Musings of Merrick's 'mature' writers

Bernice Busch crafted a humorous poem about a fortune cookie. In his writing, Joel Schatzberg reminisced about his experiences as an “old man” (at age 25) serving in the U.S. military. Meanwhile, others wrote about feelings of loneliness and loss after having buried loved ones.

They were all participants in the Merrick Senior Center’s 13-week Creative Writing Workshop this year. They presented their work during a reading at the Merrick Theater and Center for the Arts on June 10.

The program included rhymed poetry, free verse, prose, short stories and mini-plays. In addition to Busch and Schatzberg, writers included Bob Barbieri, Jacqueline Craig, Cecelia Tumminello De Luso, Ann Filippelli, Florence Gatto, Rosemarie Godfrey, Helene Hahn, Mike Hertz, Bill Hunter, Wayman Johnson, Diane Kopitowsky, Howard Nacht, Pattie Nacht, Veronica Piselli, Gladys Respress, Shirley Sherwin, David Stayer and Hazel Marie Watson.

The writers’ works will appear in “Musings of Maturity,” which is published in the fall. The program is sponsored by Poets & Writers, Inc. and the Town of Hempstead Department of Senior Enrichment, and is led by Paula Rodenas of Merrick.