Soul Mountain Retreat # 7

Marilyn invited Ching-In and me to accompany her to the Governor's Awards for Culture and Tourism. She was going to introduce William Meredith, a wonderful poet and winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. So we all took a field trip into New Haven and attended a lush reception at Branford College, then the Awards Ceremony at the Schubert Theater across the street. Sadly, Meredith had just been rushed to the hospital with congestive heart failure, but at the ceremony his partner read several of his poems. It was so moving--Richard could barely make it through. Clearly he loves Meredith, around whom his life centers. Vincent Scully introduced Robert Stern, both legends of architecture. My favorite was Dr. Robert Ballard, who is an oceanographer with a lab at the Mystic Aquarium. His specialty is underwater archaeology, and he estimates that 50% of America is actually under water. He's the one who found the Titanic and discovered hydrothermal vents. And he's from Kansas (once an ocean bottom, I've been told). All three of us poets thought his profession was amazing. But then again, we realized, we do underwater excavation all the time in the metaphorical realm.