Volunteer Spotlight: Wayne H. Swanger

by Greg Clary

Should you stop by the Watershed Bookstore on a Wednesday afternoon, you will probably be warmly greeted by long-time volunteer, Wayne Swanger. 

A native of Mechanicsburg, Pa (along with Jessica Cichocki Weible), Wayne and his wife, Mary, moved to the Pennsylvania Wilds in 2009 when he accepted the position as Clarion University Professor of Special Education and Rehabilitation. He and his wife of 51 years, Mary, married as soon as they both graduated from Shippenburg State College, now University. Their two musically talented sons currently reside in Minnesota with their spouses and children.

After their wedding, Wayne and Mary immediately left for summer jobs at Indian Lake, in upstate New York, and have vacationed there with old and new friends every August since then. Wayne’s professional career was devoted as an educator at the public school level and then as a university professor of special education, first in Wisconsin before returning home to Pennsylvania, to be closer to family.

As an academic, Wayne’s writing revolved around technical reports, grant proposals, research investigations, and instructional materials. After retiring, he turned his attention to “serious writing” including poetry and personal essays. He credits the Watershed Literary community as “the spark” that ignited this new focus.

 He also discovered Renschi, a collaborative form of Japanese poetry where poets work together to compose a sequence of verses with each poet building upon the previous verses in creative ways. He has created several Renschi groups with five (5) active ones right new. Wayne credits this approach as an “accellerant” for expanding the perimeters of his own poetry: “It forces me to go in a direction where I otherwise wouldn’t go”

Wayne’s wonderful first book of poetry, “Fields of His Heart”, was published in 2020 by Mammoth Books, in collaboration with the Watershed Literary Group and Clarion University. He always aims to incorporate “the fewest best words” in his poetry. Wayne shared that his poetry must flow and needs to read well. In fact, final approval of a draft comes only after he reads it aloud to his personal satisfaction. 

Jane Kenyon and Wendell Berry are two poets Wayne greatly admires. Berry, especially, because of their similar farm backgrounds and subsequent careers in academia. An extremely modest and humble man, Wayne expressed pride in earning his Ph.D, from Penn State while also raising a family and working full time as a public school teacher in Everett, PA. 

He is also grateful for his keen sense of empathy and sensitivity to the plight of others. Wayne volunteers each Wednesday afternoon at the Watershed Bookstore where he has had “wonderful conversations with many wonderful people”. 

Wayne credits the Watershed Group as a source of abiding inspiration. The development of his performative skills have also been enhanced by the reading opportunities at the new issue toasts and the monthly open mics. 

Wayne Swanger is an integral contributor to the Watershed community. His skills, perspectives, and dedication are woven into the very fabric of Watershed’s continuing success.