The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Chappaqua library

Local Poet Scott Mason’s New Haiku Book Celebrates the Wonder of the World

by

PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOTT MASON

Listening to Scott Mason wax poetic (pun intended!) about haiku, a traditional form of Japanese poetry, it is clear that he has a true passion for the subject having published close to 400 haiku in edited literary journals or anthologies. And that passion has helped him earn more than 150 awards, including more than 20 first place finishes in international competitions– more than any other North American, in the genre. To coincide with National Poetry Month coming in April and the launch of his latest book, The Wonder Code, Inside Press had the opportunity to sit down with this prolific poet and learn more about this art form.

Mason claims writing and also reading haiku (it is the same in both singular and plural form) has changed his outlook on life. Admitting that it sounds grandiose, Mason claims that haiku has made him “more attentive and more appreciative.” The Chappaqua resident though never intended to become a haiku poet. “If you told me twenty years ago that I would be doing this, I would have looked at you like you have three heads,” he chuckles.

As an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, Mason majored in art and did a minor in math and physics. He obtained his MBA at Harvard Business School and worked in advertising at Prudential. Following that he consulted for advertising agencies to help them strategize and win new business opportunities. “My background isn’t what people typically think of when they think about poets.”

Always an avid traveler, Mason and his wife Carla Gambescia (the former owners of the now defunct Via Vanti in the Mount Kisco train station) took a hiking trip to Japan in the early 1990s with a company called Wilderness Travel. The tour guide challenged the group to write their own haiku over dinner one evening in the traditional Japanese format of three lines with, five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second and five again in the last line. Mason wrote one but didn’t think much about it at the time.

Fast forward a decade later and Mason found himself wanting to express himself poetically. As he took his first attempts at writing, he noticed that his poems were short and resembled haiku.

He later learned that haiku poems in English do not need to conform to a 5-7-5 structure since English and Japanese word sounds are not comparable in duration. On a whim, he sent some of his poems to Modern Haiku magazine and they accepted one of his haiku for publication.

Since then he has become the co-editor of The Heron’s Nest, an online and print haiku journal with an international readership. Having an analytical mind, Mason sought to figure out why this form of poetry resonated with him so deeply and what characteristics the best haiku have in common. He poured through 9,000 haiku that had been published over the years in The Heron’s Nest and eventually chose his favorites writing each one on index cards. He sorted through them and found to his surprise that the poems wound up naturally being organized into five piles. “Each poem had one common denominator and that is wonder. Now wonder is both a verb and a noun and they operated on me in both ways. These poems brought me to wonder in some ways but also caused me to wonder in a verb sense,” explained Mason.

The five groups also had some imperative that eventually formed the five chapters of The Wonder Code. So for example, think small was an imperative and the haiku in that particular pile all focused on things like small animals or bugs. It struck Mason that this was the “diametric opposite of our culture and our times. Each haiku seemed to offset some aspect of our Western culture that tend to estrange us from wonder. Americans want big cars, big restaurant portions. Bigger is better is our credo but there is so much wonder and beauty in small things.”

Mason is gratified that this book has been so well-received in the haiku community but hopes to expand its readership to a wider audience. Kirkus Reviews magazine noted that is “ a superb haiku collection for readers who thought they didn’t like poetry, richly expressive and very accessible.” The first five chapters feature haiku written by various authors and the last chapter features haiku written by Mason. The book also received a Kirkus Star which signifies a book of exceptional merit.

As we wrap up the interview, Mason reminds us that “haiku is the people’s poetry. It is the opposite of elitist and truly treasures the everyday.” Mason will be giving a presentation on “Looking at Nature the Haiku Way” on March 27 from 7-8:30 pm at Teatown in Ossining–a place where he enjoys hiking and of course has inspired many of his haiku. Tickets are available at teatown.org/events/haiku-way where his book will be available for purchase at the event.

Haikus

By Scott Mason

how deer
materialize
twilight

Venetian canal –
lifting fog reveals
another mask shop

summer moonglow
the crescent
of toe prints on sand

A Transformational Journey

by

Jodi Baretz, author of the new ‘Mindful is the New Skinny,’ shared her personal growth experiences at the Chappaqua Library

By Amanda Kraus

Earlier this summer, I sat among an excited, eager crowd in the Chappaqua Library’s auditorium to listen to Jodi Baretz, psychotherapist, health coach, and author, speak about her new book, Mindful is the New Skinny: 10 Transformational Steps to a Lighter You Inside and Out. Baretz discussed the book itself as well as her personal experiences that compelled her to write it, in which she transformed “Junkfood Jodi” to “Baretz for carrots.”

Baretz began her talk with silence; she had the audience try a short meditation so that we could understand how she started her own transformational journey with mindfulness, except the first time she meditated at the Omega Institute five years ago, it was for forty-five minutes.

For Baretz, this was a torturous experience, and she wasn’t afraid to vocalize this–in fact, about half of the group felt the same way. However, over the following five days, the meditations became easier the more she practiced. Baretz explained that meditation isn’t effortless and that it requires focus. Meditation is a brain exercise by which one must acknowledge the thoughts that clutter one’s mind, and let them drift away, focusing purely on the breath.

Much like meditation, mindfulness is being able to feel and process one’s emotions in order to let them go, rather than immediately pushing them away. Baretz explained that we need to be able to deal with being uncomfortable rather than avoiding it altogether.

As a child, Baretz was a terrible eater, leading her to acquire the nickname “Junkfood Jodi.” Her diagnosis of celiac disease in 2003 triggered her transformational journey with food and nutrition, as well as mindfulness and well-being. In 2003, Baretz explained, people didn’t really know what celiac disease was, and gluten-free diets weren’t very common.

As a social worker, Baretz tried to help others with their own gluten-free eating, but soon realized that she knew nothing about nutrition. In 2010 she attended the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where she learned about the mind-body connection, and was exposed to spirituality. For Baretz, being spiritual is a holistic approach to healthy living and being while keeping up with our fast-paced lifestyles and society.

In order to portray this philosophy to others, she decided to write her book, Mindful is the New Skinny: 10 Transformational Steps to a Lighter You Inside and Out. Although Baretz discusses healthy eating and nutrition in her book, she uses the word skinny as a metaphor for perfection — external, unsustainable, and never good enough. Instead of striving for skinny, Baretz encourages being mindful, which entails accepting imperfections and the present moment. Even though the manuscript only took three months for her to write, Baretz hit a mental roadblock, dwelling in the very anxiety, stress, and frustration that she was writing about. She took a short break, acknowledged this, and started writing again with a new mindset.

Much like her book-writing process, Baretz helps women on their nutritional journeys by redirecting their focus from losing weight by dieting to mindful eating and living, which is sustainable and effective. In today’s society, social medias omnipresent and overwhelming influence fosters perfection, stress, and anxiety, mindfulness is more important than ever. “Mindfulness,” said Baretz “is the antidote.” And she’s right. Meditation is being extensively studied medically, and has been proven to affect the brain. Meditation and mindfulness make us more productive, as they allow our minds to reboot and recover from our daily stresses and tribulations. In a sentence, Baretz’s book is all about “Nourishing the inside so you can change the outside.”

Jodi is also a psychotherapist at The Center for Health and Healing in Mt. Kisco. Her book is available on Amazon and at Scattered Books in Chapapqua. Visit http://www.jodibaretz.com for more information about her various programs and events, including her mindfulness bootcamp, her meditation sessions, and speaking engagements.

Inside Press summer intern Amanda Kraus is a rising senior at Tulane University.

Bill Clinton Delivers at Chappaqua Library Signing for ‘The President is Missing’

by

July 16, 2018, Chappaqua, NY — Is life mirroring art or is art mirroring life, Bill Clinton was asked–his attention diverted ever so briefly in the midst of signing hundreds of copies today of  ‘The President is Missing,’  a newly acclaimed and reportedly ‘page turner’ political thriller. (I have not read it yet.)

Bill Clinton signing ‘The President is Missing’ at the Chappaqua Library        Photo by Grace Bennett/Inside Press

It is a first novel for Clinton, one that he wrote together with master storyteller James Patterson.* 

Clinton didn’t miss a beat: “Well, a lot of people are saying that a lot of what is going on today is more realistic than my book,” in that fact may indeed be stranger than fiction.

While that may be hard to argue, the event was most decidedly not about the most current events. It was instead a chance for many to simply appreciate and support Chappaqua resident Bill Clinton, our nation’s 42nd president, and his latest writing, as he took time out to meet groups of neighbors and out of town fans who had patiently lined up–each excited for their turn to receive a handshake, to exchange a few words, and of course, receive a signed copy.
 
The Chappaqua Library produced the event in collaboration with Chappaqua’s Scattered Books Bookstore and the Town of New Castle. — Grace Bennett
 The Chappaqua Library’s Rebecca Rogan, Joan Kuhn and Larry D’Amico

*The information below was received earlier from the Chappaqua Library:

Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States in 1992. After two successful terms as president, he left the White House and established the Clinton Foundation, which improves lives across the United States and around the world by working together with partners to create economic opportunity, improve public health, and inspire civic engagement and service. He is the author of several nonfiction works, including MY LIFE, which was a #1 international bestseller. This is his first novel.

James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author, best known for his many enduring fictional characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Middle School, I Funny, and Jacky Ha-Ha. Patterson’s writing career is characterized by a single mission: to prove to everyone, from children to adults, that there is no such thing as a person who “doesn’t like to read,” only people who haven’t found the right book. He’s given over a million books to schoolkids and over forty million dollars to support education, and endowed over five thousand college scholarships for teachers. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.

A Look Back at a Conversation Between Cecile Richards and Hillary Clinton

by

May 22, 2018, Chappaqua, NY–Cecile Richards and Hillary Rodham Clinton walked onto the stage at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center to a standing ovation. Over the course of 75 minutes, a vocal, enthusiastic audience frequently broke into applause throughout the packed house.

PHOTO BY Rebecca Rogan

When Clinton welcomed Richards to Chappaqua, the activist responded with a welcome compliment: “I love it here, now I know why you live here!”

The conversation included Richards’ book Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead and a range of other topics; politics, especially women’s activism, fair wages, immigration, Richards’ work with Planned Parenthood and more personal subjects such as her mother, Ann Richards, her husband, Kirk Adams and their three children. Richards also shared tips for the best pie crust and what to eat for breakfast on the road.

Hosted by the Chappaqua Library, this event was made possible through the collaboration of many organizations: New Castle Community Media Center, the Town of New Castle, the New Castle Police Department, Scattered Books, Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, and of course Hillary Rodham Clinton, Cecile Richards and the team from Touchstone Books.

Release and Photo courtesy of The Chappaqua Library

The Baha’i Faith: Focusing on What Unites Us

by

Pictured (L-R): Jerry Watson, Pamela Thornton (Director of the Chappaqua Library) Mary Watson and Shohreh Anand.

According to theology researchers, there are 4,200 religions around the world. Of those, eight are represented on the Chappaqua Interfaith Council. The small, but dedicated group of Baha’is, which counts eight to 10 member families on average is an avid member of the Council and has enjoyed being part of the Chappaqua community for almost 50 and years.

The Chappaqua group recently made a book donation to the local library to commemorate the 200th bicentenary of the birth of Baha’u’llah, its founder. It’s not surprising though that this group has embedded itself within the fabric of its communities despite its small numbers. The central message of the Baha’i teachings, after all, is unity and inclusivity.

A Spiritual Paradigm Shift

Mary Watson, a Chappaqua resident for 30 years, has been a practicing Baha’i since the age of 20. Raised Methodist in “a small town” on the shore of Lake Michigan, her family, like most, never considered questioning their religion. As Mary articulates, “We are typically dedicated to the faith we were born into and to reassess that is a major paradigm shift as one inevitably becomes attached to what one already intrinsically knows.”

Watson’s “small town” also happened to be the Whirlpool Corporation’s headquarters and with that came a population who put an emphasis on education. Several families decided to organize a theological study group to inform their youth on the world’s major religions. They identified a professor, Dr. Albert Vail, a Harvard Divinity School Ph.D., and embarked upon their journey.

The group studied religions in chronological order every few weeks.  Almost one-and-a-half years into their studies, they were introduced to the Baha’i Faith. These lessons resonated with Mary’s family as no other and ultimately had a life-changing impact. The basis of its teachings is unity and the concept that every person is created noble by God and therefore should be treated with love and respect.

“The Baha’i teachings appealed to us for many reasons,” recalled Mary. Her clear, blue eyes alight as she recounts, “The teachings are very logical and sensible, yet deeply spiritual. The most important virtues are honesty, trustworthiness, forbearance and generosity. Baha’is are committed to promoting unity, the equality of men and women, and standing up for justice. We look for the good in people and promote what draws us together. For example, if a person has 10 characteristics and nine are good and one is bad, we focus on the nine. Similarly, if a person has one good characteristic and nine bad ones, we empower the one.”

The Baha’i Era

Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, was born into a wealthy Persian family in 1817. He gave up his position and possessions to serve humanity and became known as the “father of the poor.” He taught the oneness of humanity and had a vision of a future united in justice, peace and prosperity. The other central figure to the faith is “the Bab,” meaning gate, who foresaw a time of spiritual reform and heralded the coming of Baha’u’llah in 1844, which is considered to be the commencement of the Baha’i Era. As the direct result of their beliefs, the Bab was executed, and Baha’u’llah was forced into exile. He remained a prisoner until his death, 40 years after founding the Baha’i Faith.

Baha’i believe that each great religious messenger such as Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Christ and Muhammed has taught us about God and how to live our lives. Each Messenger builds upon the messages of the past. Mary explains, “We see religion as similar to going through grades in school. Each faith builds upon the last in a sort of spiritual evolution.” The teachings of Baha’u’llah are meant for the modern age we live in. In about a thousand years another Messenger will appear and the cycle will continue.

A Modern Message

“The timing of Baha’u’llah’s writings is a major unifying factor as they came during the printing era,” Mary points out. “While most faiths are divided into various denominations, there is one version of our scriptures and no splintered groups.

To be a Baha’i and meet another Baha’i is an indescribable feeling because we immediately understand that we share a unified belief system.”

Reflective of the modern era in which it was formed, the Baha’i Faith is relatively revolutionary. It is differentiated from most religions by the embrace and love of equality and diversity. According to Mary, “Baha’is represent the most diverse range of cultures and races. Not only do we accept intermarriage, but it is actually encouraged.”

The Baha’is are also unique in their emphasis on education–it’s compulsory for both men and women. In fact, Mary says, “if a family only has the means to educate either their son or daughter, we believe it is more important for the daughter to go through schooling. Women are considered the mothers of the next generation.” Furthermore, Baha’is accept and promote the understanding of scientific principles. “We believe in a balance between science and religion. Having religion without science, we become too superstitious and without faith, the world is a breeding ground for injustice and hate,” says Mary.

Fittingly, Baha’is are led in a non-traditional manner. There is no designated leader or priesthood. Volunteers serve as “facilitators” of weekly study groups. “In this age of literacy,” Mary adds, “we don’t require a leader to teach us what to believe. Through a consultative process, all members discuss their thoughts and everyone’s comments are equally valuable.” In line with this democratic philosophy, every year Baha’is elect a National Spiritual Assembly, and every five years the members meet in Israel, to elect the Universal House of Justice, whose guidance, based on Baha’i Writings, provides direction for action.

Finding Strength in Our Differences

Mary credits the Faith for her family’s strong sense of identity and for helping them make good decisions. Their Faith empowers them to see the beauty in all people. In a world full of challenges and opportunities, they hold on to their beliefs, while celebrating our differences and focusing on what unites us as a human race.