Howard Carman
Howard Carman’s journey started in the scientific world and migrated to poetry after retirement.
He was a research and development chemist for more than three decades at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Eastman Chemical Company. On a retreat, he wrote a poem and later became serious about poetry after retirement.
“I absolutely did not have an interest in poetry when younger or when working. I was a swellheaded scientist and disdained literature, especially poetry, during my educational and career years. That changed during a spirituality retreat at the Northumbria Community, a small monastic community in Northeast England, in 2011, when I wrote the first poem I ever kept. On that day, we were challenged to walk the grounds around the ‘Mother House’ of the community in the morning, then do some kind of artistic interpretation in the afternoon of how we experienced God during the morning. I wrote a poem. Over the next few years, I would occasionally write poems inspired by particular situations — mostly spiritual. In 2017, I self-published a coffee table book of spiritual poems, mostly rhymed and metered, titled ‘But Now I See: Rhymes and Reflections,’” he says.
When he retired, he joined the Poetry Society of Tennessee and Lost State Writers Guild and began learning more about poetry and exploring avenues for learning and writing.
He writes in different forms, mostly free verse but also various traditional forms (sonnet, rubaiyat, haiku, haibun, shape poems, etc.) His favorite form of poetry is ekphrastic poetry - written in response to another work of art, (e.g. painting, sculpture, photograph). He published a book of ekphrastic poetry, “Dragons and Chiggers.” It combines his poetry with his father’s watercolor paintings.
He is inspired by life experiences, good and bad; he strives to capture them in just a few words in a way that is relatable to others and triggers emotions about their own life experiences. He is involved with several writer/poet groups. He has served on the Board of Directors of Poetry Society of Tennessee since 2019. He also participated in the Lost State Writers Guild; the Poetry Workshop at The Philosopher’s House in Johnson City, Tennessee; Tennessee Mountain Writers, Inc., and Johnson City Poets Collective. For the past three years, he has worked closely with William Garrett Wright, founder of Blue Leaf Writing & Editing, as a developmental editor to improve and expand his poetry.
His poetry fulfills a need for him during retirement.
“As I get older (I am now 67), and the world changes in ways that seem different but also familiar in many ways, capturing some of my own experiences and thoughts with poetry fulfills a desire to share with others that we are all in this world together, and we need to keep trying to learn, to grow, and to love —everything and everyone. For me, it helps to reflect on life — the ups, downs, good, bad — and helps me focus on things that really matter most to me. And capture them in a way that others might relate to. And hopefully help me — and them — find peace and comfort in troubling times.
“I do not have a very disciplined or set routine for writing. I am an Enneagram Type 7 and mildly bipolar. I am easily distracted, scatterbrained and have a hard time focusing for long periods of time. I try to spend at least an hour every morning reading poetry by different authors and working on prompts from my developmental editor (Will Wright) and other workshops, etc. When the muse visits, I will often spend several hours writing and/or revising. When she doesn’t, I will try to jot down thoughts and ideas as they come, then wait for her to return to try and put them together into a poem.
“The largest obstacles have been my own hesitation and self-doubt and my difficulty focusing and maintaining discipline in my writing. My experience has been that the poetry/writing community is warm, welcoming, huge, diverse, challenging and always willing to help newcomers find their voice and their place. Each time a poem is accepted for publication or wins a contest, I gain confidence that maybe I really am becoming a poet,” he says.
His 80th poem is being published this month. He has placed in and won many poetry contests sponsored by the Poetry Society of Tennessee and the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. Visit www.howardcarman.com to learn more about Carman or to purchase his books.
HOPE
after Janisse Ray
Last night in the forest
pine boughs chopped moonbeams
into musical measures
sung by a whippoorwill choir.
I nestled onto moss
beneath a quilt of summer air,
embroidered with stars.
I was not alone
in my bed. Past rolled over
into a dimming horizon.
Present shuttered its eyes
to conjure a dream.
Future whispered only,
I’ll see you in the morning.
(previously published in “Dragons and Chiggers”)
Reprinted with permission
