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In Spring 2024, UK poets Jeff Eardley and Peter Hartley crossed paths with American poets James A. Tweedie and Margaret coats in England.

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The Day That I Met Jim

by Jeff Eardley

The rain was horizontal on this English summer’s day.
He’d flown in from Seattle and from Oxford made his way.
Our meeting had been pre-arranged, it wasn’t just a whim;
I waited at our rendezvous, the day that I met Jim.

He blew a tire, then texted me, he’d be a little late.
I sat there in the restaurant, I told him I could wait.
I memorised the menu as I waited there for him.
The time was ticking slowly on the day that I met Jim.

‘Twas on my fourteenth coffee, I was worried that he may
Be subject to a further unavoidable delay.
My phone was pinging hourly now, the outlook felt so grim.
“I’m sorry Jeff, I’m lost again,” the message came from Jim.

But then, at last, this guy appeared, a little worse for wear,
Proceeding to embrace me like a burly, grizzly bear.
We couldn’t spend a lot of time, he had to head off smartly,
Up north to distant Manchester, to meet with Peter Hartley.

But as he sped away that night, I had to shed a tear,
As one of my great inspirations upped and disappeared.
Perhaps we’ll talk again one day, the chances are so slim.
But I’ve my happy memory of the day that I met Jim.

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Friends Now Met

by James A. Tweedie

Friends unmet, whose wisdom, words and wit inspired.
Seized the day, lest opportunity expired.

Peter Hartley, poet friend from six years past;
English Midlands, Radcliffe, face to face at last.
And Jeff Eardley, poet and musician, too,
Time well spent to share a late lunch rendezvous.
Hand in hand and eye to eye, such friendships worth
More than any time or treasure found on earth.

Friends now met, whose wisdom, wit, and words inspired.
Seized the day, lest opportunity expired.

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From James A. Tweedie

May 14 turned out to have its glitches, but with the help of Jeff Eardley’s patient and understanding good graces, we were able to meet for a much-delayed late lunch at an award-winning restaurant between the Midland cities of Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent. The mutual pleasure in meeting face to face proved to have been well-worth the long-anticipated and long-planned rendezvous. For many months, Jeff and I have enjoyed the online sharing of our music as well as our poetry while growing a friendship that I hope will continue for many years to come—a friendship that began with an SCP-birthed correspondence that was made possible through the help of Evan Mantyk as intermediary.

Peter Hartley

The following day belonged to Peter Hartley, an SCP poet whose poetry inspired me to rent a car five years ago for a two-week trip through Western Scotland that included climbing Ben Nevis, scrambling about high places on Skye and a jaunt down the entire length of the Outer Hebrides, ending in visits to Mull, Iona, and Staffa. Our friendship grew and expanded even further in the subsequent two-year pursuit of my publishing the first edition of his complete and marvelous poetry. There have been literally thousands of emails shared over the past 6 years and the chance to meet was one of the highest priorities of my trip (which was anchored by a Scandinavian cruise with my wife).

I picked Peter up at his home in time for us to make the one-hour drive to the Lady Lever Art Gallery located just south of Liverpool. There, after lunch in the cafe, we enjoyed the Pre-Raphaelite art of which Peter is an expert and of which we are both fond. The evening was spent in an all-you-can-eat roast beef buffet near Peter’s home, leaving me filled and fulfilled in more ways than one from our time together.

Peter’s home is neatly stuffed with enough books and esoterica to qualify it as a museum in its own right, while revealing Peter’s own talent as an artist, as well as a poet.

Peter’s health severely limits his mobility and Margaret Coats’ and my visits not only deepened our friendship with personal time together, but a shared pleasure in giving Peter a chance to get out and about and allowing him to show us a part of his corner of the world.

From Margaret Coats who visited with Peter Harley over several days at the end of April.

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From Margaret Coats

One thing Peter and I did was to take a walk along a woodsy canal outside Manchester, where rhododendrons were just beginning to bloom.  This inspired me to compose the poem “Out Walking” already published here on May 30.  Peter’s place in it is the stanza where I call him “my good genius.”  No one I know has so much practical experience at walking as Peter Hartley!  He has taken long and short treks over many of the hills around his home town.

A couple of days after our walk, while we were sitting over coffee all afternoon, he told me of one occasion when he intended to walk 64 miles in a single day. He set off at midnight, and at 2 am he was stopped by police who asked what he was doing on that lonely stretch of road outside town.  He says he explained his long-distance determination, and that was good enough for them.  They did not even ask to look at the rucksack he was carrying, which he says resembled nothing so much as a body bag.  After 18 hours and 40 minutes of walking, Peter came upon a bus stop where he could ride home, and thus cut 8 miles off his intended journey.  His achievement was, therefore, a mere 56 miles in a single day!

Our walk together was some small fraction of a mile.  The ground was muddy, and more rain began to fall, so we turned back.  I can recommend The George in Ashton-under-Lyne as serving the best veggie burger in the world.

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NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets.

The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


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19 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Those are all great stories of great poets as reflected in their wonderful poems of meeting in the UK and the reports on their time together. I envy each of you both for your writing skills and for your time together. Thank you, Margaret for clearing up the mystery of the genius from your prior poem posted on SCP.

    Reply
  2. Cynthia Erlandson

    What wonderful adventures in these delightful poet reunions!

    Reply
  3. James Sale

    Wonderful, wonderful to hear all this. I would have met James T myself, only at the exact time he was over in England, I had a 2 week vacation in Italy and so was out of the country! Next time, James T – or when I next come to the USA!

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  4. Paul Freeman

    Great stuff! Well met, everyone.

    FYI – the burly, grizzly bear line had me in stitches.

    Thanks for the reads.

    Reply
  5. Brian A. Yapko

    Wonderful poetry, wonderful to get to meet fellow poets in the flesh. Thank you all for sharing your memories of such marvelous literary encounters!

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  6. Alec

    Welcome & Well Met – phrased & from John Tolkien / Bloemfontein, SA.

    Sound to see the vigor of The Society grace the globe socially. Before long, I hope to visit our NYC Symposia or the PAMLA West Coast one. If the Randolph Macon English Professor isn’t using my novel to prop open a window in the garage? then I may sooner than later, DV.

    Approaches thrilling, to read our critics. Thrilled beats Shrill. One detractor Ably consumed its own filth attempting to characterize us. I’ll make a point to celebrate with a donation! Here in E Virginia we had an Art Director speak on Creativity to 7 at my BYO hors d’oeuvre / cucumber water / iced chardonnay salon. Tighten the belt & be encouraged when the right enemies scream; “their feet are set in slippery places.” The Bible / Psalms.

    Some will become our friends, due to their Diabolical decibels. “S.D.G.” – Johann Bach, a friend of Jesus, my good friend.

    Reply
  7. Edward Stansell

    A diary in verse. It’s original and interesting. I’d like to see more.

    Reply
  9. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    James, Jeff, Peter, and Margaret, this is a very special post indeed. I’ve enjoyed reading every word and I praise the power of poetry for being the beautiful reason for these wonderful unions. Thank you for sharing these glorious moments… may there be many more.

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    • James A. Tweedie

      Susan, Let me offer you a personal thanks for helping both Margaret and I to reconnect with Peter through an end run when he dropped off our radar for too long a time earlier this year. Much of the success of our visits was made possible with your assistance, as well as you tipping me off to Rebtel, the app that now allows me to make phone calls to England (and Peter) for pennies per minute!

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      • Susan Jarvis Bryant

        James, you are very welcome. I was more than happy to help, especially on the Rebtel front – a gift for me with my friends and family over the pond. I am thrilled to hear you had a good time.

    • Margaret Coats

      Indeed, Susan, thank you! Our other means of contact with Peter was through his mother, who also had not been answering my messages. It was wonderful to be able to respond when she suddenly sent a message to ask for Peter’s friend Susan. One important part of the trip for me was meeting Mrs. Hartley as well, and getting an opportunity for long conversation and an outing with her. She and I have very much in common, but of course we would never have known one another except through Peter. This network of poet friendships thus led to a further treasure of friendship unexpected!

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      • Susan Jarvis Bryant

        Margaret, you are most welcome and it’s lovely to hear that through Peter you have met his mum – a wonderful lady who has led a most interesting life. The SCP is a glorious place to be, for more than one reason.

  10. Margaret Coats

    Jeff and James, yours are touching poems on the subject of these recent meetings. Jeff, the quatrains that are just your style, but with a “meeting Jim” refrain tell the importance of the occasion to you–especially since it’s a story of a long wait. That 14th cup of coffee made me wonder how much coffee Peter Hartley and I consumed that Sunday afternoon when the meeting was lunch-plus-as-long-as-Peter-wanted-to-talk. The cafe let customers refill their own cups from a table with hot pitchers and all accoutrements; I soon switched to decaf. You are right to speak of how slim the chances are for such meetings. Very, very happy memories are great treasures!

    And James, you sharpen the focus on the worth of these inspirational friendships with your carpe diem poem on the need to seize the day (with too many moments consumed by accidents or uncertain circumstances) lest opportunity expire. I must second that, as my first plan to meet Peter Hartley in 2022 failed to materialize because of last-minute annoyances. I do have to regret that very much, even though 2024 offered many, many opportunities superior in numerous ways.

    Though I haven’t yet celebrated one of these wonderful meetings in verse specifically dealing with the occasion, you can see my anticipation of such a literary encounter in “Seaside Retreat,” published here in July 2023. The poem could be read as half preparation and half imagination, for no meeting had yet happened when I wrote it. Joe Salemi interpreted it as a “locus amoenus” or “beautiful place” poem, with the effect I named at the end as characteristic of that lyric genre. The effect is elevation of character in relation to the pleasures of the place–and I can see this as a most desirable result for individuals in any pair or group of “friends unmet” when they become “friends now met.”

    Reply
  11. Jeff Eardley

    Roy, Cynthia, James, Paul, Brian, Alec, Edward, JD, Susan and Margaret. Thank you all so much for your comment. To meet a fellow SCP poet was so special. The power of words to create friendships across the Atlantic is remarkable.

    Reply
  12. James A. Tweedie

    Let me add my own note of appreciation for all the affirming comments.

    And please note that friendships (such as mine with Peter and Jeff and others with SCP) can be born from a single email, even between poets who live thousands of mile away! Evan is the site’s matchmaker, and if asked (unless there is a good reason not to), he will help mediate a contact if both parties are open to it.

    Reply
  13. Sally Cook

    The warmth engendered by these SCP friendships is truly heartwarming! I love it when casual friendships flourish and bloom, and that seems to be the case here.

    I wish all of those involved a continuation of your great regard for each other. Only in a virtual place such as SCP could this be possible.

    Reply
  14. Drilon Bajrami

    I greatly enjoyed reading this article and the poems within. I know personally the SCP has engendered some friendships for me and it’s nice to see poets taking the initiative and making real life connections based on their love for the art. Let’s hope many more happen!

    Reply

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