By robyn corum
This is the kind of news we hate in life but can’t avoid. Our beloved adewpearl, Brooke Baldwin, has passed away.
For those lucky enough to know her, read her, learn from her—we understand this is the end of an era. To think that this particular pen will never share another brilliant, breath-taking poem is rather painful.
I suppose there’s some ‘good’ news. Miranda, Brooke’s daughter, understands a bit about FanStory and how things work. I’m hoping this multi-author book will reach everyone here and as many folks as possible will consider adding their own chapter to offer the family in tribute to our lost friend. When we all post our items individually, we risk the chance of family members being unable to find them. It’s so important—I think—to give them just a glimpse into our world and what their loved one meant to us. I hope you’ll agree. Share what you remember, what you miss, and even what you’ve heard, perhaps… if you didn’t know Brooke personally.
May I refresh your memory?
Brooke joined FanStory in 2008, I believe. Though we knew her primarily as a poet, before her arrival here, she spent decades writing essays and teaching writing from the seventh-grade level through advanced college courses (which is what made her such an amazing all-round reviewer.)
| Author Notes |
Author's Notes:
Since St. Patrick's Day is just two days away I thought the above image was a perfect choice! * All of the poems are Brooke's. * Dear friends, PLEASE consider adding your tribute to Brooke to this multi-author book so that her friends and family can find and read all the kind things we have to say and not have to go searching... or just give up and not see what's being said. Here's how: 1.) Create your own post using a Word doc/whatever 2.) When you are ready to post: RETURN TO THIS BOOK -- either this 'chapter one' OR someone else's post -- and click on the button at the bottom that says: 'Add Chapter' 3.) That's it! If you don't mind - use the next chapter number (in order.) * PLEASE let me know if you see issues or nits with this piece. I want it to makes sense and look good. This one really matters. Thank you SO much! * From Gloria (to help me explain all this): Just a couple of points, Brooke on average, posted about once every two days although occasionally more or less, but that would shake out reasonably accurate. She also earned the Writer of the Year Award in 2012 and the first Reviewer of the Year Award in 2015. Another important feature is the eternal flame. So when you go into Community and drag down the Find a Member you will see on the immediate left, Buddies and next to it Eternal. Click on Eternal and there are a few names of members and Brooke's name is there. * From kiwijenny: If you go to 'read' and select stand out writing and click on the children category very soon you find her poetry. * *** |
By robyn corum
I was saddened to hear the news today
A wonderful friend and writer has gone away
She always gave such kind help and love
It made me think of the love from above
To think she is resting in love and peace
With no more pain and lots of relief
She is with the One that loves her so
I am thankful His love she did always show
You'll be missed so much my friend
You will live now where there is no end
This is not really good bye you know
Just look for each one of us when we go
| Author Notes | I was so sad to hear about Brooke. I had dealings with her from a long time ago on here. She was a great person and friend. When the MS flared up in me we kind of lost contact. I wondered what happened to her. She will be truly missed. She was a loving and kind person. Rest in peace my dear friend! |
By robyn corum
| Author Notes | I don't know why this is showing this way.It looks perfect on my posting page...so very sorry... |
By robyn corum
The first communication between Brooke Baldwin and me was a compliment she gave me on my silly Rambles. Not only was she an awesome poet, she was a dear friend that enjoyed teasing me about my poor grammar and even worse spelling. She had a way of making me laugh and it became a game with us. I would find a way to make a comment to her in my posts and she got a real kick out of it too.
She is gone and will be dearly missed by everyone fortunate to have known her. Her love for her grandson showed in so many poems she wrote about him. She left us so abruptly and left a giant hole in our daily reading. Fortunately I bookcased many of my favorites and often reread them.
She was FanStory's number one poet for more than four years, an accomplishment unlikely anyone else will attain. I once asked her if she kept all her trophies on a giant shelf. She told me most were still in their boxes but one day she would buy a special bookcase to show them off.
She didn't write for the trophies, she wrote for the love of poetry. She signed me up for one of her classes but I failed miserably. She insists I didn't but I know I failed.
Dearest Brooke, I will miss you forever.
Sincerely your worst Student,
Sasha AKA Smurhpgirl
| Author Notes | I doubt I will ever stop crying. I will miss Brooke forever. Those of you that missed reading her poems should go too to my members at the top of the page. Can then click eternal and all the poems of those members that have passed on will show up. Her screen name was Adewpearl. It will be well worth it and you can see why she was so highly regarded. |
By robyn corum
| Author Notes |
Image from ArtistCharles
Copy from another post for this collection. |
By robyn corum
I joined Fanstory between Christmas and New year 2014, so I can't say I knew Brooke.
I never did.
But, I soon heard a lot about her as a person and as a formidable poem writer. I read a few, and to my regret, I never gave her a single review nor commented on her poems. The regrets are purely mine.
I'm so sorry to learn about her passing, and my thoughts reach out to the family. Rest In Peace, Brooke. Ulla:)))
| Author Notes | Thanks to awmurrey for the use of the artwork. |
By robyn corum
| Author Notes |
Author's Notes:
The image is of Brooke and her grandson, Sawyer. What a cool one - and sooo perfect. |
By robyn corum
By robyn corum
By robyn corum
I see the four-leafed clovers turn their faces to the sun,
I'm sure they search the universe and Heavens for the one
Whose smile delights to see them and they wonder where you've gone
Are you the brightest star tonight that we'll all wish upon?
I see the dandelions sway in fields like ocean waves
As breezes gently blow them in the sunshine's warming rays
They smile to see the clouds of white float in the sky of blue
How can we look upon them all and not remember you?
I see the rainbow in the sky lead to the pots of gold
That are the gates of Heaven and the love inside they hold
As they swing open and the sound of music filters through
The angels play their harps and smile a welcome just for you.
Farewell, dear Brooke, now that you're well again you can be sure,
We'll miss you here on Earth--until we all meet up once more.
~~oOo~~
| Author Notes | Brooke was everyone's friend on Fanstory. We will all miss her. |
By robyn corum
She shared her world, a world she knew,
with gentle spirit through and through.
She wrote with such compelling grace
that put a smile on every face.
A jewel that shined in morning dew.
Her words would always speak to you,
within her verse, or in review,
she always shared a welcome place.
She shared her world.
She'd dazzled with her technique too.
No format that she couldn't do
She shared her lovely garden space --
the dandelions, and Sawyer's pace.
We cherished every breath she drew.
She shared OUR world,
Adewpearl
| Author Notes |
Adewpearl - I miss her dearly. She was my mentor, as she was to so many others on the site. She was the type of poet that would light up your spirit when you saw that name listed in the messages, or ever more so, on a review. I first encountered her when I joined in 2011. She maintained the No 1 spot on the site every year I knew her, since, until she got sick. That was an impressive feat. Anyone who posts the two poems per day, and associated reviewing necessary to stay in the top ten, knows what a grind that is. She had hundreds of avid fans, like myself. She wrote in many poetic formats, always in a positive, upbeat manner. Many were humorous, most were beautiful. When she reviewed you, it was always with a gentle touch. It was always a unique response, never a pasted generality. She would listen to your responses to the review, always ready with a welcome heart and helpful encouragement. She is the one who taught me the beauty of both the structured formats, as well as the unstructured ones, from Free Verse to the Sonnets. She introduced me to the Triolet, the Rondeau, and the Rondeau Redouble. It sparked in me the desire to find out as many formats as possible. A never ending journey, I'm still on today. I miss her dearly!
Farewell my friend, my mentor, my inspiration. Your place is among the Angels. |
By robyn corum
When Brooke (adewpearl) was here, her work was the first I read and reviewed every day. I not only loved her poetry, but I loved her warm, humorous attitude toward life. She and I disagreed on some things (Santa Claus and dandelions), but I counted her as a friend, for Brooke had a way of connecting with everyone.
The day she left for health reasons, I thought it was temporary, and she would come back to us. It never happened. All these years later, hoping and waiting have come to an end with her passing.
I’m grateful for the “Eternal” portfolio* of her work we may still access. If you didn’t know her work, take time to look through it. She lives on in her words.
Brooke’s children’s poems were so outstanding I urged (more like nagged) her to find a publisher for them. Hopefully, Miranda will do that. Those masterpieces must be shared with the world!
Surprisingly, Brooke loved dandelions and often used them in her poems. Here’s one of my favorites:
When Dandelions’ Summer Gold…
When dandelions’ summer gold has morphed to winter white
and wishes made on wisps of silk have traveled far from sight –
When possibility has lost the luster of the new,
I’ll gather up a sweet bouquet of memories of you,
for nothing that eclipses light eclipses it for long –
a dandelion soon returns, and love, my dear, is strong.
A dandelion wish might float to places we can’t see,
but never will it dissipate, nor does love’s memory.
How would Brooke want us to remember her? I think the answer is in this outstanding poem.
Make Life Your Prayer
When time arrives to take my leave,
make life your prayer –
let no one use their time to grieve
that I’m not there.
If I can choose what it will be,
your one memorial to me,
I only have one wish to share –
make life your prayer.
I've lived my life, and I believe
It’s only fair,
you hear me out and then receive
my words with care.
Embrace your passion, then proceed
to live the life you’re meant to lead.
Accept my challenge if you dare –
make life your prayer.
Thank you, Brooke, for all you have given us. Keep writing. Describe Heaven for us. We’ll be watching Amazon for the book.
| Author Notes |
* To find Brooke's portfolio, go to "Find a Member" and click on "Eternal" to the left of the abc grid.
|
By robyn corum
“Do you smile through the shadows? Keep faith in the sun?
There’s much goodness here–so much it may stun!”
From “Wide-Open Eyes” by Robyn Corum
Goodness shines today through twilight’s shadows.
As Faith finds its way, smiles bloom like a rose.
We look into our hearts with love that’s pure,
And knowing that with Him, you are secure.
We miss you so, but with our words we write
To keep the candle lit and burning bright.
Though your latest journey begins anew,
You’ll be with us till we have said “Adieu.”
To our delight, your poetry you shared;
Using the Whitney style, we knew you cared.
Examples of this form are seen below;
One from you, one from me, we’ll gladly show.
| Author Notes |
- Author notes from adewpearl (Brooke) for her Whitney poem "My Father's Garden":
"When I was growing up, our lawn was always filled with the glorious color of dandelions, buttercups, clover and wild violets. And smack dab in the middle of the front lawn sat my father's hammock, a place he loved to rest after a hard day of construction work. He worked hard all day; why come home to the chores of gardening when he could lie back and admire all the flowers nature grew for us? A smart man with good taste was my dad. The Whitney is a 7 line poem with a syllable count of 3-4-3-4-3-4-7, and rhyming is optional." -My condolences, thoughts, and prayers go out to Brooke's family. Brooke was a one of a kind person and talent. Like many on Fan Story, she meant a lot to me. -Ironically, I adopted her style of reviewing; I liked it and found it worked well for me. -The second irony, because I didn't know her until 2015, when I joined FS, is we learned more about each other from the messages we would share. I am one year older than she is, our birthdays are close together, and we lived across the Delaware River from each other; she was in PA; I was in NJ. -We would reminisce about a wonderful concert venue that eventually became a parking lot. It was called The Valley Forge Music Fair. Some great talents performed there; I think my favorite was Harry Chapin. -We are all feeling the loss of a very special person who loved her family and her friends on Fan Story. Rest in Peace, my dear friend . |
By robyn corum
Though I came to the site originally back in 2010, I haven't been active for all of that time. But, in my early days on the site, Brooke was a cheerleader for my early poetry.
My struggles with the meter and flow of poetry are legendary, but Brooke was patient and kind.
It seems that we are losing the best teachers this year, and it breaks my heart.
Heaven just has another new angel, and I bet Brooke and Michael share a class together and have so much fun!
~patty~
By robyn corum
How does one go about determining a woman's influence through her writing? My choice, was to consider Brooke's body of work as a map of her lifetime, revealing richer detail than perhaps would an autobiography. As I recall, my first encounter with her poetry was in what I referred to as, the black and white series--a comparative study of aesthetics and human preference for the Golden Ratio. The poems endeavoured to show that only by gaining greater distance can we see nature's flawless design. But, it is up close and personal, in places teeming with life and its inherent imperfections, where poetry thrives.
The poem was a ballad about a frail wolf making its way in a snow storm across an ice-covered river--walking carefully so as not to perish through misfortune. However, despite the possibility of breaking through the ice the animal had no choice but to move forward if it was to survive. The work crafted with such skill, it could have been interpreted on different levels. On a cursory reading, I might've merely seen a wolf hunting for food and completely missed it as an archetype for the human condition.
These varying interpretations are what Brooke, the teacher, referred to as elemental layers; undercoats of meaning that usher in allusions enabling readers to see their own reflection in the writing. Importantly, it is this subtle layering, in combination with a lifetime of experience that shapes the chalice from which poetry draws its colour and depth. Consequently, she drew inspiration from all things and we shared mutual admiration for artists including Sylvia Plath, Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. To me, it was a deep and abiding intellectual curiosity that gave her poetry an intimate, yet expansive tone. A passion for life empowered her, if even for a moment, to overlay order on a world filled with injustice.
The changing moods of the seasons captivated Brooke and in the beginning were the hallmarks of her verse. She filled her poems with the warm countryside, breathtaking summits, wildlife, flowers and twirling silver leaves. She charmed us with songbirds, pools of Koi and four leaf clovers sprouting under rainbow umbrellas. In fact, one of her poems so inspired me, I planted clover in my newly sodded lawn. It still grows there. Her children's poems were a quest for perfection through the eyes of a child and meant to find innocence in imagination's freedom. So, in the first place, nature inspired much of her poetry until she wrote steadfastly to her ultimate muses, her family and grandson.
In writing this tribute I asked myself how to assimilate a lifetime of experience that influenced Brooke's writing. The answer was clear, I couldn't. As much as I would like to believe I am familiar with another person, I can only reminisce with the sound of one voice--my own.
| Author Notes |
Thank you for reading.
|
By robyn corum
By robyn corum
By robyn corum
Pearls of wisdom, brilliant as morning dew
Scattered over the firmament of Fanstory.
Whimsical notions embellished by a few
Rare discernment of life transitory.
Dandelions, daffodils, shadows and sand grain,
Her muse never failed in measure or in rhyme.
Sawyer's wonder about falling stars and rain,
Fireflies and rising bubbles made her life sublime.
Every being for her glowed with divinity,
Ladybugs or caterpillar were no less entities.
Aliens with twenty warts too had credibility,
Octopus and pachyderms strut with same serenity.
A joyful spirit, she wrote with rhythmic phrasing,
Of moon or worm they were equally amazing.
| Author Notes |
Apart from the technical perfection of her poems what amazed me was that she could write about anything, be it an ant or skipping stones.I once asked if she ever write a poem without rhyming, she said it was difficult for to write free worse!
I hoped she would become alright and be back here. Now and then I used to check 'community' page to see if there was any information. Now she is with Him, sitting by His side. Thank you very much avmurray for this artwork. |
By robyn corum
| Author Notes |
I knew Brooke from late 2013 till her illness suddenly claimed her in May 2015 She was ever the perfect lady, helpful, kind, just ever warm and, and I learnt what perfect rhymed metered was. God's Angels have taken her to her reward and joy. Ever with the Father and His Son and Spirit. RIP in the everlasting arms. Till we meet again Roy
Owen. Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more; for the first things have past away." |
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