Published: August 22, 2008 10:47 pm            

Lower Yoder resident recognized for literary works

John Barsda calls himself a writer – more specifically, a writer of poetry.

He believes that it’s the best way for him to express himself.

The 70-year-old man writes whenever and wherever the mood strikes him, sometimes even in the middle of the night.

“I carry a pad and pen all the time so I can write,” he said from his apartment in Norwood Gardens, Lower Yoder Township.

His 20 years of poetry writing have paid off because he recently received a certificate of recognition from the International Poetry Society, which honors the best poets and poems of 2007.

One of his poems, “Pitter, Patter of the Rain,” tells of a passing rainshower.

“I was at home and heard the rain on the roof and the idea just came to me,” Barsda said.

Barsda was invited to attend the International Poetry Society’s convention in Las Vegas last month, where he would have had the opportunity to compete for a $20,000 cash prize. Unfortunately, due to financial restraints he was unable to attend.

“You needed to be there to win the money, so I lost out,” he said with a shrug.

But that doesn’t matter, Barsda is content in his little apartment working on more poems to add to his collection of roughly 2,000. Boxes line the floors, all stuffed full with his poems.

“I write about myself and how I feel at that time,” he said. “I write on things I observe when I’m outside like the trees and birds.”

Barsda has self-published three poetry books, one of which contains all religious poems. He even has a special printer that allows him to make high-quality prints.

Along with being a member of the International Poetry Society, Barsda also writes with the Pennsylvania Poetry Society Inc.

He also wrote for the Johnstown Poetry Society, which is no longer in existence.

But Barsda does not limit himself just to writing. He also enjoys painting and has some of his pieces hanging on the walls.

“I usually paint on Sunday afternoons, it’s relaxing for me, and it seems like a good day to do it,” he said.

“I learned how to paint from a local instructor who encouraged me on.”

Like his poems, Barsda paints whatever comes to his mind. But one thing is for sure, he uses lots of colors.

“God created all these colors of the world, so I try to use as many as I can in my pieces,” he said.

He hasn’t sold any of his paintings and has no plans to, but he has taken a few to the Johnstown Senior Center.

And if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, Barsda also likes to try his hand at photography.

“I like to take pictures of the sky,” he said. “You’d be surprised what you can see when you look at the sky.”

He added that parking lots are a favorite subject as well, and said you can find unusual things to photograph if you just look hard enough.

“I have 1,500 pictures that I’ve taken on my digital camera and loaded up into my computer,” Barsda said.

Barsda also spends quite a bit of time online surfing the Web and keeping in touch with his two children and five grandchildren, all of whom live in Ohio.

“I also read a lot of newspapers from around the world,” he said. “And I find some good recipes, too.”

Barsda has no answer as to why he continues to do all these things day in and day out, but he thinks it’s his calling.

“Something is in me to do this, so I just do it,” he said with a chuckle.

        

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