Sherry Chandler » The Gavel
The Gavel
Good morning, my lovelies.
I am home from the KSPS meeting, still slightly hung over (from the heady company of poets, you must understand, and not from the fruit of the vine), and with my sleep patterns all messed up. And in possession of the KSPS gavel.
An odd-looking thing, this gavel, more like a hatchet than a hammer. And it is, in fact, never used to hammer meetings to order. A bit too fragile for that. If I get my act together later, I’ll scan in a graphic, so you can see for yourselves (though you could also join KSPS and see the real thing).
New members always remark upon its strange appearance and as far as I know, nobody ever bothers to explain. Certainly nobody told me until I was entrusted with the thing itself and read the copy on the box. Here it is (slightly edited for punctuation and spelling — poets are not grammarians):
Madison Cawein was a well-known Kentucky poet of the last generation. In 1953, a gavel made from Cawein’s old Dutch clock was presented by his son to the Louisville Poetry Society, no longer in existence. James W. Proctor was president of this club for some years and, as such, inherited the gavel. James Proctor was also one of the presidents of The Kentucky State Poetry Society. In 1989, he presented this historical Kentucky artifact to The Kentucky State Poetry Society with the stipulation that it be passed along in perpetuity to incoming presidents to be used by them during their terms of office.
Traditionally this gavel has been turned over to the President-Elect at the end of the Annual Awards Banquet.
I have written about Madison Cawein (1865-1914) on this blog before as a possible source for “The Wasteland.” I posted a brief bio here and his poem “Wasteland” here.
Perhaps, given his history, it is appropriate that this gavel be such an elfin-looking thing. I am honored and a bit bemused to have possession of this artifact.
[Addendum: By the way, the 2006 meeting will mark KSPS's 40th anniversary — thanks to Miram Woolfolk for making us all aware of that — and we hope to have some commemorative events. Anyone who has any knowledge about our founding members or anecdotes from meetings past, please get in touch with me.]
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