LIZ LENNIE recruited Carla Scarano D’Antonio to join Woking Writers Circle. Here she recalls a memorable evening – Carla’s online launch of her ‘Workwear’ collection – a month before she died

On Friday 10 February, 2023 I was one of many poets invited to the Zoom launch of ‘Workwear’; Carla’s latest collection. Below my iPad screen was my notebook and herewith are some of the words I scribbled as I listened.

            It was a very full and high quality programme in two parts, each consisting of an introduction, a reading of original poems by Carla and then by her guests. Greg Freeman introduced Carla, covering her wide-ranging talents as a poet, reviewer, painter and producer of crafts and cards, her impressive academic record and her participation in groups, workshops, courses and competitions – and her publications, many and varied. He then focused on her new collection and her capture, in her second language of English, of life and landscapes at home and abroad – from close-ups on family and food to memories and “muffled arguments from other rooms.” He concluded with a comment on her “superlative energy and real craft”.

            After thanking Greg, Carla proudly acknowledged her daughter Irene as the painter of the colourful front cover. She then read a few poems, which I particularly enjoyed for their directness and visual imagery – including colour (especially blues)!

            One piece struck me as unusual for Carla. It was a prose poem written in response to a workshop prompt, ‘Who do you think you are?’ After pyjamas, teeth and dieting (guilty pleasures such as a tiny slice of cake) she mentioned various aspects of ageing and health ranging from the menopause to the moon. She added that she needed to check stress levels at the end of the week. I must add something here. If you want an answer to the question asked by Rodney later (in part 2 of the launch) as to what it was like to be Carla, reread the last line of this revealing poem.

            Despite my imperfect memory, the simplicity of her lines often sticks in it, for example: “I was pregnant. I was full.” And something about a traumatic, intimate examination by a gynaecologist prof and students? Carla could be powerfully visceral as well as powerfully tender. She still felt the baby “float”.

            Greg thanked her for her poetry in the first half, calling it “a sheer delight”. After the first open mic and a break, Rodney Wood took over as compere for the second half. He’d witnessed Carla’s work ethic for years and reminded us of the arduous nature of putting a book together and how she had also recently volunteered to organise Woking Stanza and the live sessions of Write Out Loud Woking at the Lightbox. Carla then seized the opportunity to say that what motivated her more than publication was contact with people. She added: “It’s not ambition. It’s creativity.”

            Her first poem was dedicated to her son, Francesco. On his moving away from a loving family to teach maths to underprivileged children in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, she’d simply told him: “It will make you rich.” Having served seven years in my first job at a tough school in that city, I know what she meant. An elderly colleague still needed to cheer us as every week ended with TGIF (Thank God it’s Friday)! And isn’t “rich” a good word for Carla’s life and poetry?

            To my report I must add two other things. The first is her stating that reading Margaret Atwood changed her life. An accolade typical of the generosity of Carla Scarano D’Antonio. The second is more personal. When Carla read aloud for us, as always, I enjoyed her charming Italian pronunciation of a few English words. My favourite of the evening was “looshius” for “luscious”. And what a way to describe her poetry and her home-made cakes!

            After all this came another open mic and Carla thanking everyone for their support with her usual courtesy, saying how much she had learned from us.

            As people left the Zoom, always unsure of whether I was muted or not, I heard myself saying “Ciao!”

            Ciao, Carla.