A Memorial Celebration - Phyllis Rachel Larrabee Poems
Phyllis Rachel Larrabee, poet, playwright, storyteller, feminist and grandmother, was the first recipient of the Grace Paley Scholarship Fund for Vermont Writers, offered by the Vermont Local of the National Writers Union in recognition of her work, specifically her 2006 book of poetry: Shoveler on the Roof.
Over nearly 50 years, Phyllis lived in Rochester, Burlington, Calais, Plainfield, Woodbury, Greensboro and Montpelier, Vermont. At 82, she no longer shoveled snow off her roof.
Larrabee’s first collection of poetry, “Old Leaflets for Shopping Lists and Rashly Written Poems,” 1974, received a favorable review from the Small Books Editor of The Washington Post. He wrote: “The best poems in this interesting collection have a fine, cutting edge of wit; intelligence intensified to the level of emotion is their mainspring with humor as their pressure valve.”
In 1975, Phyllis fell in love with Vermont and came to live there with her two sons. She has written nearly 40 collections of poetry and a number of plays. In 1980, she received an award from the Vermont Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1984, she was co-producer of “Poets Arising”, a show which dramatized poetry sometimes with music, performed by noted Vermonters Michael Arnowitt and Patti Casey, among others. This show was performed at Contois Auditorium, Burlington and at the Barre Opera House.
Her poem, “Informal Logic“, illustrated by artist Janet Fredericks, became part of a travelling exhibit in New England. She has also been a programmer for WGDR Community Radio in Plainfield, VT.
Lisa Sammet, director of the Jeudevine Memorial Library, Hardwick, urged all the libraries in Vermont to buy Shoveler on the Roof. She found it to be “full of humor, truth, and a deep feeling for the human condition.”
Lori Leff wrote in The Hardwick Gazette that the poetry was “funny, intelligent, articulate, heartfelt and awed…Divided by seasons, her short poems draw from ordinary life: tending the garden, listening to the news, shovelling off the roof, transform into a deeper layer of experience. We read of the”soft belly” of her garden freed from the crust of snow, the “leafiness” of a book of prayer, the place “where quiet does not mean still.”
Phyllis has given many, many poetry readings over the decades. Shoveler on the Roof was on sale at Bear Pond Books, the Plainfield Co-op, Galaxy Bookshop, Seasoned Books and Bakery in Rochester and Buffalo Mountain Co-op in Hardwick, the Peace and Justice Store in Burlington and at the Trading Post in Evansville. Occasionally, Phyllis would put on poetry workshops at the Hubbard Library or other local venues. If you would like Phyllis to offer a workshop in your neighborhood, you have missed your chance, as she is on the long train to infinity; however you can obtain copies of her poetry here on this site or via the
Phyllis Rachel Larrabee Foundation
c/o Judi Blakely, 69 Joy Drive, Unit G3, South Burlington, VT. 05403 USA
PhyllisRachelLarrabee [at] startmail [dot] com.