Debbie Wanninkhof thinks she might have stumbled on the solution to bring Key Biscayne together: poetry.
Bringing some real “Reading Rainbow” energy along with her own props, Wanninkhof told the Village Council on March 12 about the inaugural 2024 Key Biscayne Poetry Share – an event she has organized and is supported by, among others, the Key Biscayne Community Foundation.
“Some people say they cannot write a poem, but I’m going to tell you that you can,” said Wanninkhof, a retired teacher who says her occupation is now writing poetry.
She encourages all residents to write a poem about their island home using a format she came up with herself. It is 16 words, seven lines and is shaped like a diamond.
A poetry jam is scheduled for April 26 at Paradise Park from 6 to 8 p.m. where residents can bring their blankets, chairs and picnic baskets and listen to participants read their “gems.”
Wanninkof encourages residents to write about their life on the island but to be creative and think outside of the box. She read the Council, a “gem” from the perspective of a sea turtle, as an example.
In an interview this week, Wanninkhof said she started writing poetry in 2015 after her son, an avid bicyclist, was killed by a distracted driver in Oklahoma. He was taking part in a cross-country trek for charity at the time.
“I wrote a book of haikus for my son,” she said.
The beauty of the “gem” is that it doesn’t require the writer to try to struggle with getting the perfect amount of syllables for each line. The only requirement of the format is to keep it to 16 words.
Wanninkof said he got the idea for a poetry jam on Key Biscayne from O’Miami, the group that organizes a poetry festival.
“They have a contest every year called ‘Zip Odes’. So what you do is you take your zip code, and you put it up and down, you put it vertically, and then you write about your zip code,” she said.
“I had so much fun, I’m like, I’m going to put poetry on Key Biscayne. We’ve got to get inspired,” Wanninkof said.
Editor’s Note: For information on the Key Biscayne Poetry Share, email Wanninkof at [email protected].
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JOHN PACENTI is the executive editor of the Key Biscayne Independent. John has worked for The Associated Press, the Palm Beach Post, Daily Business Review, and WPTV-TV.