Traverse City Record-Eagle

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  • "Water Under the Bridge: Poems From the Elk Rapids Elders Project" Special to the Record-Eagle

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January 22, 2012

Wooten publishes collection from project

Elk Rapids Elders Project lasted four years

From staff reports ----

ELK RAPIDS — Poet Terry Wooten has published a new collection, "Water Under the Bridge."

The poems are from the Elk Rapids Elders Project, with student interviewers and elders offering glimpses into life in the 1900s.

The poetry vignettes, collected over four years, recall everything from a grandfather who survived the Chicago fire, oxen grazing in an Elk Rapids park, and farm life around Elk and Torch lakes.

"One of the tragedies of modern society is that we have separated our elders from our youth," said Wooten, who also hosts the Stone Circle during the summer and writes a monthly column for the Record-Eagle.

Wooten created an Elders Project, where students interview elders, then write narrative poetry based on their stories. "Hundreds of stories have been collected and preserved," Wooten said.

The book is available at Horizon Books in Traverse City and at the Nature Connection in Elk Rapids; it sells for $17.95 in paper and is published by the Elk Rapids Historical Society.

Wooten will be doing a presentation at the Elk Rapids Area Historical Society Museum, 301 Traverse St., on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m.

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