INSIDE OLLI -
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The Lobby at 160 Spear St. - San Francisco
Home of the OLLI Program
Photo by Kathy Bruin
Home of the OLLI Program
Photo by Kathy Bruin
Interview with Corey Weinstein,
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Mike: Hello, Corey. Let's talk about one of your OLLI activities: The Poetry Interest Group. What is the purpose, or focus, of this group?
Corey: Our Poetry Interest Group works to help OLLI members find and improve their poetic voices. Some of us are taking OLLI poetry classes, some are published poets, some have been writing for a long time and others began more recently. All OLLI members are welcome.
Mike: When and where does this group meet?
Corey: We meet twice a month online using the OLLI Zoom platform. Each first and third Wednesday at 12:15pm, we gather online for 1.5-2 hours.
Mike: Tell us about your meetings. What are the typical activities that take place?
Corey: We continue to use the form for meetings that was developed years ago. Each poet who desires offers a poem for a reading and critique. The poet Screen Shares the poem and reads it aloud. Then another member reads the poem. After the two readings, the group provides praise and comments in an effort to improve the poem. The author is encouraged to ask questions to the group about the poem. It is not required to share a poem at each meeting. If someone does not know how to, or have the capacity to Screen Share, another member will provide that service for the poet.
Corey: Our Poetry Interest Group works to help OLLI members find and improve their poetic voices. Some of us are taking OLLI poetry classes, some are published poets, some have been writing for a long time and others began more recently. All OLLI members are welcome.
Mike: When and where does this group meet?
Corey: We meet twice a month online using the OLLI Zoom platform. Each first and third Wednesday at 12:15pm, we gather online for 1.5-2 hours.
Mike: Tell us about your meetings. What are the typical activities that take place?
Corey: We continue to use the form for meetings that was developed years ago. Each poet who desires offers a poem for a reading and critique. The poet Screen Shares the poem and reads it aloud. Then another member reads the poem. After the two readings, the group provides praise and comments in an effort to improve the poem. The author is encouraged to ask questions to the group about the poem. It is not required to share a poem at each meeting. If someone does not know how to, or have the capacity to Screen Share, another member will provide that service for the poet.
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Mike: How many OLLI members are currently participating in the Poetry Group?
Corey: We usually have 4 to 8 members attending each session.
Mike: What has been the impact of the COVID pandemic and the use of online Zoom meetings on the Poetry Group?
Corey: The Interest Group has adapted very well to the online format, including strategies for assisting members who have limited computer skills or technical barriers. While some members have urged a return to in-person gatherings, we have members who are disabled or have transportation issues who appreciate the online option. Until OLLI has true hybrid capacity downtown, we have chosen to continue to meet online to accommodate everyone.
Mike: What prompted you to take on the leadership role of this Poetry Group in 2019?
Corey: I took over from Angie Minkin just before the Pandemic hit. Angie was leaving the group, and all it required was keeping an email mailing list and sending out a notice the week before the twice monthly meetings. Now it does require a bit more effort to synch up with OLLI’s Zoom platform and be able to Screen Share for myself and other members. It is a joy to be able to assist us all.
Mike: If an OLLI member wants to try out participation in your Group, how should he/she go about it?
Corey: To join our Interest Group all an OLLI member needs to do is contact Kathy Bruin, our OLLI Director, or send me an email at: coreyw3560@mail.com.
Corey: We usually have 4 to 8 members attending each session.
Mike: What has been the impact of the COVID pandemic and the use of online Zoom meetings on the Poetry Group?
Corey: The Interest Group has adapted very well to the online format, including strategies for assisting members who have limited computer skills or technical barriers. While some members have urged a return to in-person gatherings, we have members who are disabled or have transportation issues who appreciate the online option. Until OLLI has true hybrid capacity downtown, we have chosen to continue to meet online to accommodate everyone.
Mike: What prompted you to take on the leadership role of this Poetry Group in 2019?
Corey: I took over from Angie Minkin just before the Pandemic hit. Angie was leaving the group, and all it required was keeping an email mailing list and sending out a notice the week before the twice monthly meetings. Now it does require a bit more effort to synch up with OLLI’s Zoom platform and be able to Screen Share for myself and other members. It is a joy to be able to assist us all.
Mike: If an OLLI member wants to try out participation in your Group, how should he/she go about it?
Corey: To join our Interest Group all an OLLI member needs to do is contact Kathy Bruin, our OLLI Director, or send me an email at: coreyw3560@mail.com.
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Mike: I have read the biographical summary of your life several times, Dr. Weinstein – the one you gave to us for use in our Vistas & Byways publication. Your bio suggests you are a serious musician, too, in addition to your hobby of creative writing. How do you balance these two activities?
Corey: Music was my way into poetry. I fashioned little melodies for many years and then wrote a group of songs for a singspiel I performed in 2016 called Erased: Babi Yar, the SS and Me. Writing lyrics is writing poetry. So that gave me a start. I had spent my career transcribing exact details of my medical patients’ symptoms or writing reports and articles about medicine and human rights for prisoners that required citations and footnotes. Poetry gives me a way to explore and express myself that is free from those constraints and allows history, emotion, opinion, and my experiences merge into a hopefully coherent and gripping exposition of meaning.
Mike: Thank you, Corey, for sharing this information with Vistas & Byways.
Corey: You’re welcome, Mike. OLLI has become an important part of my life. I have made good friends, particularly through the Poetry Interest Group. Over time we have learned about each other’s lives and artistic approaches. Poetry does penetrate to the depth of each artist and I’m grateful to be able to work with explorers such as those in our Interest Group.
Corey: Music was my way into poetry. I fashioned little melodies for many years and then wrote a group of songs for a singspiel I performed in 2016 called Erased: Babi Yar, the SS and Me. Writing lyrics is writing poetry. So that gave me a start. I had spent my career transcribing exact details of my medical patients’ symptoms or writing reports and articles about medicine and human rights for prisoners that required citations and footnotes. Poetry gives me a way to explore and express myself that is free from those constraints and allows history, emotion, opinion, and my experiences merge into a hopefully coherent and gripping exposition of meaning.
Mike: Thank you, Corey, for sharing this information with Vistas & Byways.
Corey: You’re welcome, Mike. OLLI has become an important part of my life. I have made good friends, particularly through the Poetry Interest Group. Over time we have learned about each other’s lives and artistic approaches. Poetry does penetrate to the depth of each artist and I’m grateful to be able to work with explorers such as those in our Interest Group.
Editor's Note: One of Corey's poems, Christian Naming Day, is published in the Poetry section of this issue of Vistas & Byways.
Find it in the Poetry Table of Contents.
Find it in the Poetry Table of Contents.
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