Book Review: Poet in High Street Park

Book by J.D. Scrimgeour

Review by Richard Howe

Salem is one of my favorite cities in Massachusetts. In the late 1990s, two evenings each week, I would drive there for classes at Salem State College (now University) in pursuit of my Master’s Degree in History. In recent years, at least twice each year I visit the Peabody Essex Museum for some of the great exhibits on display. And in the nicer weather, wandering around the downtown and waterfront, guided by the painted red line on the pavement, is always an exhilarating experience. My affection for Salem is not diminished by the townspeople having executed my maybe relative, Elizabeth Howe, on July 19, 1692, for allegedly practicing witchcraft.

With that as background, I welcomed a copy of Poet in High Street Park, a collection of stories and poems from J.D. Scrimgeour, a 30 year resident of Salem who teaches at the University and served as the city’s poet laureate.

Scrimgeour came to Salem from outside New England when he landed a teaching job at the university. Along with his spouse and two sons, they lived in a modest house in the city and immersed themselves in community life, often through youth sports, especially baseball.

In this book, Scrimgeour’s stories capture the look, sound and feel of everyday life in the city, from endemic pollution from the recently-closed coal fired power plant to urban challenges like homelessness and inequality of income, education and expectations. He inserts a healthy dose of Salem history along the way, demonstrating how from past decades and even a century ago, still exert a profound influence on the community.

I was particularly impressed by his depiction of his students at the college and the difficulties they face in the pursuit of a degree in the face of the demands of real life from jobs, childcare, family disruption, and low expectations. Anyone who has been involved in education in Lowell, even peripherally, will recognize the circumstances that Scrimgeour so ably describes.

Although set in Salem, Poet in High Street Park will speak to anyone interested in American cities and the challenges faced and rewards gained by those who live in them.

The book is available online from Loom Press.