Homage to Jay Meek--part 4 of 4
The final installment of the notes from the 2015 AWP memorial panel honoring the late poet, novelist, teacher and editor, Jay Meek. The panel included brief talks by Jay's daughter, the poet, musician and scholar Anna Meek, Thom Tammaro, Jane Varley, myself and Yahya Frederickson, with a special contribution by Jay's wife, the poet and scholar Martha Meek. This segment represents my own speaking notes from that day. Hello. I'm William Stobb. I was a student of Jay’s at the University of North Dakota, and Jay meant a lot to me as a teacher and friend. I’m really pleased that everyone’s speaking a bit about the diversity of Jay’s work, and about the pleasure of corresponding with Jay, and about his presence, his temperament, his discerning and compassionate teaching. I’m going to speak exclusively about poems from Jay’s 1989 book Stations. Though I value other works of Jay’s, Stations has been a nearly constant presence in my life for the last 25 years. It...