While I was an undergraduate at Cornell and well before my songwriting days, I had the good fortune of getting to know the late and great poet and two-time winner of the National Book Award, A.R. Ammons.
At the time, he was a professor of poetry at Cornell and I was a young student named Isabel Rivera (prior to getting married). Over several years, he mentored me much in topics ranging from poetry to life, and we stayed in touch for a short while even after I graduated from college. Sadly, Ammons died not too long after, but he will be remembered as a towering literary giant for eons to come.
In person, Ammons was a laid back, yet charismatic and very gentlemanly man. He would wave at and chat with students, such as myself, while standing at his office door on the second floor of Goldwin Smith Hall. His eye for naturalistic details about life and his powerful literary voice have won many over to his amazing verse.
It was a thrill to be asked by show producer, William Craft, author of Soldier of the Skies, to do a literary interview of Ammons for a talk show that was going to be televised from Ithaca, New York, “The Poet’s Cafe,” and I came in to this interview with a strong acquaintance with his verse which I had started reading on my own in high school.
So, in continuing honor of National Poetry Month, I am happy to share this interview (which is shared by CornellCast and is going on over several thousand Youtube hits to date!) with you, and you can access it by clicking on the picture below.
Hi, I’m Isabel Marcheselli, a musical artist and writer, If you liked this post, please “like,” “favorite,” leave a comment, or “share” it with others to show your support – it really helps me get me and my band get music out there – thanks! Join my band’s VIP Circle by clicking here. Also visit my links at: https://linktr.ee/isabelmarcheselli
ISABEL AND THE WHISPERS 
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