ADDRESS: 2601 Chestnut Ave, Glenview, IL 60026
EMAIL: contact@chestnutsquare.info
TEXT or CALL US TODAY! (847) 998-1118
ADDRESS: 2601 Chestnut Ave, Glenview, IL 60026
EMAIL: contact@chestnutsquare.info
PICTURED ABOVE. Top left and right: Bill L. and Vicki B. display some of their recent poems. Bottom: The Chestnut Square Poetry Club meets in our conference room.
Anyone can be a poet, says Chestnut Square resident Bill L. And he should know—he spent his career as a fundraiser for various nonprofits but in his free time wrote poetry and more than 30 plays that were produced in the theater. On top of that, he volunteered for years at local prisons teaching poetry classes to inmates.
Bill is the enthusiastic leader of our community’s Poetry Club—a group that he founded a few years ago which is now a regular event in Chestnut Square's monthly program calendar. “Open to everyone, it’s a welcoming environment where we read the works of famous authors, and then we each share a recent poem that we’ve written ourselves,” Bill explains. “The discussions are always invigorating.”
Residents are encouraged to focus their compositions on any topic they’d like, and if someone happens to be stuck, Bill offers encouragement and the following sage advice. “Poetry is about making sense of the world around us,” he says. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing about love, grief, nature, the mystery of existence, or any other topic. The key is to let yourself relax, ignore your self-doubts, and I promise the words will find you.”
Inspiration for a poem can come from many places, Bill says. The important thing is to keep an open mind. “Our discussions allow people to uncover new ideas without even realizing it at first,” he continues. “When we read and analyze the works of others, it lights a spark and gives us a new perception of the world.”
Vicki B., a regular attendee of the Poetry Club, loves the gatherings. “One day, we might spend half an hour analyzing the various meanings behind one line within a poem, and each person brings a fresh perspective. The magic of poetry is that it can be direct and ambiguous all at the same time, as long as there is an underlying truth.”
If you’re struggling with writer’s block, Bill recommends focusing on an emotional memory. “Close your eyes and think back to a time when you experienced a profound emotion—good or bad—and write down as many details from that memory as possible. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. Eventually, you’ll find the starting point of a poem staring right back at you.”
To learn more about Chestnut Square's holistic approach to senior well-being, please call
(847) 998-1118
or visit www.chestnutsquare.info
ADDRESS: 2601 Chestnut Ave, Glenview, IL 60026 | PHONE: 847 998 1118 | EMAIL: contact@chestnutsquare.info