Crow in March
Heard a crow this morning!
what a great sound
when winter is still
thick and cold and white
upon the ground.
Iva Everesta Reed
I did a search and found her obituary. What a life she led!
Iva Reed
Iva Everesta Reed
Passed away in San Francisco on October 15, 2014.
Iva Everesta Reed was born December 25, 1924, one of eight children, to Adelaide Kaziah Woods and Dwight Reed, in the tiny town of Landaff, New Hampshire, in the foothills of the White Mountains. She graduated valedictorian of her high school class in Lisbon, N.H., and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa with a BA in Sociology in 1948. She studied for a Master's Degree in Sociology at the University of New Hampshire.
As a young woman living in Boston, she acted in soap operas on the ABC and NBC TV networks while supporting herself as a waitress, hat checker, and part-time office worker in order to pursue her love of theatre. She played the lead in a live production of Joan of Arc in Summer Stock, Westborough, MA. In later years, she lived and worked in New York, where she became a member of the Communist Party and worked for political causes with Black activists in Harlem. She also lived for a time in Columbia, Missouri.
In 1958, she moved to San Francisco, where, in 1979, she published a book of poetry, Time Before Winter. Many of the poems in the volume express through a child's eyes Iva's love of the natural world in the White Mountains where she grew up. Many are whimsical stories about the wild animals she saw in the woods and fields she played in as a child, others a poignant search for meaning in a world of loss.
Iva is survived by her niece, Sue Malone, of Jacksonville, Florida, and by myriad other nieces and nephews scattered across the country. She will rest in peace with her parents at the Landaff Center Hill Cemetery in New Hampshire.
Iva Everesta Reed was born December 25, 1924, one of eight children, to Adelaide Kaziah Woods and Dwight Reed, in the tiny town of Landaff, New Hampshire, in the foothills of the White Mountains. She graduated valedictorian of her high school class in Lisbon, N.H., and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa with a BA in Sociology in 1948. She studied for a Master's Degree in Sociology at the University of New Hampshire.
As a young woman living in Boston, she acted in soap operas on the ABC and NBC TV networks while supporting herself as a waitress, hat checker, and part-time office worker in order to pursue her love of theatre. She played the lead in a live production of Joan of Arc in Summer Stock, Westborough, MA. In later years, she lived and worked in New York, where she became a member of the Communist Party and worked for political causes with Black activists in Harlem. She also lived for a time in Columbia, Missouri.
In 1958, she moved to San Francisco, where, in 1979, she published a book of poetry, Time Before Winter. Many of the poems in the volume express through a child's eyes Iva's love of the natural world in the White Mountains where she grew up. Many are whimsical stories about the wild animals she saw in the woods and fields she played in as a child, others a poignant search for meaning in a world of loss.
Iva is survived by her niece, Sue Malone, of Jacksonville, Florida, and by myriad other nieces and nephews scattered across the country. She will rest in peace with her parents at the Landaff Center Hill Cemetery in New Hampshire.
Thanks so much for the lovely pic of your animals. Made me smile..... a lot!
ReplyDeleteThey make me smile, too!
DeleteLove this poem. The crows around here are busy setting up nesting territories and doing their business. I have seen two different crows carrying nesting material. An exciting time of year.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love your header picture. Such good friends snuggled up together in the chair.
I don't think ours are nesting yet. We are still in winter even though we've lost a lot of snow, and the temps are milder. It is an exciting time of year! Heard a nuthatch the other day. Coyotes are noisy and a bit too close to our houses! I didn't hear them inside but I saw Nebby the donkey surrounded by the sheep just staring. I went outside and they were in a clearing in the woods. I rushed out to get all the animals in! And yes, they are good friends. We couldn't be happier with how they get along.
DeleteWhat a hopeful image from such a short poem! The poet certainly lived an interesting life, didn't she, and she managed to leave her mark upon the world in many ways. Certainly a life well-lived.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo of your dog and cat. They seem to have a great relationship.
Such a full-of-thought comment. Thank you.
DeleteAnd there are actually two cats! Lucy the dog's leg is on top of the one on far left.
I love the dog and cat curled up together on the cozy chair! And the poem is lovely, full of winter silence. (But I am looking for Spring!)
ReplyDelete2 cats! Those crows on our lawn say spring to me!
DeleteLovely poem. Reminds me of 'The Thaw' by Edward Thomas, which I thought you'd like:
ReplyDeleteOver the land freckled with snow half thawed
The speculating rooks at their nest cawed
And saw from elm-tops, delicate as flower of grass,
What we below could not see, Winter pass.
That is really lovely! Thank you!
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