EDITOR’S NOTES

  

Fay Patten Hoornstra was born in Franklin Furnace, Ohio on February 13, 1919. She lived the first twenty years of her life on the family farm before she went to ‘git a job in the city.’ She carried the clay of her homeland in her hands and in her heart, and spoke and wrote of her life as an ‘Appalachian Exile’ quite often. She passed away in Cleveland, Ohio on August 13, 2006.

Pat began writing poetry at the age of fourteen. She was a prolific poet who created, crafted and revised over 500 poems in her lifetime. Nearly 200 of these works were written since 1992, during Pat’s final fifteen years here on earth. This volume is a collection of 45 of Pat’s poems -- only a small sampling of her best work. Pat often shared her work, with family and friends, in readings and in writings, but she never formally published.

Pat’s writings focused on life’s questions and problems that both vexed and invigorated her. She wrote poems to express her inner life, but also used poetry and reflect on provocative issues and current events. Like her, Pat’s writing was rich and multifaceted.

This collection captures some of Pat’s passion, in her own voice, with her own vim and vigor. Each poem contains a sprinkle of soul, a dash of beauty, and some meaningful measure of morality. Her musings on mortality, moving on, and modern maturity are poignant examinations of the ultimate paradox – living a long, full, satisfying life and grappling with getting on well into old age. In 1933 she wrote in her first poem, “Autobiography,”

“It seems my life has been an endless round of strawberries…”

It’s awfully hard to argue with that.

Susan Rzepka

 

 

PREFACE 

We are honored to share this collection of poetry authored by our mother, Pat Hoornstra. She died unexpectedly in 2006, her 87^th year, hours after a heart attack. Only in her death did we truly uncover the constancy with which she wrote over her lifetime and the strength, beauty and truth in her writing.

We are indebted to Susan Rzepka, our mother’s literary executor, close friend and writing confidant. Susan gave form and shape to the body of poetry and writings that overflowed our Mothers living space and spanned 79 years. As an editor, she approached this labor of love with gentle precision, compassion and insight. Under Susan’s thoughtful and skilled guidance we have assembled this anthology of our mother’s work, which we hope conveys both her soul and the essence of her writing.

Our mother, a humanist and agitator, touched many, and is missed by a lifetime of friends, clients, colleagues, activists and others with whom she shared a common cause. Many testify she helped them envision and craft their lives with intention and honesty. She lived in intellectual and spiritual engagement with the world around her.

From her earliest autobiography (written at age 8) to her last works, she wrote with honesty and insight into herself and the world. We put forth this body of work in witness of her gift to see life, and her pact with the universe to understand, describe and sometimes change it.

She had so much more to say. We offer these poems as tribute to the poet, mother, friend, observer and agent of change in us all.

 

Holly and Mark