Today\u2019s post is in memory of Judith Walsh, a longstanding member of the Christchurch poetry community who recently passed away.<\/p>\n
Judith and I were both members of the \u201cFriday Group\u201d (also known as the \u201cBoiler Room\u201d) poetry group in the early to mid \u201900s. She was also an active member of the Airing Cupboard Women\u2019s Poetry Group and the Small White Teapot Haiku group, convening both at different times. Judith also served on the Canterbury Poets\u2019 Collective (CPC) committee for a number of years.<\/p>\n
In other words, Judith’s life in poetry was also one of stalwart volunteer service, without which many such groups would not continue to function. I believe her contribution to the Christchurch poetry community to be considerable \u2013 and also relatively unsung, since Judith was not a person who sought the limelight.<\/p>\n
As well as many years of service to the community, Judith was always welcoming and supportive of other poets and new voices \u2013 of whom I was one when I first started attending the CPC events and exploring poetry with the Airing Cupboard and Small White Teapot poets. I was always remember, and be grateful for, that early welcome, encouragement, and support.<\/p>\n
Again in the early to mid \u201900s, I used to interview local poets for a show called Women on Air, on local station Plains FM. I interviewed Judith in 2009 and she gave permission for me to feature this poem (untitled), which I’m refeaturing again today, in her memory.<\/p>\n
My mother<\/span> No-one ever questioned<\/span> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 rock<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 trunk<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 branches . . .<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a9 Judith Walsh, 1940 – 2023<\/span> Haere ra, Judith. Thank you for the poetry and your friendship. Rest in peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today\u2019s post is in memory of Judith Walsh, a longstanding member of the Christchurch poetry community who recently passed away. Judith and I were both members of the \u201cFriday Group\u201d (also known as the \u201cBoiler Room\u201d) poetry group in the early to mid \u201900s. She was also an active member of the Airing Cupboard Women\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,14,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-friends","category-other-writers","category-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41268"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41273,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41268\/revisions\/41273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nslim in tweed skirt<\/span>
\ncinnamon twinset<\/span>
\nand a string of amber beads<\/span>
\nleans against a low brown wall.<\/span>
\nNo matter that the photo is in sepia,<\/span>
\nI remember<\/span>
\necru gloves, beige blouses<\/span>
\nmushroom cardigans, taupe suits.<\/span>
\nSometimes she favoured<\/span>
\nbutterscotch, camel or russet,<\/span>
\nand always a pair of khaki cords<\/span>
\njust for the farm.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nif the colour suited\u2014<\/span>
\nmaybe she saw the framework<\/span><\/p>\n
\nReproduced here with prior permission.<\/em><\/p>\n