Local poet making her mark

A disability she had in her early years most likely was a catalyst in leading Beverly Schellhaass to successful dual careers – first as an English teacher and presently, as a poet.

“When I was a child, I stuttered and was very shy,” recalled Schellhaass, a Plymouth resident since 1985. “I think I liked writing, because I didn’t have to speak.”

When the Milwaukee native was in eighth grade, “We were assigned to write our autobiographies,” she said. “That’s when I realized I am a writer.”

That she is. She has already had four poems published in the esteemed Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar and will have a fifth one appear in its 2010 edition. Her untitled haiku poem in next year’s calendar is the following:

“A large harvest moon rose

above the woods last night

pulling me along.”

In addition to her success with that publication, the local bard has completed two books of poetry – one in 2008, titled “In My Dreams,” and the other one this year, titled “Along the Way.” Schellhaass autographed copies of her books at Book Heads, 216 E. Mill St., Plymouth, during the city’s Mill Street Festival on July 11. Her self-published books, printed at Sun Graphics in Plymouth, are on sale at that store.

“I put ‘In My Dreams’ together mostly for family and friends,” she said. “It was well received, so I decided to write the second book.”

Currently, she is working on a third poetry book, yet untitled, for her grandchildren. Schellhaass is a member of a blended family, including nine children (four of her own) and 17 grandchildren.

“The book I’m writing for my grandchildren will include memories of the times I spent in summer on the farm near Abrams that my aunt and uncle – Martha and Walt Bain owned,” she said.

“The poems will present a picture of what life was like back then, with my aunt baking bread on a wood-burning stove and the hand pump in the sink and the fresh milk cooling in the milk cans in the spring house at the farm.

“Things are so different now in this technical age,” Schellhaass affirmed. “I want to let the next generation know how life used to be.”

She writes her poems in free verse, the style of poetry without a strict rhyme scheme, but still recognizable by complex patterns that readers perceive as part of a coherent whole.

“A lot of my poems have patterns – a certain amount of syllables in each line,” Schellhaass said.

A distinguishing characteristic of her poetry is the fact that each line, except for the first one, begins with a lower-case letter. Another thing that sets her poetry apart is her infrequent use of punctuation.

“I don’t like to use punctuation,” she said. “I like to leave it open, for the readers to pause. To me, a comma is distracting.

“For a while, I was putting commas and dashes in everywhere in my poems,” she added. “But after a few months, I went back and deleted them.”

The majority of her poems focus on the themes of nature and family. “I feel better outside and being close to nature,” Schellhaass said. “I enjoy taking a walk in the morning to rejuvenate myself and face the day. ”W

riting is her passion. I like playing around with words,” she said. “I never know when I start to write where I will end up. It’s kind of exciting.”

Some of her longer poems end with ideas that could be interpreted in a variety of ways.

“I try to leave those endings to the readers’ interpretation,” Schellhaass said. “I like to show the way, then leave room for the readers to participate.”

Schellhaass delved into her favorite craft early in life. As a student at Milwaukee’s Rufus King High School, she was on the staff of the school newspaper. But it wasn’t until several years after her high school graduation, that she got involved in writing once again.

Her first marriage took place shortly after she graduated from high school. “I was later divorced, and at that time decided to go to college,” she recalled.

In 1980, Schellhaass enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan and wrote for the school’s newspaper. She noted it was a very stressful time for her, because she was alone raising her four children – Gerard, Mary, Annette and David. All of them were students in the Kiel school district at that time.

She later transferred to Lakeland College, where she majored in English and writing and served on the staff of Lakeland’s yearbook.

In 1985, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and writing, as well as a teaching certification for English – grades 7-12 at Lakeland. She then enrolled at Marquette University and was a teaching assistant there, while working on her Master’s degree from 1985-87.

In 1987, she was also a substitute teacher and homebound teacher for the Sheboygan Area School District.

Then, in 1988, Schellhaass completed the two-day exam, leading to her Master of Arts in English degree. That year, she taught English at Urban Middle School and North High School in Sheboygan.

From 1989-91, she taught English at Ozaukee High School in Fredonia.

“During my second year at Ozaukee, I decided I wanted to spend more time with my family, so I subbed at various schools in Sheboygan County for the next four years,” she recalled.

In 1995, Schellhaass accepted a part-time position as high-school credit teacher with Lakeshore Technical College (LTC). A few years later, she also taught two written communications classes each semester for LTC at their Manitowoc, Cleveland or Sheboygan campuses, as needed.

Schellhaass retired in 2007, but she has remained productive in her poetic endeavors and belongs to the Cream City Writers’ Club, which meets monthly in Plymouth and to the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets.

She is also involved in volunteer work. “I believe in giving back to the community,” she said.

Schellhaass has volunteered at Safe Harbor, domestic abuse shelter in Sheboygan; in the St. Nicholas Hospital Hospice Program and in the Hospice Advantage Program; and with the Rainbow Kids organization, a peer support group for children who have experienced loss through divorce, separation or death. She also serves on the council and sings in the choir at First Congregational United Church of Christ, Plymouth and is active in the congregation’s outreach activities.

She is devoted to her family as well. One poem, titled “It’s Global; It’s Warming,” appearing in her “In My Dreams” book, is a good example of her observation of a married couple to whom she is related.

“Even after many years their love hasn’t vanished but has a Valentine blush seen in common pleasantries and always the touching awareness of the other.”