against the wishes of her chemist parents. She became an English scholar (18th century British literature) at LIU Post, where she still teaches and oversees the University's Honors and Merits Programs. She also runs the Poetry Center there, presenting established poets and introducing new talent. Joan finds the exchange of creative ideas in the Academia invaluable, enjoys cross media explorations, is fearless in forging new grounds and creating opportunities for meetings of minds. She has developed lasting relationships with many of her colleagues and students.

Joan devotes a lot of her energies to care and rescue of cats, horses, and camels. She is involved with the The Animal Lovers League in Glen Cove and Camel programs at the Bronx Zoo and the Wild Camel Protection Foundation in UK. She produced many literary works on animals.

Collage from the Butterfly series
by John Digby

How do two highly creative individuals, with their own sets of interests, creative tools, demands for perfection, intensity, and aesthetics, manage to live and work side by side? Even their most basic tool - English - sets them apart; when they edit each other's work they clash over sentences and punctuation. The high volatility of the creative egos has its challenges and makes live interesting. Joan plans on writing a book about artists' wives one day, modeled after Vasari. And yet, with all the differences and volatility, they manage to collaborate on many projects to a great success. The combined and individual output of the couple is immense.

'A Clowder of Cats'
by Joan Digby

They both write and edit poetry and prose. Joan's work is more narrative and is usually inspired by things around her - her animals, family, or even tennis playing; John's may take any path and will frequently veer toward surreal. Recently John immersed himself in Chinese poetry on which he collaborates with Leslie Bai.

For the list of their works please see Prehensile Pencil Publications. This gem of a press publishes limited editions of short works by various authors, illustrated by black and white drawings, collages, photographs, and engravings. It continues the work of the earlier Poet’s Farthing Cards and The Feral Press.

They both photograph - Joan to document, John to collect materials for collages. Characteristically, they returned from a trip to Yellowstone with completely different sets of shots - Joan of grizzly bears, John of knotted trees.

John creates collages of black and white paper and ink. He considers them an extension of his surreal poetry. Incidentally, he also creates poetry collages. John frequently explores a topic or area that particularly interests him at the time - butterflies, fish, hedges, pods, and creates a larger series of different takes on the subject. The couple published 'The Collage Handbook' - an introduction to the art form with samples of modern collage work. John's collages were exhibited internationally and were requested by museums and private collectors.

'Fish with Ships'
Collage by John Digby

A visitor leaves the home of the two artists with a sense of admiration for their talents and dedication to their art. John is a workaholic, in a feverish hurry to express more and better. Joan is full of new ideas and fearless in their execution. Wit, energy and intensity - an inspiring visit, indeed.

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"Lazy rhythm ... rumination ... August morning", Long Island Poem for a quiet summer Sunday

Joan Digby with Snowball

Watching Snowball Graze
Joan Digby

Watching Snowball graze,
I catch the lazy rhythm
of his rumination.
Stepping through the field
he buries his soft nose in grass
tasting the menu of an August morning.

Dew still hovers on the clover,
most succulent of flowers in the field.
I think of landscape gardeners
with their "Weed-Be-Gone,"
poisoners of a horse's richest fare.
They know nothing - he everything
about his pastoral land.

Tethered to his halter
I wander as his pupil,
learning to avoid the bitter plantain,
leave the blue cornflowers to adorn the fence
and bees to drink the roses.

Watching Snowball graze,
I catch the lazy rhythm
of sunlight spreading on the meadow,
feeling no urgency to leave this place
where the swishing of his long melodic tale
sings promise of a radiant day.

'Watching Snowball Graze' by Joan Digby from Snowball Caught a Bug published by Joan's own The Feral Press. Reprinted with author's permission.
Book is illustrated by Mollie Eckelberry.

Snowball, a pony from the North Shore Equestrian Center of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, received quite some attention - C.W. Post published a story on Snowball - HORSE SENSE: ENGLISH PROFESSOR GIVES SPECIAL CARE TO PONY AT C.W. POST, which included the poem we have printed here.

Horses, though represented in various publications: I Rolled Today or Snowball Caught a Bug and important in her life and teaching - Joan had her class not only write poems on horses but also attend horse hair pottery making with Sue Adler, were not the sole topic of Joan's verses. She has a great affinity to camels, thus collection Camels and other Mammals, cats A Clowder of Cats and Oystermania CSI. She even wrote tennis poems Marks on the Surface: tennis poems'. With her husband, John Digby, poet and collage artist, she co-edited books on food & drink in poetry: 'Food for thought: an anthology of writings inspired by food' and 'Inspired by drink: an anthology'.

Joan runs the C.W. Post Poetry Center of Long Island University, established 1974. The Center organizes Poetry Awards Nights, Poetry Appreciation Day readings, and promotes a wide range of emerging and established poetry by local, domestic, and international artists.

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Previous Long Island Poem for Sunday - Seaside vignette, Long Island Poem for a beach perfect Sunday

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Lighthouses and nautical objects at Think Long Island First

Since the first lighthouse was erected in 1796 at Montauk Point, many more were built along both coasts of Long Island. Suffolk County has the largest number of lighthouses per county in US, Southold Township the largest among townships. Though some lighthouses were lost due to fire, storm, neglect, or economy, many are still standing and some are still in operation. Long Island Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society lists them all including the defunct ones.

Long Island Lighthouses 2012 calendar by Ralph J. Pugliese Jr

We carry a book 'New York State Lighthouses' by Robert G. Miller, where the archival photos of Long Island lighthouses have a sizable presence.

The light keeper's life was hard, the responsibility enormous, the isolation difficult to bear. Architecturally, lighthouses were simple structures, sparsely adorned. Their most important construction feature was the ability to withstand the constant beating of the ocean.

What is there in us that makes us want to go to the lighthouse and to immortalize the moment in art?

Lighthouses feature prominently in the local photography, with the Montauk and Fire Island lighthouses leading the way. Ralph J. Puglise Jr, (Cutchogue) has done a whole series of them. In addition to the matted photos and note cards we carry his 'Long Island Lighthouses' calendar for 2012. We also have lighthouse photographs by Scott Cushing (East Meadow), Christina Kneer (Massapequa), Paul Macri (Oyster Bay), Gerry Corrigan (Wantagh), and Jacques Dumont (East Norwich).

Stainless steel sailboats
by Len Mulqueen

Let us also mention some unusual nautical objects we have at the store. Metal and wood artist Len Mulqueen (Bethpage) creates sailboats / wind chimes from reclaimed stainless steel. Attached screw, moving in the wind like a pendulum, produces quite a realistic sound of metal hitting a mast.

Paul Guzzo (Oak Beach) brought us a real propeller with a scrimshaw of fish. We also have a candle holder with a lighthouse design by Claudia Peglow (Franklin Square).

Scrimshaw propeller
by Paul Guzzo

Candle holder
by Claudia Peglow

Painter Susie Gach Peelle (Locust Valley) provided the cover illustration for an interesting book about 144 women who held official light keeper positions around US - 'Mind the Light, Katie' by Mary Louise Clifford and J. Candance Clifford.

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"O the horseman's joys!", horses at Think Long Island First

In the past we have presented birds in the works of the Long Island artists. We have seen the dog drawings from Mollie Eckelberry's collection. Today, horses.

"O the horseman's and horsewoman's joys! / The saddle, the gallop, the pressure upon the seat, the cool gurgling / by the ears and hair." Walt Whitman rhapsodized in 'A Song of Joys'. And so do many Long Island artists who celebrate horses in their art.

Joel Kanaravogel, wire sculpture

Joel Kanarvogel of Woodbury created a wire sculpture of a team of four horses with front legs high in the air.
Joel, a horse lover and Triple Crown aficionado since his early years in the Catskill Mountains, said: "I grew up with the smell of horses which I love to this day. I love the fluidity of motion of horses and how they gracefully run and prance and stride, and how they flick their tails when they are happy."

Regan Tausch, painting

Many paintings by Bayville folk artist Regan Tausch include peaceful scenes of horses pulling carriages, horses pulling sleighs in winter scenes, horses grazing in the pastures, horses watching the world through the Dutch doors of well kept stables, or horses muzzling each other contentedly. Regan was an avid rider in her earlier days.

Mollie Eckelberry, note cards

Mollie Eckelberry not only rode and drew horses but also authored an equestrian memoir 'Vest Pocket Farm' - a good read, overflowing with her love and respect for the animal. Mollie's first encounter with a runaway horse at a tender age of three made her want to draw nothing but stick horses. Horses are still a great part of her daily life in Muttontown.

AnnMarie Levin, note cards

We carry AnnMarie Levin's note card sets with beautiful horse prints in brown, green, and navy.
Horses are the favorite subject of the young Oyster Bay artist. She commented: "I have been riding horses since the age of 5, and have a lovely gelding named Lysander who inspires me everyday."

Sue Adler, horse hair vase

Sue Adler, Locust Valley potter and equestrian, specializes in horse hair pottery. She applies an old American Indian technique where strands of hair from horse's tail are draped and burned over a hot surface of a pot. The end result - a classic shape of white clay with subtle color accents, enveloped in a net of random black lines - is beautiful in its contrasts.

Frank Cammarata, paper cut

Holbrook's Frank Cammarata brought us a paper cutout of a grazing horse. Black paper, white background.

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Happy Summer from Think Long Island First

If you, like many other Long Islanders, choose staycations on the Island, you have many attractions to enjoy: from the beaches and parks, farms and vineyards of the North Fork to the various cultural events, many outdoors.

Evenings of July 13th, 20th, and 27th will find us Dancing in the Street of Oyster Bay, where, we hope, you will join us. Like last year, good music, attentive dance instructions, and the star lit skies are awaiting. More ...

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We hope you are enjoying our Long Island Poem for Sunday program. On this July Fourth we would like to entertain you not with a poem but with a sound of a marching band, the Sousa Band, in fact. We have learned that John Philip Sousa, the famous composer, band leader, and musician to presidents, lived in Sands Point on Long Island between 1915 and 1932.

This is the 1898 archival recording of the Star Spangled Banner performed by the Sousa Band:


Happy Independence Day! Happy Summer!

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Summer joys by Long Island artists.

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Sundays of old, Long Island Poem for Sunday

Front page of When We Were Little
1985 edition

Mary Fanny Youngs, of an old Oyster Bay family, in the PREFACE to her collection of "When We Were Little / Children's Rhymes of Oyster Bay" says: "WHEN we were little, we lived in an old gray house in Oyster Bay Cove, so close to the harbor that the high tides in the Spring and Autumn always flooded the dark, earth-floored cellar. For two hundred and sixty years the little old house has stood there, and in all that time has never gone out of the possession of the lineal descendants of the staunch old pioneer who built it. For that reason, the love of the old traditions, the old ways, the very rafters over our heads and earth beneath our feet, were not only, "bread in our bone," they were soul of our souls."

Theodore Roosevelt adds in the Foreword: "Miss YOUNGS writes of the quaint, old-time Long Island life, of which not only her father and I, but she herself and my children, were part." Beautiful description of delights of Long Island follows. Conclusion reflects on good, honest living anywhere: "I hope these poems will also appeal to others; for our life was essentially the same as all the old-fashioned life lived elsewhere in the open coutry; this was fundamentally a simple and a wholesome life."

Now the poem:

SUNDAY
Mary Fanny Youngs

SUNDAY is such a different day
From all the other days-
I do such different kinds of things
And play such different plays.
Up to the queer old Chapel, first,
To Sunday-school I go,
And there learn Bible stories
Which I already know.

Then serv'ral miles to church we drive
All in our Sunday things-
Across the graves and out to sea
The cheerful church-bell rings.
We sit so far toward the front
We never dare be late-
I love to hear my Grandpa sing
And see him pass the plate.

And when it comes to sermon-time
Which I can't understand,
I watch the window where the Christ
Looks down, with lifted hand;
I look across the shining bay
All crinkled with the breeze,
And up into the still, blue sky,
And flowering locust trees.

And after we have gone back home
And dinner all is done,
Then I would like to go and play
And have a little fun,
But Grandma says "No games to-day!"-
Then Katie comes, and we
Go out for hours among the woods
To see what we can see.

And sometimes it is windflowers,
And sometimes bloodroot white,
And sometimes it is arbutus
Half hidden out of sight.

And sometimes it is puddingstones
And sometimes velvet moss-
But always we are happy there
And never come back cross.

Then, after tea we read awhile,
And when I've gone to bed-
When I am safely tucked away
And all my prayers are said,
Katie upstairs, and Grandpa down,
They both begin to sing,
And as I drift away to sleep
I hear their voices ring-

"From Greenland's Icy Mountains",
"Nearer, My God, to Thee,"
"The Church's One Foundation,"
"Jesus Loves Even Me"-
And that's the very last I hear.
And this is why I say
I like my Sundays different
From any other day!

"SUNDAY" by Mary Fanny Youngs from When We Were Little, published by The Mad Printers of Mattituck under the auspices of the Oyster Bay Historical Society.
Reprinted after 1985 edition, with publisher's permission.

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Previous Long Island Poem for Sunday - All the Swans, Long Island Poem for Sunday

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Photographer Joan Imhof of Bayville passed away

Long Island Sound
Photo by Joan Imhof

We are sorry to inform you that Joan Imhof, Bayville photographer and volunteer, passed away this week.

Her warmth, dedication to public service, and her volunteering activities touched many.

Our store carries Joan's note cards with beautiful photos of Oyster Bay, Bayville, Centre Island, and Long Island Sound.

Centre Island
Photo by Joan Imhof

Deep sympathy to the Family.

Thank you, Jewelers!

Big thank you to Long Island jewelers who joined us today at the Jewelry Extravaganza and also to all guests at the event.

It was gratifying to see the breadth of jewelry styles combined with so many different approaches to jewelry display. The variety was just wonderful, so much creativity under one roof!

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Jewelry Extravaganza at Think Long Island First

Jewelry Extravaganza
Saturday, December 3rd
12 pm - 3 pm

A great chance not only to admire work of the very accomplished local jewelers but also to meet them in person. It's always interesting to learn about the creative process and technique chosen for a piece.

The jewelry represents many different styles, from sterling silver chain mail and vintage to fused glass and lampwork, with various esthetic approaches from the very classic to modern if not cheeky.

What is there not to like about jewelry? Particularly if it is both beautifully designed and executed with skill and care.





Please join us at Think Long Island First at 36 Audrey Avenue, Oyster Bay, NY, on December 3rd, 12 pm - 3 pm. It's a free event, open to public.

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