Dr. Charles Fort holds poetry reading at Arbor Acres

By Judie Holcomb-Pack Dr. Charles Fort, a new resident of Arbor Acres Retirement Community, shared his poetry and told stories about his late wife during a reading on Feb. 8 in Piner Hall at Arbor Acres. He got a chuckle from the audience when he announced, “My stay here has been 99% positive. I’ll speak about the other 1% later.”   Fort spoke about his late wife Wendy’s last illness and passing. His wife, a professional dancer, would sometimes accompany him at his poetry readings and dance to poems from his book, “The Afro Psalms.” He shared the poem he wrote for her memorial service and said that “these are the saddest words.” Dr. Fort moved here last September from Wilmington, North Carolina. He’s a former college professor of poetry and founded the creative writing course at UNC-Wilmington. Fort’s writing reflects the Black experiences that he and his family have faced throughout their lives. His wife, who was white, passed away in 2001 when his daughters were young. He raised two very accomplished biracial girls as a single dad.  Both of Dr. Fort’s daughters are in theater. One of his daughters, Claire Fort, teaches acting and directing in the School of...