THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 6, 1995 TAG: 9501040152
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04P EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEAN GEDDES, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
The subject of the day was Frost.
Poet Robert Frost.
``On cold New Hampshire nights, Frost would sit there in his chair, by the old wood stove and by oil lamp light, would write some of his finest works,'' said Jason Lester Atkins, award-winning Virginia Beach author and poet.
He was speaking at a meeting of the Great Neck Writers, a group he leads on Tuesday mornings at the Great Neck Recreation Center on Shorehaven Drive. ``I can relate to Frost,'' said the author, explaining that he and his wife, Lucille, had recently returned from a visit to Frost's New England farm. ``I could feel his presence there on the farm, by the brook and in the kitchen. I also felt I was in the presence of a deeply troubled man; a farmer, touched by God with genius.
``I feel that Frost, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman are the greatest American poets,'' he said, adding, ``I think each was a true genius. They didn't try to dazzle you with their work, yet it was deep and well crafted.''
In addition to leading the Great Neck writers, Atkins is diligent about his own writing and works for three hours on it each morning after first taking a walk in the Little Neck area where he and his wife now live.
``Right now I'm working on what I guess is my life's work: a group of poems about the Holocaust,'' he said. ``I believe that our 20th century has been the bloodiest century we've ever experienced and I'd like to capture this on paper and leave it to my seven grandchildren.''
He plans to turn his 60 poems into a small book upon completion.
A serious writer, Atkins said his first poem was published 51 years ago in a magazine called Border. The poem was about poets as dreamers. Since that time he has taken many honors and awards for his work, the most recent being at the Chesapeake Writers' Conference for both short story and poetry. His work continues to appear in literary magazines. He also continues to lecture on the lives of such poets as Frost. His talks include videotapes and slide presentations.
A native Virginian, Atkins was born and raised in Hampton, where his mother, Mary E. Atkins, founded a private school, which, named for her, still exists today. After attending the Huntington School of Engineering, he was drafted into the Navy where he served as a gunner on a torpedo bomber until World War II ended. Then, becoming associated with AON Corporation, as a regional manager, he traveled throughout the world until his retirement in 1980. ``I feel fortunate that I have been able to visit museums in many countries,'' he said. He also has a vast collection of slides he has accumulated on his travels and has given lectures on various countries he visited.
After being away from Virginia for 40 years he and his wife returned and purchased a home in Richmond and a summer place in Mathews County on Mobjack Bay where he continued with his writing in that peaceful setting.
His love of Virginia is apparent and he uses Virginia mountains as a theme in some of his poetry.
``Sometime, I plan to do a novel about a man I once knew who murdered his wife. The message will be how one loses a sense of values sometimes and ends up with an act of violence such as that.
``Sometimes, I believe we haven't really crawled too far away from animals in a cave,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Jason Lester Atkins, award-winning author and poet, speaks at a
meeting of the Great Neck Writers at Great Neck Recreation Center.
by CNB