The communities of Highland and Milford are known for the breadth and depth of artistic venues and activities within their areas. From the Huron Valley Council for the Arts in Highland, to the Village Fine Arts Association and the Suzanne Haskew Art Center in Milford,to excellent theatre, music, and musical theatre provided by Milford and Lakeland High schools, and area middle schools, and a vibrant roster of community theatre, to many dance studios, and even writing contests sponsored by Milford’s own River’s Edge Brewery, and open mic poetry reading along Main Street in Milford at The Proving Grounds Coffee and Ice Cream, to name just a few, the arts are thriving in the Huron Valley.

One local artist, Rick Morris recently turned his energies to writing poetry, and his efforts have been rewarded with both critical and popular recognition.

The critical acclaim came on March 30 of this year, as the Village Fine Arts Association hosted their 27th annual Poetry Art Night (PAN) to a packed house at the Suzanne Haskew Arts Center (the SHAC) on South Main Street in Milford. More than sixty stunning works of visual arts in various mediums , each with a companion poem displayed alongside, graced the display walls of the “SHAC”. For his entry titled “Tracks in the Snow” which accompanied the beautiful pleine air painting of the same name by noted Huron Valley artist Paul Tibedeau. poetry judge Joy Gaines-Friedler awarded the 2nd Place Village Fine Arts Association Poetry Award to Mr. Morris. In her comments on the work by Morris, judge Gaines-Friedler noted “Language, beautifully simple language, drives this poem…If the speaker is transformed, so too is the reader. It is an act of intimacy.”

The popular approval for the works of poetry by Rick Morris has been ongoing and may be illustrated by his latest title : The Falling Man. Rick posted the work to the website listenviewreview.com on May 10 and to Facebook at LVR.com in a poster form on the same day. The poster has been gaining numerous shares on social media, and views of The Falling Man on listenviewreview.com lead all other posts for the current quarter. In addition to this, the positive comments on The Falling Man, as well as Rick’s other works, continue to come in, a fact which the writer says provides him with encouragement to create and share more works. “I appreciate my audience, and I am always encouraged to find that someone has engaged with and received a benefit from my work. Reading poetry requires an intellectual effort; even though a poem may have a very emotional appeal, just like a song, but without the added attraction of engaging the senses with music and providing another layer of entertainment with the words, the poet, besides utilizing their own talent, must rely on the commitment and ability of the reader to stay with them.”

Morris attributes a universal experience expressed in The Falling Man as a contributing factor in the poems wide appeal. “My poetry writing often starts with a personal experience, but where I believe it gains value to the reader is that I go from merely personal to universal. Each one of us is The Falling Man; we have all experienced failure, and perhaps even worse, the sense that we always fail; yet we do not give up, we do not surrender. Knocked down, beaten, bloodied, we stumble forward, we press on. I believe that is what so many people find appealing in The Falling Man: they recognize themselves, and even though it is painful, they see their own strength and the beauty of the human character as it endures through suffering.”

The current output of poetry started for Morris in October 2018, when The Proving Grounds Coffee and Ice Cream shop in downtown Milford started hosting the “Poetry Pour Over” open mic night on alternate Fridays. Rick attended the first Pour Over, and has been a regular ever since. “The Poetry Pour Over is a great venue for poets and story-tellers to share their works in front of an audience, in an intimate setting along our beautiful Main Street. I am grateful to be a part of this ongoing event, and want to acknowledge Proving Grounds owners Jodie and James Courtney for hosting the Poetry Pour Overs, and poet Isabella Mansfield for approaching Jodie and James with the idea of doing an open mic poetry event here in Milford. I encourage anyone who has a fondness for poetry, or who would like to share their own works, to join us at Proving Ground Coffee and Ice Cream on Main Street.”

You can learn more about Rick’s works at www.listenviewreview.com, and on Facebook at LVR.com. E-mail your questions about Poetry Pour Over, or writing in general to rick@listenviewreview.com,