‘CONRAD’S CORNER’ HOST REMEMBERED

A leading light in the greater Dayton poetry community, Conrad Balliet, passed away on Saturday, Aug. 18.

Balliet, who was 91, was the host of “Conrad’s Corner” on the NPR station, WYSO (91.3) for 25 years. “Conrad’s Corner” has become a beloved staple for poets and poetry lovers alike; he read a poem Monday through Friday at 7:59 p.m. and another on Saturday at 2:20 p.m. He retired from curating the program earlier this year — it is now curated by area poets — but he still participated in the program from time to time.

Balliet retired from Wittenberg University after 30 years, in 1991, as a professor of English. He was a scholar of William Butler Yeats’ life and poetry.

I was delighted to interview him for this column a few years ago.

Here is the opening to that column: “‘Poems,’ says Conrad Balliet, ‘are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. They come from an overflow of powerful feelings. The essence of poetry is emotion, and if one has deep feelings, one can discover deep feelings of others in poetry. But poetry is also about patterns; in poetry and music, patterns put form on the chaos of existence and experience.’”

I’m on the email list for “Conrad’s Corner,” by virtue of this column. (I am a fan of poetry and try to read a bit each day, but am not, myself, a poet.) After the news of Balliet’s passing went out on the list, it was touching to read the comments of so many area poets who were encouraged and inspired by him as a mentor and lover of poetry.

In fact, two years ago, area poets created a collection in his honor, “From the Tower,” which was published by Main Street Rag Press.

Inspiration may just be the key word for Balliet: The title “From the Tower” was inspired by a group he hosted at his home — a gathering of readers and writers — called “The Tower;” the group’s name was inspired by a literal tower that Balliet added to his home; the tower was inspired by Conrad’s love of Yeats; and Yeats was inspired by and often wrote in a tower in Ballylee, Ireland.

WYSO has been celebrating Balliet’s life online and on air. Visit www.wyso.org/ post/remembering-conradballiet-host-conrads-corner to learn more about him. Tune in to WYSO Weekend on Sunday, Aug. 26, at 10 a.m. for a remembrance. The program also will be available on line at a later date. A member of The Tower poets, Sharon Luster, shared the following poem, one of Balliet’s favorites:

High Flight

(by John Gillespie Magee Jr.)

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of — Wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air …

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue

I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace

Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —

And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Dayton Literary Peace Prize 2018 Finalists

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize (www.daytonliterarypeaceprize.org) has announced its 2018 finalists. In fiction:

“Exit West,” by Mohsin Hamid

“Go, Went, Gone,” by Jenny Erpenbeck

“Pachinko,” by Min Jin Lee

“Salt Houses,” by Hala Alyan

“Sing, Unburied, Sing,” by Jesmyn Ward

“Spaceman of Bohemia,” by Jaroslav Kalfar In nonfiction:

“Enduring Vietnam,” by James Wright

“Ghost of the Innocent Man,” by Benjamin Rachlin

“Lolas’ House,” by M. Erdina Galang

“Reading with Patrick,” by Michelle Kuo

“The Newcomers,” by Helen Thorpe

“We Were Eight Years in Power,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Learn more about these titles and their authors, as well as events for this year’s Dayton Literary Peace Prize, at the organization’s website.

Sharon Short (www. sharonshort.com) is a novelist and director of the Antioch Writers' Workshop. Contact Sharon with news about your book club or organization. Email: sharonshort@ sharonshort.com. Twitter: @SharonGShort