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thering
Sound

Susan Davis' poetry reflects a
journey of self-discovery.

As co-editor of an anthology about
nannies, Davis addresses the diffi-
culties faced by working mothers.

"I hope this book is the first in a
very public conversation about the
conundrum of working mothers and
childcare," Davis says. "I learned how
many different ways women can be
good mothers."
Davis' mother, Edwina Davis, now
of West Bloomfield, also was a work-
ing mom. She served as a staff mem-
ber for the late Detroit Councilwoman
Maryann Mahaffey and sent her
daughter to Detroit Public Schools
before transferring her to Kingswood.
"In the end, my mother and father
(the late ophthalmologist Jerome
Davis) wanted their children to go
to college and get as good an educa-
tion as they could afford:' says Davis,
who became bat mitzvah at Temple
Emanu-El in Oak Park."
The editor-poet went to Reed
College in Portland, Ore., and the
University of Houston, where she
earned a master's degree in poetry.
"I went to Los Angeles and landed
in public radio:' Davis recalls. "Radio
became my craft, career and vocation.
All the while, I kept writing poetry."
Davis, married to administrative
law judge and writer Paul Bogas, is
a senior producer of a news-current
affairs-talk show on North Carolina
public radio. The family is active with
a Reconstructionist congregation in
Chapel Hill.

"When I was growing up in Detroit,
we probably were what you call High
Holiday Jews," Davis explains. "There
was a lot of emphasis on social justice
and the cultural aspects of being a Jew.
My parents gave Passover seders with
multicultural guests and took pride in
participating in the city and the kind
of vibrant mix that was Detroit for a
long time.
"As it turns out, I'm a Jewish poet.
As you read through the book, you
find that it's full of poems that are
Jewish in theme — `My Husband
Saying Kaddish,"The Chasids from My
Window; `Prayer at Passover,"Sheva
B'rachot: A New Translation."'
While poetry has been Davis' cen-
tral creative interest, she does find a
link between poetry and radio and has
moved between the two.
"It wasn't a total accident that I
produced radio because they both are
distillations of speech:' she explains.
"They use the same building blocks
— rhythm, cadence and silence.
"I want my daughter to hold my
poetry book in her hand and think
that she can do anything. I wanted my
efforts to be her legacy so she would
know that if there's something she
wants to get done, she can.
'April is National Poetry Month,
and I hope to be in Michigan to give a
spring poetry reading."

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aN

ienuary 25 • 2007

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