2013 Montgomery County Poet Laureate Mr. Glenn McLaughlin, a long-time substitute teacher at Methacton High School, visited Mr. Matthew Ryan’s AP English Language and Composition classes on Nov. 20 to share his experience with poetry. 

Mr. McLaughlin utterly despised writing from a young age, mainly since he struggled with dyslexia. Instead, he found his love in chemistry at Bucknell University. From working in the chemical and plastics industry to washing dishes for $8/hr at a Pottstown coffee shop, he finally landed as a substitute teacher in 2009. Despite being told by many hiring schools that he was “too old to relate effectively with high school kids”, Mr. McLaughlin became a chemistry and physics teacher at MHS in 2013. After retiring in 2018, he continued to substitute. 

In April 1997, the Hale-Bopp Comet that passes Earth about every 3,500 years had unexpectedly put on quite a show to the naked eye. Mr. McLaughlin’s first poem “Hale-Bopp, April 1997” was an answer to the question “what do you see?”, referring to the comet. After much pondering, the answer arrived to him while driving at 70 mph on a highway, which he scribbled down on a napkin while at the steering wheel. 

After sharing this answer with his friend, an English professor at Virginia Tech and renowned writer by the name of Tom Gardner, he found out that what he’d written was a poem. “I began to realize that I’d been thinking in terms of poetry for a very long time but didn’t know those thoughts were poems, so I never wrote them down”.

From that point onwards, Mr. McLaughlin started producing numerous poems.“What if Eve” is dedicated to his friend Corinne, a transwoman, for her unwavering commitment to supporting others through her nonprofit organization in Eastern PA that offers financial assistance to trans individuals. Overall, the poem’s message is to encourage all women to continue speaking up in a society that tends to undermine their contributions. 

Another beautiful poem, “If only I could”, speaks metaphorically about the many parts of Mr. McLaughlin’s life where choices were made out of fear instead of courage to “move forward, take a chance, and venture from [his] comfort zone”. 

Below is the transcript from a short interview held after his presentation:

Interviewer: What is your biggest inspiration or motivation in writing poetry?

Mr. M: At first, it was the novelty and excitement of a new “talent”– I’m told it’s a talent; that’s

for you to judge. Writing, which had always been so difficult and threatening, was now

a creative outlet that I found I had been missing. Once the dam burst there was a flood

of writing which eventually slowed but then allowed me to look at other ways to

express myself which then led to writing essays and stories. I find that now I am more

interested in short prose. Poems come less frequently but I think they are better than

when I first began writing them down 27 years ago. I’ve always believed that we should

all strive to contribute something positive to the world while we are here. I think my

A contribution, or one of them, is my writing. I also think teaching is another of my

contributions. I was once told that a poem is successful if it reaches and touches just

one other person. I’m told I have done that and that makes me happy and want to

Continue.

Interviewer: Who is your biggest supporter?

Mr. M: My wife has been, and continues to be, my biggest supporter although I have several

friends who regularly encourage me and offer advice. Next to my wife, my friend, Bob

Braile has been my greatest ally. An amazing writer himself, he has taught me how to

make my own voice heard more clearly not by changing the way I write but by

reminding me of who I am and that is okay to write like I do and not fall prey to those

who would change me to write like everyone else or like them.

Interviewer: What does your writing process look like?

Mr. M: I don’t have a specific “process” for writing a poem. I write when the inspiration strikes.

My poems typically “arrive” in my mind, nearly fully formed and screaming to be put on

paper. I usually write in long hand with pen and paper first, then transfer/re-

write/amend to a computer document. I read the words aloud to myself after typing

and make changes as I go. My recent book is titled “It started by noticing” which is how I

find inspiration, just paying attention and looking at what is around me. I’m not a formal

or practiced writer with a specific process, nor do I sit down at a certain time each day to

write, though I think that sometimes I ought to try that and see what happens.

Interviewer: If you didn’t start writing, what would you be doing today?

Mr. M: I would probably be trying to convince myself that I should start drawing again (I did a

lot of that when I was much younger) and not be afraid if what I put on paper wasn’t

very good. Be brave and try; creativity is not a competition.

Interviewer: What is your favorite poem that you’ve written?

Mr. M: Answering that question is like answering the question “Which one of your kids is your favorite?” All of them because I still can’t believe I actually wrote all of them. I’m told many think the best of the bunch is “Lectio”. Maybe my favorite, if I had to pick, is “Wisteria” because I wrote it for my wife. FYI – both of those poems are in the book Mr. Ryan has.

Interviewer: What advice would you give to high school students?

Mr. M: Only you are responsible for your actions. Somehow my daughters got this lesson from me quite early as their answer to their 6th grade teacher about what they learned from their dad was

that. In this world where deflection and placing blame seems to be most valued, I think

taking responsibility is the better way to go. Second, be true to yourself even though it

will take time to figure out who you are and where you need to go; be patient. But

remember, the world is not only about you and while you are important, so is everyone

else and you need to think of them too. And one more thing, never stop learning and being curious. High school was just the start. There’s so very much more to learn and that thought, as much as any other, should make you excited about the future.

Interviewer: Where can your poetry be purchased?

Mr. M: My book, “It started by noticing”, is published on a self-publishing website, lulu.com.

Copies of my book may be purchased there through their “bookstore”. However, the

The book can also be purchased at your favorite local independent bookseller. You can also use

Amazon but please don’t go there cause I think Jeff Bezos and company have enough

money already and they take most of the proceeds from each sale.