Jeanette Luise Eberhardy Remembers Carol Dine

I remember one of the first times that I met Carol. She came to my home to share some poems. 

Holding sheets of crumpled, yellow legal–size paper, she stood in my living room and read one of her poems.

I was stunned. I asked if there were more. She said yes.

One week later she returned with more poems, and she read to me.

I responded: We need to gather all these poems and make an artist’s book so beautiful that someone will give you the money to publish it. Together in my home office, we went to work on an artist’s book for those poems and images of art by Samuel Bak. That book became Orange Night. An image of the front cover of the book hangs in our Liberal Arts/Art History office.

Carol’s dream was to share her poems and her love of art with all of us. In 2012, Carol was awarded the prestigious honor of delivering one of the Hellerstein lectures. This honor was given to her by Professor Emeritus Louise Meyers.

When Carol was due to deliver the Hellerstein lecture, she was battling with cancer again. She was concerned whether she had the strength to deliver the talk. Also, she was concerned that her wig was just right for the performance of poems (so the audience would stay focused on the poems and not her health!). I picked her up from her home and drove her to MassArt to help reserve her energy for the presentation. To be with Carol in that moment gave me such a feeling of joy.

For Carol’s Hellerstein lecture, Professor Louise Meyers delivered one of the most beautiful introductions that I have witnessed in all my years of attending readings. I remember that Bob Gerst was sitting in one of the first rows listening with such a deep sense of loving care. For Carol, delivering the Hellerstein lecture was a dream come true. She was given the opportunity to share what she loved most: poetry and art.

I am so grateful for my moments with Carol Dine.