TEHKUMMAH—One of the most popular social news columns in The Expositor has always been Pat Hall’s Tehkummah Talk and Times and those who follow the Tehkummah scribe are familiar with her poetic style and penchant for rhyming verse. Ms. Hall has recently published her second book of poetry ‘Mind Storms and New Beginnings: a collection of poems by Patricia Hall’ and this new anthology has been well-received across Manitoulin and beyond. This latest work follows close on the heels of her 2013 poetry anthology ‘A Fragile Thread.’
“This book has some old stuff and some new stuff too,” said Ms. Hall. Although the titles of her works might suggest otherwise, Ms. Hall maintains that these collections are not truly thematic, but tend to wander across the landscape of her mind.
“I sit on the bench in front of my house a lot,” she said. “I find a lot of inspiration there.”
“A lot” are the definitive words here. Ms. Hall has always been a prolific writer and she credits her friend Pat Novak with making the published works possible.
“I only handwrite,” she said. “Last night at euchre I told her I found another 1,000 new poems,” she added with a giggle. “She just rolled her eyes at me.”
Ms. Hall credits her prodigious output to what she describes as being somewhat odd thought patterns. “I think in rhyme,” she said. “I don’t often have to adjust my words after I have written them. They just seem to flow out of me.”
The poetry books have been selling briskly, being stocked in many of the locations that would be familiar to readers of the Tehkummah Talk and Times. “I have been doing really well at the Mutchmor in Providence Bay,” she said. “They tell me that I am the best selling book up there. They just picked up another 10 today.” Other outlets include the Rock and Rail and Carol’s and Earl’s Restaurant.
Ms. Hall described her writing subjects as being “all over the map. It’s really whatever strikes my fancy, or not,” she laughed. Most of the works tend to be reflective. “I do a lot of writing outside. I have always been inspired by skies.” Birds and other woodland visitors come to see her as just another part of the landscape, giving her a great deal of entertainment with their antics. “There was even a little fox who came to visit last year,” she recalled.
Not all of her work is lighthearted, however. “Some of my stuff, well I have my dark days still,” she admitted.
Writing has been an important part of her life, said Ms. Hall, and she delights in the many cards and letters she receives from readers of her columns in The Expositor and from those who have picked up her books. Aside from her yard and garden, Ms. Hall pulls inspiration from her very eclectic taste in reading material. “I love books,” she said. “My house is filled with papers and books.”
Books have long been a solace and escape for Ms. Hall. She went to work early in life. “I left school at eight and went to work,” she said. “My dad never owned a car so I would usually have to stay wherever I was working.” Much of the work she did in those days would be described as being a personal support worker today. “I helped a lot of older people in their homes,” she said. “I also worked for the Lodge in South Bay.”
They were long days. “It isn’t like today where you work for 10 hours. Back then you would start at six in the morning and finish around eight at night if you were lucky.” But for all of that, Ms. Hall said that she never really thought of it as hard work, “it was just what you did,” she said.
