ODU Poet Talks Oysters On March 13

Tim Seibles, poet and associate professor of creative writing at Old Dominion University, joins Virginia Tech's Nikki Giovanni as a guest on the "With Good Reason" radio program Thursday, March 13, to discuss the "legend and allure" of Virginia's influential bivalve, the oyster.

The program topic, "Aw Shucks…Oysters in Virginia," takes a look at how the oyster has influenced Virginia history, industry, culture and eating habits for the past four centuries. Seibles will read his poem, "The Revenge of the Oysters," a playful response written in 1983 to Lewis Carroll's poem, "The Walrus and the Carpenter," from his book "Through the Looking Glass."

"With Good Reason" is produced for the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and is broadcast in partnership with public radio stations in Virginia and Washington, D.C. The program will be broadcast on WHRV (89.5 FM) at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13, and can be heard at www.withgoodreasonradio.org.

Excerpts from Seibles' poem, "The Revenge of the Oysters":

"The time has come," the oysters roared

With a big bad brass band sound,

"We never have forgotten you

We knew you'd be around"

"Let's get some bread," a lobster said,

"And then let's munch them down!"

The Walrus and the Carpenter

Looked up from bended knees

"We'll sing it to the sun," they said,

"We'll say it to the bees

We'll spread the news of OYSTER LOVE"

The oysters all seemed pleased