Poet shares power of words in workshop, reading

She’s also the founding director of Revisionary Arts, a Phoenix-based nonprofit that facilitates therapeutic poetry workshops in both clinical and nonclinical settings, and she’s the full-time caregiver to her 23-year-old nonverbal autistic son.

Harnessing the power of the word, she has made a life’s mission of using poetry to give power to others and to speak for those who can’t speak for themselves. At the heart of her work is the communication of care.

Dombrowski shares her power with the community on Thursday, July 21. Through the free poetry-based workshop “Poetry as Self-Care” to be held at the Corinth Public Library from 4 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. She will lead exercises in reading, discussion, and even composition of poetry, aimed at processing the struggles and celebrating the joys of caring for those with (dis)abilities – with an emphasis on Autism.

Later that evening at 7 p.m., Rosemarie’s poetry will be the feature of a dinner/reading at Pizza Grocery in Corinth. The event (sponsored by Pizza Grocery, Doc’s Doggie Daycare and Boarding, and the Tishomingo Arts Council) will serve as a fundraiser for the efforts of both Reconnect 4 Autism and the Crossroads Poetry Project. A $10 admission to this event will cover both dinner and the reading, and guests are invited to pay upon entry. Items by local artists will also be available to be bid upon in a silent auction.

Dombrowski, who first gained familiarity with northeast Mississippi through her participation in TAC’s National Poetry Month Smartphone Recital Series, has developed a love for the area and is excited to connect the strong community of medical poetry that she’s had a large hand in establishing with our area:

“I think the language of poetry (and art) transcends so many of the things that separate us, including geography. I’d also argue that caring/loving someone with autism transcends all of those boundaries as well, so I’m very much looking forward to building a bridge between our communities. I think that’s what art and love do best – they build beautiful, healthy communities,” she said.

For Dombrowski, there’s also an element of therapy exchange. A huge fan of bluegrass, she is eager to find the time to appreciate the therapeutic power of Pickin’ on the Square inside her busy Thursday schedule. She explains that in times of high stress, “... your best course of action is going to be to put me in a rocking chair and play the banjo …. My son loves banjo music so that’s gotta be part of it.”

For Brad Essary, founder and CEO of Reconnect 4 Autism, the events will highlight an often neglected aspect of caring for others.

“It is exciting for us to be a part of offering a self-care workshop to the community. We believe poetry and the arts in general are very therapeutic and that self-care is definitely something that gets overlooked. Special needs caregivers get so focused on taking care of others that they can neglect themselves. Here is a great opportunity to learn a new way to look at the topic of self-care in this workshop. Then the evening event is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to relax and enjoy a peaceful time listening to the poetry reading,” said Essary.

For President of Crossroads Poetry Project Tim Inman, Thursday’s events stand to emphasize the simple power of practice.

“Poetry involves writing, reciting, reading and listening. In either case, it is fundamentally a practice, and any practice – prayer, meditation, riding a bike – has the capacity to be therapeutic,” noted Inman.

TAC Chair Brent Bonds added, “Through the open and caring atmosphere of both events, I think newcomers to poetry will see poetry demystified – some people think of poetry as this stuffy academic thing, but at its heart, it’s just a simple way to work through what feels like separation and, through sharing, realize we’re a lot more together than we thought.”

Between the 4 p.m. workshop and the 7 p.m. reading, those interested in discovering the simple togetherness afforded by poetry are welcomed to attend the regular monthly gathering of the Crossroads Poetry Project at 6 p.m. at Pizza Grocery.