Shawnee poet Jim Spurr to read at Norman Depot Sunday

January 09, 2009 01:57 am

— special to pop

Jim Spurr will be the featured poet at the Performing Arts Studio's Second Sunday Poetry reading 2 p.m. Sunday. This is the Shawnee poet's second appearance in the PAS poetry series. Light refreshments will be served. There is no admission charge.
A nationally published poet, Spurr has done many public readings in Oklahoma. His book "Open Mike/ Thursday Night" was a finalist in the poetry division of Oklahoma Book Awards, 2008.
"Writing poetry is for me, like it is for so many other poets, something I do out of a need to try to say something and hope that somewhere some of it will have some meaning," Spurr says.
Spurr has spent most of his life in Shawnee, graduating from Oklahoma Baptist University and meeting his wife there. He became an insurance adjuster in the '60s and owned and operated his own business. He is now retired, "operating at a much slower pace" he says, "allowing more time for writing poetry."
"Jim has a good sense of humor and a great reading style," says series host Carl Sennhenn.
"His readings are always big audience pleasers." Everyone is invited to attend.
The following poem was first published in California by Poetry Depth Quarterly.

On Being Prey
When the fish gets caught
he fights hard knowing he's done
if the hook is set firm.
But sometimes, like a determined
but undersized fullback,
he breaks through the line
and escapes. A fighter.
If the fisherman falls and drowns
in front of the fish
then the fish has to watch
helpless while the man
flails with one hand
and clings to his rod and reel
with the other.
Both want to live.
One has to fight.
The other has only to let go.

-- Jim Spurr
For further information call the Performing Arts Studio at 307-9320 or visit www.thepas.org.