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| NewsThursday, December 22, 2005 9:27 AM CST |
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Pontiac poet traces hobby back to World War II letters
PONTIAC - Writing poetry has been a part of Ida Mae Fortna's life since World War II. She started ending her letters to her brothers and cousins with short poems. Around the house she used little scraps of paper to write down her thoughts. Lately, she has been inspired by a friend's hole-in-one on the golf course and an old withered tree. Others are inspired by her faith. "When the notion strikes me, I write," she said. "They have to do with my life." Fortna was raised in Pontiac. She ran Ida Mae's Beauty Shop out of her home for more than 20 years, where she focused on doing hair. She spent most of her life in the area, but moved to Clearwater, Fla., in 1980. In 2003, she moved back to Pontiac so she could be closer to her daughters. Over the years, she has lost pieces of her work, but some have been made into an amateur book. A friend helped her to create the book, in 1997, consisting of about 100 poems. She made copies and shared them with her friends and family. "I just do it for fun," she said. "I've always enjoyed words and putting them together." Her poems range in length from four lines to 100 lines. Fortna never took a class in writing. She said while some people may benefit, she couldn't be forced to write. "We are all born with different talents," she said. "I just write for fun." Some of her poetry inspired by Easter has been put to music and was performed at her church in Florida. Fortna, who has always been an active member of a church, said her faith also influences her poems. She taught Sunday school at the First Lutheran Church in Pontiac for nearly 25 years. She played an active role in starting the church's youth choir. Fortna also raised four children. Two served in the Air Force, one was a teacher and the other was a nurse. She has 10 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. One of her lines includes her creed to live by: "The secret to life is to live while you're living." E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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