After a morning field trip to Carol Long Pottery Gallery in St. John, participants and passersby began filtering into the Barton County Arts Council Gallery Saturday afternoon for live poetry readings by local and imported poets.  Soon, every seat in the performance space was filled, and it was standing room only for the 25th anniversary of the Poets Rendezvous, organized in part by Michael Hathaway of St. John.  The gatherings started in August 1988 at the Great Bend Public Library, and later evolved into a writers group, ending up as an organic event with a life of its own, he said.
Most who attend are poets, but many are also simply curious about poetry.  
“Its a lot different when you hear poetry read out loud,” Hathaway said.  “It’s easier to comprehend that way.”
The event featured readings from local poets George Martin and Robert Joy, both of Ellinwood, as well as the following:  Ruth Moon Kempher, St. Augustine, Fla.; Ellaraine Lockie, Sunnyvale, Calif.; Kyle Laws, Pueblo, Colo.; Chandra E.A. Dickson, Wichita; and Linda Rocheleau, Asheville, N.C.
Open readings were conducted after the scheduled poet’s later in the afternoon.  
Today, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., Ellaraine Lockie will host a poetry workshop at the BAC Gallery called “Word Branching.”  She will demonstrate this unique, creative process for writers, especially poets, which she developed and published in her book “Wingbeats: Exercises and Practice in Poetry.”  
More open readings will take place beginning at 1 p.m., and at 3:30, anthologies will be assembled.  Final readings will take place from 4 to 6 p.m.