News

March 24

Now that tomorrow's book celebration is about to be history, it's time for a few announcements. But first a bit of explanation. The Warrior's Stance is the title of Laura Jeanne Morefield's poetry chapbook. It contains pre- and post-diagnosis works. As you know, Laura (October 8,1960-July 17, 2011) assigned this task to me, her mommy, prior to her death, knowing that I would fulfill her request. The book's publication was made possible through the generosity of Laura's husband, Dan Morefield, and the entire sales price goes directly to the Colon Cancer Alliance in Washington, DC. I'd also like to thank book designer Patty Keverhan and web site designer Kelley Worrall.

Laura and Dan Morefield

The news is as follows:

1. During the final week of National Poetry Month, April 26 to be precise, I've been asked to present The Warrior's Stance at the Poetry & Art evening at Museum of the Living Artist, Balboa Park. Other featured artists are Jenni Minniti-Sheppey, managing editor at Poetry International, and SD Writer's Ink  executive director Amy Locklin. 
My longtime friend Rob Wesley will bring The Warrior's Stance, which you may purchase for $20 at the interval. The evening gets under way with munchies and wine at 6:30 and presentations begin around 7 pm. Admission is $5 or a bottle of wine to share. Host is Michael Klam  (619) 236-0011 or (619) 957-3264. To sign up for culminating open mike email mkklam@gmail.com

2. During the first week in July, San Diego Fringe Festival presents The Warriors' Duet, which is based upon some of Laura's poems. Exact times, dates and location are yet to be determined. Director is Ann Gehman. 

Stay tuned for further news. If you want more background on the relationship of warriors, go to http://charlenebaldridge.blogspot.com and for Laura's blog go to http://lauramorefield.weebly.com

Praise

Praise

by Charlene Baldridge

Laura Jeanne Morefield
Dallas, April 2010

I still keep your jewelry

separate from mine as if

any day you will reappear to

claim it, to wear it gloriously again.

Even in basic black you had such

style. I miss that elegance and

also the warmth and humor

that came with it.

For far too long now I’ve met you

only on the page. Spellcheck

and topography and precise

punctuation are fine, but

I long for your arms, your

lips, your voice, telling me

Atta girl, Mommy.

The bookseller and the blind woman

Today I sold a book to a blind woman. Lena is a regular at the coffee shop on the corner.

When I told her that The Warrior’s Stance had finally arrived, she asked, “Oh, may I hold it?”

I put the book into Lena’s hands and she said, “It feels gorgeous. What does it look like?”

The large section of the front cover depicts a Warrior. Lavender, his outline emerges from a rectangle the color of cabernet. The Warrior is dressed in ragged clothes, lunging into the warrior’s pose, one foot in front of the other, his weapon held high, poised for confrontation, is merely a slim tree branch with leaves still clinging to one end.

The model, drawn from memory, was a homeless man I saw in Balboa Park one day circa 1990. I never dreamed that his stance would one day come to symbolize my 48-year old daughter Laura Jeanne Morefield’s fight with stage four colon cancer. The Warrior’s pose adorns the cover of chapbook that Laura asked me to produce. It was during one of our mother-daughter afternoons two months prior to her death.

“And here on the back,” I told Lena, “is a lavender panel with handwritten passages from Laura’s journal reversed out in the cabernet color. And at the top of each page is a strip of cabernet each with a different handwritten entry taken from her notebooks. The poem titles are reversed out in white.”

“Oh,” said Lena. “It’s so beautiful.” She purchased a copy, intending to give it eventually to her niece. But first she will take it to the public library where they have a machine that “translates” copy into words so that she can “read” the entire book.

Before Lena left I read one of Laura’s poems aloud, the one titled “I invented bodysurfing.”

When Lena left, I wept, wanting to share the experience with Laura. “She knows already, Charlene,” said my wise friend Rob. “She knows.”

Laura Jeanne Morefield and her mom
2008

 

It's here!

The Warrior's Stance is here! 

Used to dropping boxes of publications at warehouses, the deliveryman from Neyenesch Printers was surprised to be greeted with tears of joy. After nearly two years of work, the boxes he dropped in a corner of my office are the fulfillment of a promise made to my late daughter, poet Laura Morefield two months before her death. Inside each book are her poems, mostly written after her diagnosis.

We need to talk, all of us, about loss. It is not a rare thing. It is something we all endure. The delivery man confided that his mother recently died. His nephew suffers from an awful, debilitating disease. We all lose; we all will be lost.

So put on your warrior garments and read this luminous, love- and life-filled work, so gorgeously produced by Neyenesch and so gloriously and lovingly designed by Patty Kevershan.

Proceeds benefit Colon Cancer Alliance, Laura and Dan Morefield's chosen charity. To obtain your copy and matching bookmark, send a check for $20 made payable to Colon Cancer Alliance to Charlene Baldridge, 3450 2nd Avenue, #12, San Diego, CA 92103. Postage is an additional $5. Or phone (619) 296-8044 and arrangements may be made for you to pick up your copy.

A celebration of the book's publication will be held between 4 and 7 p.m. Monday, March 25, at ion theatre's URBN CNTR 4THEARTS, 6th near Pennsylvania. Reservations are required. RSVP to charb81@cox.net

Countdown

Here it is!

We've entered the countdown phase for delivery of my late daughter Laura Jeanne Morefield's poetry chapbook, The Warrior's Stance.

For those who've not been following my nearly two-year odyssey, here is a bit more information. There will be a book publication party in March. If you wish to be invited contact me as below.

Laura Jeanne Morefield’s The Warrior’s Stance

A lifelong poet, Laura Jeanne Morefield showed her work to only a few people, among them her husband, her mother, her sister-in-law and her best friend. When she was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer in 2008, Laura kept on writing. When it became apparent she was not going to survive, Laura extracted a promise from her mother, writer Charlene Baldridge, to collect and edit her post-diagnosis poetry and make a chapbook.

With its title taken from a line in one of the poems, “The Work at Hand,” the chapbook is titled The Warrior’s Stance.

A warrior keeps her back leg strong, connected

to the earth. She faces her hips forward.

She lifts hands and face skyward as

her front leg leans into the territory of the enemy

as far as, as long as, her breath will take her.

Laura’s poems are filled with a language that bespeaks love, humor, gratitude and courage.

Her assertiveness was apparent early: she writes about “inventing body-surfing” at age 8. Her love of nature, particularly birds, is evident when she writes: “I must be about my winged business today.” She sings along with cherry blossoms in the far reaches of the oncologist’s parking lot. Even though she blows bubbles instead of praying (“Selah”) and scoffs at miracle cures (“Another Day”), her faith shines through all the works, right down to the last handwritten poem, “Me Again,” in which she pulls out the begging bowl, asking God for enough time to see her nephew married.

Charlene Baldridge

Charb81@cox.net

619-296-8044

News of The Warrior's Stance

Well, here it is, an image of the cover of the book I've been working on for quite some time. That's my warrior sketch there. Design is by Patty Kevershan of Kevershan Design. I've known Patty since the 1980s when I worked at the Old Globe. She designed my poetry chapbook titled Winter Roses. Neyenesch is doing the print job. Can't wait! Once the ISBN number is affixed and minor corrections are made, it goes to press! 

What you can't tell is that in the red strip lower left is handwriting from Laura's journal which wraps around from the  back cover. At the top of each page will be a strip of this red with different sections of the journal. In white will be the title of the poem on that page. There's even going to be a matching bookmark! And of course there will be photos of Laura.

The 50-page book will sell for $20 and the entire amount is tax deductible because it goes directly to the non-profit Colon Cancer Alliance in Washington, DC. We're still working out the logistics but we will have a web site, www.thewarriorsstance.com. To reserve your copy, send an email to charb81@cox.net.

The poems contained in the theatre piece titled The Warriors' Duet were selected from this chapbook, which is the result of my promise to Laura that I would collect,  edit and publish her post-diagnosis poems. The Warriors' Duet will be performed in July as part of the San Diego Fringe Festival. 

Laura Jeanne Morefield (10/8/1960-7/17/2011) and her mom, Charlene Baldridge
2008

The family epistolary

Old stuff from plastic boxes 

 Joyous and painful time for me

My son Charlie and I are going through two huge tubs of my late daughter Laura’s memorabilia, photographs, letters, report cards, certificates of commendation. There are even news clippings and photos of Laura in Madison High School drama department productions, as Cornelia Otis Skinner in Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, Mrs. Einsford-Hill in My Fair Lady, and Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible.

Laura as Mrs. Einsford-Hill

 I ran across an excruciatingly funny, undated letter from Laura. If I recall the circa 1978 incident correctly, Laura and our Finnish, American Field Service daughter, Birgitta Kraus, had become stranded after a day of swimming at Pacific Beach. They had spent their bus fare on food, didn’t have even a dime for a pay phone (that was long before the advent of cellphones), and failed to appear at the appointed time.

We were frantic. When the girls finally appeared, we saw them emerge from a ratty looking panel truck down the street. Under parental grilling, they confessed that they had hitchhiked home. We read them the riot act. The letter is in response to our parental terror, our worry over what might have happened, our admonitions and the question of suitable punishment.

Always the arbitrator, Laura offered several options for restrictions, starting with the most severe. I can’t remember how we reacted, but after all these years, the letter is stunning evidence and reminder of the incident.

Laura Jeanne Costales

Birgitta Krause

This morning, it dawns on me how similar the hitchhiking letter is to one written by my sisters Lynn and Jeanne explaining how the black India ink was spilled on mother’s yellow silk chair. Both letters point out the penchant for pragmatism that runs so deep in our family.

Here, for your delectation, are the letters:

Undated letter from Laura:

Dad and Mom,

Yes, we hitchhiked. We bought lunch and forgot to save enough money for the ride home. It didn’t dawn us until just before we left the beach. I didn’t find out what time it was until too late. I’m sorry about this – I think that I should have a punishment – if you feel that it’s fit – 1-2 weeks of restriction, ie: lose of time to go to a friend’s hose, etc. & should lose* 1 week of my already drawn upon allowance. That would be 3 weeks from now. * (or maybe TV & Reading).

I’m sorry I worried you & hope you enjoyed your evening anyway. You’ve had to put up with a lot from me & you deserve to have someone better than me. I’m sorry – really, truly – I’m sorry & I love you both very much. I’m so sorry.

Laura and Birgitta on the day of Birgitta's arrival

            Give me whatever punishment you see fit – love you both, Laura J. Costales.

Two other girls

From my memoir titled Zingers: I did find the missives [from Jeanne and Marilin (which is what she called herself then) written on yellow paper. They were left for mother and dad when the girls spilled ink on mother’s yellow silk chair. The writing was as I recalled it: Lynn’s was ornate and neat, and Jeanne’s was scrawled all over the page.

            Jeanne had also written in crayon all over Lynn’s part of the note: “This is all a lie. Beleive [sic] me — Please.”

            Dear Mother, wrote Lynn, I didn’t mean too [sic] honestly. Don’t blame me about the pen its [sic] mine and I needed it. Jeanne started after it and caught hold of my arms. I threatened to throw it if she didn’t stop. But she paid no heed.

                                                Marilin

            P.S. About the gum [in Jeanne’s hair]. I meant to get it on her forehead but I missed. I then tried to get it out before she would notice but she discovered and put up her hand and got it entangled more deeply.

            Jeanne wrote: Dear Mother & Daddy:

            There were no phone calls, but Marilin put gum in my hair and we can’t get it out. Please wake me up and cut it off. She also said if I tried to get the pen she would toss it some place which she did. It landed on the yellow chair and ink went all over the chair. It was the yellow one. The ink is washable, thank hevens [sic], because it is Blink blue washable ink. She threw the ink first of all, then she put the gum in my hair.

                                                            Jeanne

            P.S. See if you can see the ink.