Appearing on Friday February 25 at 7:15 PM at the Big Blue Marble bookstore, will be poet Glenn McLaughlin, presented by Poetry Aloud and Alive and the Mad Poets.
Host of the Pottstown poetry program, “Otherwise – Poetry at Churchill’s”, Glenn McLaughlin came to poetry with a background in chemistry.
Glenn pursued a career in the plastics industry which he attributes to early exposure to the film “The Graduate” at an impressionable age. Â Though he spent decades in plastic, Glenn himself is one hundred percent natural, as is his poetry (although some of it merits laminating).
He has also been involved in the operation and building of stores where Slurpee machines were a dominant feature.  He found collaboration with Slurpee machines quite unfulfilling.  Much more gratifying has been Glenn’s experience in teaching (although dealing with students can be much more like dealing with  Slurpee machines than a non-teacher might guess).  Despite all the turmoil a teacher finds in that no-man’s land between students and administrators,  there are moments that can make the struggle worthwhile, moments when, as the title of a book of Glenn’s poetry proclaims, “SOMETHING CATCHES.”  Glenn had one of these exquisite moments when he was substituting for a music teacher and one of the students told him, “I remember you.  I had you in Honors Chemistry last year.  I remember you because you made the lesson really interesting, I got it and that was the only day in that class all year that I didn’t feel stupid.”  You won’t get that from any Slurpee machine.
As Glenn’s teaching makes chemistry comprehensible to adolescents, his poetry makes life more comprehensible for us all. Â Glenn makes poetry that is more entertaining and accessible than chemistry, though he is not afraid to mix the two, sometimes with explosive results.
Glenn’s poetry, rich with images and allusions, has appeared in local and regional journals and some online ezines. Â His second collection of poems, “FORMS OF LECTIO”, was a finalist in the 2009 Eric Hoffer competition for best independently published literature. Â His essay collection titled “OOPS” and recent poems and essays in “THE LAND I AM GIVEN” have been acclaimed for their subtlety, power, and truth.
Glenn McLaughlin has presented his poetry at the Philadelphia Library and in various venues across the mid-Atlantic area. Â Please come help us welcome him to Mt. Airy and the Big Blue Marble book store.
The featured reading will be followed by the open-reading-in-the-round hosted by Mike Cohen. Â All are invited to read a few minutes’ worth of their own poetry (or someone else’s) or just to listen and enjoy.