About Me

My photo
Belfast, Maine
Writing a memoir called The Architect's Daughter about growing up in Cincinnati in the 1950's and 60's when my father was a radical modern architect and we lived in a glass house.-- Also working on a 3 year collaboration with painter/photographer Michael Weymouth, A Shared Vision of Maine, http://mainesharedview.tumblr.com/ --Maine writer Dawn Potter and I gave a talk at the Belfast Free Library called "Poets Writing Memoir." http://mainehumanities.org/podcast/archives/category/literature/memoir --I'm the author of two books of poetry, Listening Inside the Dance: A Life in Maine Infused with Tango (2005) and Pierced by the Seasons: Living a Life on the Coast of Maine (2004) and a chapbook The Mayor and Other Stories of Small Town Life (2007). Three of my poems have been read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer’s Almanac and “Feasting” was included in his Good Poems for Hard Times.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Journal of a Week in Cincinnati 2010


“Architecture aims at eternity.” Christopher Wren

It’s one am, the last night of a week in Cincinnati. I wasn’t sure I would ever come back after my father died nearly two decades ago, yet I have come here consciously as Woodie Garber’s daughter, searching for what remains of his legacy of modern architecture. I woke up from a dream of making a film of my father’s work. Architectural views of his buildings sequence by as if I’m sorting photographs. How will I put them in order? I hear my voice start to create a voice over. Then I’m wide awake, my mind is churning with architecture and stories from the week of discovery and research into my dad’s work. What wakes me up and unsettles me is seeing how little is surviving into the 21st century. The work of the most innovative cutting edge modernist in Cincinnati is disappearing at an astonishing rate due to the same forces of conservatism that he battled against to make sure his buildings were built. My compassion for my father grows with an increased understanding of the fight he had to maintain his entire career. I feel the life of many of his buildings are like patients left in the back hallway of an emergency room with the decision being made to ignore them until they decline past any help.

1 comment:

  1. I recently saw one of his homes for sale at 90 coral ave. My husband and I are looking for a modern home for sale in Cincinnati and your father's work is very good. If you know of any others that become available on the market, please email them to me at bockal@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete