Mass Poetry

Just wanted to highlight the three readings I'm involved with during the Mass Poetry Festival. Register early. The events are free; however, festival organizers are taking donations to keep costs down.


Salem Launch: Mass Poetry Festival
Thursday, October 15 from 7-9 p.m.
Salem, MA

North Shore poets will help initiate the Massachusetts Poetry Festival with a reading and celebration of poetry from the Commonwealth. J.D. Scrimgeour will host. Among the readers will be: Rufus Collinson, James Connatser, Bill Coyle, Amy Dengler, Diane Kendig, Claire Keyes, Ruth Maassen, Rich Murphy, January O'Neil, John Ronan, Dan Sklar, and Suellen Wedmore.

****

Poetry Voices Past and Present, Presented by Tapestry of Voices
Saturday, October 17 from Noon-12:55 p.m.
Lowell, MA

Tapestry of Voices is an eleven year old poetry organization, co-founded by Harris Gardner and Lainie Senechal; based in Boston with over 150 affiliates from the Greater Boston Area, most of whom are widely published. TOV has produced numerous programs throughout Massachusetts, including the Ten Year Old Boston National Poetry Month Festival and two on-going monthly Boston venues. The participating poets in Poetry Voices Past and Present, presented by Tapestry of Voices will read from beloved poets from the past such as Anne Sexton, Emily Dickenson, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, T.S. Eliot, Longfellow, Lorca, Neruda, and others. Each poet will also include two original poems thematically related to each past poet creating a wonderful blend of past and present voices. This hour of poetry is sure to leave you wanting more.

****

Cave Canem Reading
Saturday, October 17 from 3-4:25 p.m.
Lowell, MA

A sampler reading of Cave Canem poets, featuring: Metta Sama, DeLana R.A. Dameron, Tara Betts, January O’Neil, Jarita Davis, Jericho Brown, Lillian Bertram, Kamilah Aisha Moon, Jacqueline Jones LaMon, Venus Thrash, Joy Gonsalves, and Johnny Davis. Founded in 1996 by poets Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady, Cave Canem is a home for the many voices of African American poetry and is committed to the artistic and professional growth of African American poets. The organization has grown from an initial gathering of 26 poets to an influential movement with renowned faculty and a high-achieving fellowship of 287 poets in 34 states. Its programs include a week-long summer retreat, first and second book prizes, a Legacy Conversation series, writing workshops, publications and national readings. Cave Canem fellows have published over 150 books and have received many prestigious awards—Guggenheim and Lannan Literary Fellowships and the Whiting Writers’ Award, among others.