On a chilly Monday evening, the 28th of October, author Judith A. Rypma stood behind the podium at Kazoo Books. At promptly 7 oclock, Rypma began her introduction about the book Sewing Lessons, which she would be reading from that evening. The reading was held in a cozy room with a gas fireplace, and a store cat even snuggled on one of the attendees lap for the event. There were 17 people who came to the event and all but 3 were women. The event was a success by the response of those who attended. Most of the poems were thoroughly engaging with a strong sense of theme, as well as related sewing metaphors. .
The collection of poems all have an underlying theme that ties into the act or idea of sewing. Rypma read 14 of the 19 poems in Sewing Lessons. Each poem was read in a very engaging way. The lines werent rushed and the tone was perfectly appealing. Some poetry readings can be monotonous and not engaging. However, the inflection in Rypmas voice and the tone in which she chose to read her poems could easily leave the listener wanting more. The audience was engaged and following along with copies purchased prior to the reading as Rypma read.
Almost every featured poem of the night was preceded by a short introduction and description as to why it was written. This provided the audience with a bit of foreshadowing of what was to come and insight into why the author wrote it. For example, Coffee Klatches in the Fifties is the first poem to start off the collection and when an audience member asked Rypma why she had chosen it as the first poem she stated that, It was the first time I observed women sewing. The atmosphere felt cozy from the beginning. From the setting, to the outfit the author wore, everything went well together. Rypma wore black cozy moccasin boots, a long spandex skirt, a loose and stylish patterned blouse, and a genuine smile. All of these elements added to the quality of the poetry reading.
