May 6 marked the sixth anniversary of Daniel Thompson’s passing. On that day in 2004, those in need lost an advocate and social activist, Cuyahoga County lost its Poet Laureate, and the city lost its “main man of Cleveland poetry,” as anthology editor Bill Arthrell called him on the dedication page of Heart’s Cargo: The Poetry of Cleveland.
Daniel Thompson didn’t just write poetry, he lived it. He brought it alive. In the pages of Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless' Homeless Grapevine newspaper, he contributed his poems for a cause. Meredith Holmes, named the City of Cleveland Heights’ first Poet Laureate in 2005, tells of once seeing him in a Starbucks, collecting day-old baked goods from the store manager to donate to the homeless. And that was only one of his many causes.
He also organized readings and events in junkyards, jails, streets, stages, restaurants and bars. His friend, poet Barry Zucker, recalls, “Everywhere we went, Daniel said, ‘This would be a good place for a poetry reading.’”
“And never let it be said that Daniel Thompson did not care about precision of words and image,” says Holmes. “Once at a poetry reading – I think it was in the atrium of the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland – I said to Daniel, ‘I heard you hung a moon in here once.’ He corrected me, saying, ‘It wasn’t in here; it was in the police car escorting me out. And it really was more of a pressed ham.’”
Over the years, Daniel Thompson’s poetry has been included in just about every book about Cleveland’s poets. You’ll find his work in local anthologies, such as Heart’s Cargo, titled after one of his poems (1985 and 1996); Voices of Cleveland (1996); Cleveland in Prose and Poetry (2005), and Cleveland Poetry Scenes: A Panorama and Anthology (2008), to name just a few. Thompson was named the Cuyahoga County Poet Laureate in 1992. He touched lives with his written work, on the stage with Drumplay, and through poetry events he hosted, such as Junkstock and readings at the Hessler Street Fair. Today, his name continues to come up in conversations at poetry events around town.
Suzanne DeGaetano, co-owner of Mac’s Backs Bookstore in Cleveland Heights, recently visited his gravesite at Lake View Cemetery after poet Maj Ragain reminded her during a phone call that April 21 was Daniel Thompson’s birthday. “There were two blooming magnolias nearby, and Daniel’s tombstone is next to a giant Japanese maple tree. The headstone has a line from one of his poems, ‘Even the broken letters of the heart spell earth.’” She and a few others organized a benefit at the Algebra Tea House back in 2005 to raise funds for his headstone.
Daniel Thompson and his poetry created momentum that remains with us today. Look around and you’ll see evidence that Cuyahoga County’s Poet Laureate left quite a legacy. Cleveland’s West 2nd Street has been renamed Daniel’s Way in his honor. Portraits of Daniel Thompson – by Tim Herron, Douglas Max Utter and Janet Century – hang in prominent places at Mac’s Backs Bookstore. Thompson started the continuing tradition of poetry events at the Hessler Street Fair, and this year’s fair, May 22 and 23, is no exception, with a scheduled poetry contest and readings. On June 15, The Sixth Annual Daniel Thompsonathon, a potluck and poetry reading, will take place at Horseshoe Lake Park in Shaker Heights. The event in honor of Thompson is organized by Barry Zucker as part of the Shaker Heights Public Library program of poetry readings. “The Daniel Thompsonathon is all about honoring him, and carrying on his tradition,” says Zucker.
