16 | November 11, 2020 | MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS LIFE & ARTSmalibusurfsidenews.comJohn Struloeff: Meet the third Malibu Poet LaureateBARBARA BURKEStaff ReporterPepperdine UniversityProfessor John Struloeff wasappointed as the third MalibuPoet Laureate by the MalibuCity Council on Oct. 12. Thedirector of the university’sCreative Writing Program,Struloeff is an associate professorof creative writing andEnglish. His appointmentexpires June 1, 2021.Mayor Mikke Piersoncongratulated Struloeff anddiscussed poetry’s uniquerole in salving weary spiritsduring challengingtimes. “Poetry can serve asa soothing, healing, understandingvoice of the community,”Pierson said, addinghe commends the PoetLaureate Committee and thecity’s first two poets laureate,Ricardo Means Ybarraand Ellen Reich, who, Piersonstated, “have turned theprogram into a valuableeducational and cultural enrichmentfor Malibu.”Malibu Surfside Newschatted with Struloeff abouthis life, his distinguished careerand his plans for servingMalibu as poet laureate.“I grew up in northwesternOregon, near Fort Clatsop,where Lewis and Clarkspent their (in)famous winter,”he said. “Much of mywriting has been set in thatpart of Oregon, but in myrecent years, my writinghas become historical andbiographical, set in otherparts of the world.”An avid traveler, Struloeffrealizes that to writeabout the world, one mustget to know the world.“I have traveled internationallyon many occasionsto write and conduct researchfor poetry and fictionprojects, trips to England,Poland, Austria, Germany,Prague, Bulgaria, Russia,and Switzerland, amongother places, includingspending several weeks onLeo Tolstoy’s estate nearTula, Russia,” Struloeffsaid. “I spent the 2017-18academic year teaching inPepperdine’s Lausanne programin Switzerland, whereI conducted extensive researchon Albert Einstein,culminating in a book ofpoems about the life of Einstein,‘The Work of a Genius,’which is scheduled forrelease in February 2021.”Stuloeff has been honoredwith numerous literaryawards, including beingappointed as both a StegnerFellow (2005-2007) atStanford University and a(National Endowment forthe Arts) NEA LiteratureFellow (2009). He has receiveddistinguished honorsworldwide, includingbeing the recipient of aSozopol Fiction Fellowshipfrom the ElizabethKostova Foundation (Bulgaria),and the TennesseeWilliams Scholarship fromthe Sewanee Writers’ Conference.Additionally, morethan 50 literary journalsand magazines have publishedhis works.Struloeff’s first poetryteacher and mentor was TedKooser, the 13th Poet Laureateof the United States,serving 2004-06.“He had a profound effecton shaping my sense of whatpoems were and how theywere crafted,” said Struloeff.“My second mentor was EavanBoland, the internationallyrenowned Irish poet whodirected the creative writingprogram at Stanford Universityfor many years.”Struloeff will host a seriesof free monthly poetryprograms.All programs will takeJohn Struloeff, above, sayshis first poetry teacher andmentor, Ted Kooser, theU.S. Poet Laureate from2004-06, “had a profoundeffect on shaping my senseof what poems were andhow they were crafted.”SUBMITTED PHOTOplace virtually over Zoomvideo conferencing and RS-VPs are required. To make areservation or for more information,go to malibuartsandculture.org/poetry.ls rare gems engraving designed for you made with love make it yours your Malibu jewelersilver platinum gold diamonds pearls rare gems engraving designed for you made with love make it yours your Malibu jeweler silver platinum gold diamonds pearls rare gems engraving designed for you made with love make it yours your Malibu jeweler silver platinum gold diamonds pearWhat connec t s u sTrancas MarketFri-Tues, Noon-5@albertina.malibualbertina.comYour Malibujewelerinfo@albertina.com310-457-8632John Struloeff’s first published poem, “Knee-Deep in the Pacific,” is about his father, whoserved in the 1st Marine Division during the Korean War. “He survived the war,” Struloeffsays, “but friends of his didn’t, and he brought that home with him. These wars carry on inus children.”Twenty years agomy father described a picturehe’d taken in Korea,the forests burning,the crackling of gunfirelike branches popping in the wind.He did not want to forgetthe day so many friends had died.But he had forgottenthe film, left it to burnin the pocket of his uniformin a fire meant to kill lice and disease.Now he sees things he can’t describe,no picture to show, or explain.Thirty years after Korea,he liked to split wood for days alone,and he would try to answerquestions of a ten year-old son,wanting to givesomething I could hold ontowhen he was gone.Now I return this Christmasfrom years away,and he is oldand thinks he will take meclamming once,one thing he has never shown me.KNEE-DEEP IN THE PACIFICHe describes clams as big asmy forearmas we drive onto the sandand as we wade out into the ocean.But my father has forgotten the lantern,and the sun has just set,the roiling watercalm for a moment, the sanddarkening like a blackened highway.Our jackets flap in the wind,our knees bend againstthe drawing surf.He purses his lips and shakes his head,saying without words forthe hundredth time:he has forgotten.So when we can no longer see our truckor our feet beneath us,we still stand in the ocean.A city of lights scattersalong the surf-break,men, families, all waitingfor the surf to recedeso they can begin searchingthis darknessfor life.
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