Larry Rochelle was featured in a KC STAR article today, Jule 30, 2005.
A poet’s perspective
Book looks at Kansas City, its suburbs, the blues
By MAGGIE HESSEL-MIAL The Kansas City Star
Saturday July 30, 2005
“I love Kansas City, I love the area. I see potential that can be very exciting.”
Larry Rochelle
Larry Rochelle has been writing poetry for 30 years.
Anything can inspire him: an interesting person he meets, life experiences, a restaurant or politics in Kansas City. When the mood strikes him, he writes, letting the feelings and emotions deep inside of him free onto the pages.
Those words can express his beliefs and at times feelings he didn’t even know he had. For Rochelle, writing is a love and something he’s learned to embrace.
The Overland Park resident and Johnson County Community College professor recently put his poetry, short stories and essays together in a collection I Got Da Ever Lovin’ KC Blues.
The collection, which includes some poetry related to his frustrations about the lack of a strong, vibrant downtown in Kansas City, the spread of development into the suburbs and other political issues, also includes more lighthearted looks at Kansas City’s blues music.
“I love Kansas City, I love the area. I see potential that can be very exciting,” Rochelle said. “(The book) is about Kansas City and the suburbs and some of the disappointment I’ve had in watching the growth or non-growth of the city.”
Rochelle expresses his concerns that downtown Kansas City isn’t the large draw that it could be, that it should be, he said.
One poem discusses suburban growth. In “Burb Fever,” he writes:
“the kiss of death awaits
youngsters of twenty, fresh from lollipop fields
smack dab in the middle
of theater complexes sprung up
in farmer’s fields
at the blunt edge
of town where white flight scared
the bejesus out of mom and dad
and plastic sealed homes rolled
up hills and down quaint
country roads until the smoke
of cities disappeared …”
Some of his writing includes humorous looks at a fast-food restaurant or the interesting parts of the neighborhoods in Kansas City where he previously lived with his wife and four children. Others consider the staples of Kansas City culture, such as Arthur Bryant’s BBQ.
But in the end, it all goes back to the blues and his love of this Kansas City strength. One writing, “Birth of Da Blues,” addresses this.
“Each of us has a moment when da blues seems just right, personal, up-close and raging in our memories. In my family we’ve had those moments. My mother was killed when she was run over by her own car in front of her home on a cool April day in Toledo …
“Da blues brings relief, and, while nothing can be perfect, a tune by Danielle Schnebelen, a harp riff by Brody Buster or a feisty lyric by Cotton Candy can bring joy to our lives.”
Earlier this year, Rochelle released Ghostly Embers: Visions of Toledo, a book of poetry about growing up in the Ohio city. Rochelle has also written six books in the Palmer Morel mystery novel series.
Rochelle’s books are available on www.amazon.com and www.booksurge.com.
Where to buy book
I Got Da Ever Lovin’ KC Blues is available on www.amazon.com and www.booksurge.com .
The songs and art in this book are about our collective emergence after the pandemic and trauma of the last few years - comprised of 5 collections: World as Refuge, Where We Live, In Our Hands, Rhythms of Change and What We See & Sow.
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