By Doug Holder

Recently, at the Wilderness House Literary Retreat in Littleton, local poet, writer, journalist and educator Bob Clawson talked with a group of literature lovers about his friendship with the acclaimed Pulitzer-Prize winning poet Anne Sexton. Clawson showered his audience with his fascinating anecdotes and experiences with Sexton, who wrote “To Bedlam and Part Way Back,” among other critically acclaimed poetry collections.

Clawson said that he was teaching English at Weston High School in 1963. He had students read the works of contemporary poets to stoke the interest of his young charges. While reading Sexton’s poem “Menstruation at 40” in the faculty room, the gym teacher asked Clawson if he was a fan of Sexton. When he answered in the affirmative, the teacher said he was a friend of the poet and he would introduce him to her.

Sexton lived in Weston and eventually invited Clawson for a visit. Clawson said Sexton was not what he expected for a lady poet of the time. She certainly was not dowdy and was adorned in a shocking pink dress. Eventually, Sexton read at Weston High School and was a great hit. They needed a large auditorium to handle the crowd the second time around.

Clawson was reluctant to talk of Sexton’s mental illness that eventually led to her suicide.
“She wasn’t really diagnosed,” he said. “She told me she heard voices. Her husband, a wool merchant, was said to have beaten her, which couldn’t help matters.”

According to Clawson, Sexton would sometimes call him around midnight and want him come to her house stating, “I’m desperate.”

For such an accomplished poet, it is surprising that she never finished college. Clawson said she eloped during junior college and never went back. She was self-educated and widely read. Clawson said he was always under the impression he was speaking with a highly intelligent and knowledgeable person.

Sexton had eclectic tastes, and could not be placed in one particular school of poetry. She respected Allen Ginsberg and was not a snob about who she admired. Later, Clawson, Sexton and a couple of musicians put together a chamber rock group known as Anne Sexton and her Kind to put Sexton’s poems to music. Her poems were adapted to the demands of musical composition. Sexton read while the musicians complimented her with accomplished guitar and bass accompaniment.

The group had many gigs from the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln to venues throughout the country. Sexton found the concerts extremely draining, and could only do a limited amount. But from the musical tapes that Clawson brought in, it was evident that she was an accomplished performer with a beautiful and haunting voice, not to mention breathtaking poetry.

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Ibbetson Street Press is pleased to announce the 2nd annual Ibbetson Street Poetry Award Contest. The winner of the contest must be a Massachusetts resident, will receive a $100 cash award, a framed certificate, publication in the literary journal Ibbetson Street and will be featured in "The Lyrical Somerville," The Somerville  News weekly poetry column.

To enter send, three to five poems, any genre or length, to :Doug Holder at 25 School St., Somerville, Mass. 02143.

Entry fee is $10. Cash or check only. Make payable to Ibbetson Street Press or Doug Holder. The deadline is Sept. 15. The contest will be judged by Richard Wilhelm, Somerville poet and writer. The winner will be announced at the The Somerville News Writers Festival, ( Nov. 11) and will receive his or her award. A runner up will be announced as well.