UpStairs on the Square

I feel like Cinderella after the ball: tired but wired after last night's fundraiser for Mass Poetry. Of course, Mass Poetry is the real Cinderella story. We put the roots in grassroots. But last night was a testament to the power of poetry bringing together a community.

Our fundraiser brought 80+ poets and poetry lovers to UpStairs on the Square, a delighful (and colorful) restuarant in Cambridge. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky was pitch perfect as he read from his new Selected Poems, and from memory--he has quite a catalogue of poems committed to memory. He also read some of his favorite poems that he's collected and loved through the years.

I couldn't have been more pleased with last night's affair. It was grand. Fundraising totals are still coming in, but one donor was so moved by the work of Mass Poetry he wrote a rather large check.

When I say large, I mean large.

Jennifer Jean and Carrie Wihbey

Michael Ansara and Lloyd Schwartz

Julie Batten, Amanda Torres, and Beth Moore

The dress.

Robert Pinsky and Lloyd Schwartz

Upstairs at UpStairs on the Square

Robert reads from his Selected Poems

POEMJAZZ, Robert's new CD

Listen to track's from Robert's new CD, POEMJAZZ.)


While the fundraiser was drop in the bucket, we need more drops to fill the bucket. Not only does Mass Poetry produce the Massachusetts Poetry Festival, we also bring high school students together for a student day of poetry, and put poets in low-performing schools to help raise literary rates. We do all of this on a shoestring budget.

If you didn't make it to last night's event, or won't be able to make it to our Salem fundraiser, you can donate on our Web page (click the donate button).

Thanks to all who made last night's event possible.