by daithÃÂ Â
Those of us at the Jaquith Public Library on June 21st were treated to a rich medley of poetic forms and topics shared by D. Avery and Cindy Ellen Hill. We were also given insight by two different poets as to what moved them to write poems.
D. Avery offered her wide samples when she read. Robert Service had been a strong influence in her growth as a poet. So much so that she began her reading by sharing a poem by Service, entitled “Amateur Poet.” What interested me was the variety and ways in which her craft as a poet developed. “When I first began, I thought rhyme was necessary.” It was obvious by her selection of works that she had learned when to employ rhymes, sometimes generously, sometimes sparingly. We heard the differences when she branched out into tanka and haibun forms.
Cindy Ellen Hill offered poems yet to be published. “Some of my favorites,” she said. Sonnet was the predominant form, with a few other surprises along the way. Hill’s themes ranged from the ever almost-theological question: does the catamount still roam the Green Mountains? to sonnets written in & read by the poet in Italian. At the very end of her reading, she asked Buffy Aakaash to be part of a collaborative poem. Hearing two different voices simultaneously was an unexpected surprise.
During the Q&A period, both D. Avery and Cindy Ellen Hill were asked what influenced her to write poetry. Beyond Robert Service, two other important supporters were in the room: her mother and her high school teacher. What a testimony for that to happen. Hill spoke about her parents, who were not readers of poems and had few poetry books in the house. Her father, an aerospace engineer, would send love poems to her mother; and she, to him. Over time and reflection, Cindy Ellen realized the value of such messages and what passion and power poetry could hold.
Buffy Aakaash and Cindy Ellen Hill reading together at the Jaquith – Sunday Afternoon Poetry June 21, 2026