DePauw professor's poetry etched on stained-glass window at airport

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Greencastle resident Joe Heithause was chosen from several thousand entrants to have his work etched on a stained-glass window mural at the new Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal of the Indianapolis International Airport.

"I was just stunned when I found this out," said Heithause.

His wife, Jenny, persuaded him to enter the "Airpoets" contest.

Airport authority asked Writers' Center of Indiana in Indianapolis to find poetry for British artist, Martin Donlin, the designer of the Airpoets window.

The task was to create a poem not referencing death or falling. The topic was to include flight.

Heithause sent three poems and a biography to ensure he was an Indiana native -- a requirement of the contract.

He was among five poets chosen for the project. The group became familiar with each other through e-mail during the two-year contract.

They decided to meet and put together a book. Joyce Brinkman, one of the Airpoets, found a publisher for it. The poems are transportation themed and read as from one author.

While Heithause has not had a book of his own published, he has been the recipient of several highly respected awards for his poetry.

He won a contest jointly with four other poets through ""Discovery/The Nation" magazine. This allowed him the opportunity to read at 92nd Street Y, a venue for literary art in New York City.

"It was a pretty huge prize without a published book," he said. "It's (92nd Street Y) like going to Carnegie Hall for musicians."

Heithause's highest honor was having his work published in "Poetry Magazine."

"It is one of the toughest" to have work published in, he explained.

Heithause started writing poetry in high school. He originally went to college for business, but took a poetry class as an elective.

He earned his bachelor's degree from State University of New York in Albany. He attended Indiana University in Bloomington, where he earned his PhD in American literature and MFA in writing.

He currently serves as chair of the English department at DePauw University.

Heithause and three other Airpoets will be giving a reading Tuesday at the Library Of Congress in Washington D.C.

The group will be visiting the Putnam County Library at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 14 in the Kiwanis room.

For more information, visit the PCPL Web site, www.putnam.lib.in.us.

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  • The Airpoets will read at the Putnam County Public Library on Saturday, December 13--not 14--at 4:30 pm.

    -- Posted by mrp55 on Sat, Dec 6, 2008, at 11:31 AM
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