Beneath the Lilac Canopy - "Telephone" is Published!

Thanks to generous donations in the name of a former summer cottager, the Mackinac Island Community Foundation is pleased to announce publication of “Beneath the Lilac Canopy: Mackinac Island in Poetry.”

A fund created by friends and neighbors to honor Lorabeth Fitzgerald after her 2009 death makes publication of the poetry anthology possible. “Lorabeth loved poetry and she loved Mackinac Island,” says anthology editor Glen Young. “Her love of both lives on in this wonderful new collection,” he adds.

Mackinac Island Community Foundation executive director Robin Dorman appreciates Fitzgerald’s influence on not only the anthology, but also the wider community. “In the short amount of time I was blessed to share talking about books, poetry and other forms of art with Lorabeth, I was indeed given a great gift,” Dorman says.

Including the work of more than 50 writers from the Mackinac region and beyond, “Beneath the Lilac Canopy” comprises more than 150 pages of poems inspired by Mackinac Island and the entire Straits of Mackinac area.

Those who knew Fitzgerald found motivation in both person and place. Jim Lenfesty, poet and Fitzgerald’s summer neighbor, says, “She saw poetry as a lifeline and guide, and said so. After her death, we established a fund in her name at the Mackinac Island Community Foundation, and the result is this wonderful collection of Mackinac inspired poems. It is an honor to be in her company again.”

Peter Olson, who divides his time between Mackinac Island and Petoskey, likewise found motivation in his longtime friendship with Fitzgerald. “Every time I had a conversation with Lorabeth, I felt like the traveler from Thoreau's ‘Walden.’” Olson, vice president for academic affairs and student success at North Central Michigan College, adds, “I was continually and delightfully surprised at the depth and breadth of what she knew and of the new paths she was willing to tread in search of the beauty and power of language.”

Jim Bogan, a lifelong Mackinac Island summer resident, filmmaker, and author of several volumes of poetry, also appreciates Fitzgerald’s generosity and inspiration. “What a delightful opportunity to join poets old and new in celebrating Mackinac in memory of dear Lorabeth Fitzgerald,” he says of the anthology’s impetus.

Bogan believes, “An anthology is a ‘gathering of blossoms’ and this metrical bouquet will add to the tradition of all those who are launched into flights of observation and of insight by the Island.”

In addition to the poetry, “Beneath the Lilac Canopy” features the work of several visual and performing artists as well, thanks to the inclusion of the “Telephone” section of the book. “Telephone” is a collaboration interpreting Mackinac Island in music, painting, pottery, and more. The process started with a musical composition, sent to Bogan, who was asked to write a poem in response. His poem went to painters, and so on, in the manner of the childhood game of telephone.

Tess Miller, adjunct flute instructor at Olivet College, helped coordinate the “Telephone” program, appreciates having the works included in the anthology. Miller says, “It was fascinating to see how various threads of ideas were maintained as well as which were either lost or picked up again later.” She believes, “While artists can become very adept at using their own materials to express such ideas, there are also many examples of cross-influence between the arts.”

Editor Young believes there is something for every reader here. “There are poems about forts, fudge, and ferry boats. Just about every conceivable Mackinac icon or memory is here,” he says.

WooHoo - I'm published!!!!

I was very excited when the decision was made to include "Telephone" in the anthology; while it doesn't truly capture the effect of seeing all the pieces sequentially in person, it at least does document the project.

For more information or to order copies of “Beneath the Lilac Canopy,” visit the Mackinac Island Community Foundation website. Books are $10, plus $5.75 shipping, which covers up to two books.

HOW Old???

Mackinac is known for our lilacs and with good reason - our cold winters and limestone based soil are ideal growing conditions for lilacs.

Our lilacs tend to grow tall - compare the people to the size of the "bushes" in this photo (and these are not amongst the largest) :

But how old are they and how long have they been growing here...really?

If you listen to the Carriage Tours drivers, they tell the tourists that the French first brought lilacs to Mackinac. But it just seems really unlikely that either French fur trappers or Jesuit missionaries were hauling lilacs via canoe to plant on Mackinac, they were rather involved in other pursuits.

This particular myth makes us think of an alternative version of Johnny Appleseed - Jacque LeLac, anyone?

But at a recent presentation at the Mackinac Island Public Library, by Corinne Smith, author of
Westward I Go Free: Tracing Thoreau's Last Journey has brought to light the earliest written documentation of lilacs on Mackinac yet - in July of 1861 by Henry David Thoreau!

Suffering from "consumption," or tuberculosis, during the last years of his life, Thoreau decided, on the recommendation of his physicians, to take a trip to St. Anthony, Minnesota, to stay with a friend. He died nine months after his trip, so his notebook of the journey was never published.

He was on Mackinac from June 30 to the July 4, 1861. During his stay on the Island, Thoreau took extensive botanical notes and copied down local folk stories he learned from the county clerk, William Johnston, brother in-law of Henry Schoolcraft.

Thoreau may be best known as a writer, but he was also a botanist who collected hundreds of specimens of New England plants to create his own herbarium. In addition, he kept detailed journals, noting when and where particular species were in bloom - in fact, his journals are now being used by climatologists to to discern patterns of plant abundance and decline in Concord — and by extension, New England — and to link those patterns to changing climate.

One of these notes made during his stay on Mackinac stated: "apples in bloom - & lilac"

Will a reference in a currently unpublished diary or letter push that date back further?

Maybe...

But it doesn't change that fact that lilac time on Mackinac is magical - come visit next June and see for yourself!

2013 Lilac Parade

It's lilac time on Mackinac and the highlight of the season (besides the glorious lilacs) is the Lilac Parade!

The leader of the parade is always Don Andress, a descendant of Chief Mackinac.

We have beauty queens, including the Lilac Queen, Princess and court:

Pretty horses:

Bands of all types:

Decorated floats:

 

Walking entries (no cars, of course!):

Including clowns:

And bikes too!:

 

Even the bike riding street sweepers:

And the grand finale is always the Scottville Clown Band, doing a raucous bump and grind the length of the parade route:

It's a great parade, with certain traditions but always with a bit of a twist - come join us next year!

Lilac Time on Mackinac

Mackinac is always special, but during lilac time, it's simply glorious!

The microclimate of the Island is just perfect for lilacs - here they live longer and grow larger than anywhere else.
There are over 100 species of lilacs on Mackinac, a huge variety of colors.

The fragrance is unbelievable, almost intoxicating!

Come visit if you can, you won't regret the experience!