In Nov 2022, while visiting Bell Buckle, TN, I introduced my friends Don and Marsha Cain to Margaret B. (Maggie) Vaughn, Poet Laureate of Tennessee (since 1996). Marsha read a few of her own poems to her and received the highest compliment. Maggie said Marsha writes like her, for the common people, with poetry easy to relate to. Marsha gave her a copy of her book “Poems and Prayers for the Ups and Downs of Life”. Maggie gave her one of her books.
Maggie and I share a deep love for Mark Twain’s writings (a 2nd cousin of mine). Maggie is holding up a copy of her book “Foretasting Heaven: Talking to Twain at Quarry Farm” she wrote in 2001, after spending a few weeks in Twain’s home in Elmira, NY. She had been awarded a fellowship from Elmira College to write poetry about Twain. She was the first poet to ever receive such a fellowship, usually reserved only for biographers. I’m holding one of the Twain books in my library.
At Bell Buckle Coffee Shop and Book Swap. (L to R) – Don and Marsha Cain, Kim and Jim Sandman