Letters to the Editor (7/24/24) 

So Much Soccer

Despite the corrections and clarifications made to your June 26 cover story, "Green Dream," regarding the Vermont Green FC, I thank you for the article. It is great to see the game growing in Vermont!

For fans of the Vermont Green, please remember that the University of Vermont men's and women's teams begin preseason play on August 12. Currently ranked 14th in the nation, the UVM men's team annually contributes the maximum five players allowed to the Vermont Green — including the leading scorer, Yaniv Bazini.

During the past two seasons, the UVM men's team has competed in the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 in the College Cup championship tournament and has been ranked as high as fourth in the nation. It's a great opportunity to watch a local sports team compete at the highest level in the nation.

Best of luck to the Vermont Green in their season, and go, Cats, go!

Philip Daniels

Williston

Sweet Spot

[Nest: "Porch Song: How Vermonters Take It Outside in the Summertime," July 3] was of particular interest because we stayed in the Lincoln Hotel in Lincoln, N.H., on our wedding night. That was 57 years ago. She was my sweetheart for six years before we were married in our hometown church. The reception was at the lakeside "boathouse" of the summer camp where we both had worked for several summers.

In contrast to today's expensive weddings, she made her wedding dress, costing about $20 for materials; I wore my ROTC uniform since I was still a student at the University of Vermont; the cake cost $12 from a local home bakery; and, for the meal, her mother made sandwiches. My brother rented a car for the ride from the church to the lake. It was a beautiful day, but a thunderstorm caught up to us as we headed for a honeymoon at Old Orchard Beach. We stopped at the Lincoln Hotel and had a cozy room as the storm flashed and boomed outside. I don't remember the cost of our room, but the second night we spent $6 for a cabin near the beach.

Now, before the summer has ended, we will drive to Warren and give those columns a hug. They hold a special place in the start of our life together.

Charlie Thompson

Colchester

Party Poopers

The "Crossover Cash" article in the July 10 Seven Days, about candidates in the Democratic primaries receiving donations from Republicans, included complaints from Progressive and Democratic leaders like Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman and Jim Dandeneau, who painted this as an effort to undermine the Democratic party. This is laughable, since Vermont leaders with purely progressive agendas have been using the Democrat or Progressive/Democrat labels as camouflage for years.

The two candidates mentioned as receiving donations from Republicans were Elizabeth Brown, who made it clear she chose to campaign as a centrist in the Democratic primary after the Vermont Republican Party's internal leadership went MAGA, and Stewart Ledbetter, who has a long history as a Democrat. I expect they would strengthen the Democratic bloc in our legislature and do a better job of working with Gov. Phil Scott.

Carl Wermer

Essex Junction

No Nightclub

After five years of effort to dial back the ill-conceived and poorly sited Higher Ground venue at Burton, I join our community in celebrating the decision to pull the plug ["Higher Ground Won't Move to Burton's Burlington Campus," July 17]. The Citizens for Responsible Zoning committee did a wonderful job of pushing back on Goliath and challenging the breezy assertion that there would be minimal impact on the community as a result of 1,500 well-lubricated patrons piling into their cars at midnight or 2 a.m. after hours of drinking and "mind-blowing" music — as Higher Ground's owner calls it.

I'm sure there's a corporate backstory yet to be revealed concerning Burton's decision to bail, but this announcement is a major win for our densely settled areas of Burlington and South Burlington. It will be incumbent on relevant boards and authorities to more critically examine whatever new plan is hatched by Burton with respect to neighbors who live close by — and to do a far better job of assessing costs in terms of noise, traffic and public safety. Perhaps if Burton decided to include the community in future planning discussions, the outcome would be happier for everyone.

Thomas Powell

South Burlington

'Shelter Is a Right'

Tim Newcomb's June 26 cartoon on the vicious circle of homelessness in America addresses my favorite bête noire. Having lived for a few years in Europe, where shelter is a right, I find the issue particularly nerve-racking. Over there, the focus is on prevention and not catch-up. In London, for example, "council housing" was a given — just one aspect of the social safety net. Yes, the rooms were tiny and you had to share the bathroom and kitchen, but it sure beat the hell out of living out in the rain and snow. "They just don't want to work!" has a hollow ring.

Tom MacDonald

Winooski

Poetry for the People

Bianca Stone, Vermont's new poet laureate, is reported to be a "spelunker" into the "grottoes of the psyche" who emerges "grimy but triumphant with a weird, glittering object" ["No Stone Unturned: Vermont's New Poet Laureate Isn't Afraid of Going Deep," June 12]: Her poems are described as "esoteric and blunt, brimming with ancient confusion and ecstasy ... and the pains of modern existence."

Nothing wrong with Stone's metaphysical approach. That's her choice.

There is something wrong, though, in naming a laureate who does not communicate with the public at large. Indeed, a National Endowment for the Arts survey found that just 12 percent of Americans are reading or listening to poetry.

The "nature of contemporary poetry" is partially to blame, Nick Nussen writes in his article "Why Nobody Likes Poetry" (in the University of Akron's the Buchtelite).

Nussen acknowledges that TV/the internet/social media are obvious culprits in the decline of literacy. Still, the incomprehensible nature of postmodern poetry is unhelpful. It just no longer makes sense, he says.

Nussen believes most people just don't give "a damn about poets and their highfalutin ways." Former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins, whose verses flow together like casual talk, concurs. For him — and most of us — a poem should be "felt and enjoyed" while never leaving one "brooding about its meaning."

So, come on, Vermont Arts Council. Let's rise to the occasion when you name Vermont's next poet laureate. We need a balance between old and new, clear meaning versus dizzying playfulness, while not losing sight of your mandate to choose a poet laureate who can serve as "Vermont's ambassador for the art of poetry."

Jack Scully

Colchester