Tag: poetry

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Two Poetry Events in Boston and Salem this Weekend: Mass Poetry and Janaka Stucky

Mass Poetry Festival 2015 LogoThe Mass Poetry Festival takes place in Salem during the first weekend in May — just in time to cap off National Poetry Month. Founded in 2009, the festival creates a sort of clearinghouse for the many poetry events and societies in Boston and the surrounding areas. Every year, the festival saturates downtown Salem in readings, workshops, and open-air performances celebrating the written and spoken word. This year’s headliners include Rita Dove, Jorie Graham, Richard Hoffman, and Marge Piercy. The weekend boasts approximately 100 different events and the cost of attendance will fit even a starving poet’s budget: $15.

To see a schedule and purchase a festival button, visit MassPoetry.org

Book Cover and Event Poster for Janaka Stucky's The Truth Is We Are PerfectIf you like your poetry with tattoos and music, I recommend the release party for Janaka Stucky’s full-length book, The Truth Is We Are Perfect. Janaka’s first chapbook Your Name Is the Only Freedom reignited the fire in my own belly and remains one of my prize possessions — excellent text aside, Brave Men Press created a beautiful book. The founder of Black Ocean Press, Janaka has a loyal following in the Boston area. The event, which includes both poetry and music, happens at the Brattle Theatre on Saturday May 2 at 9pm. More information Facebook and the poet’s website. And then there’s this, posted on the Facebook event yesterday morning:

Friends, I’ve felt increasingly conflicted about all the self-promotion this week during so much suffering and unrest. As a result, the other performers and I have agreed to donate all proceeds from ticket sales to a relief fund for those affected by the earthquake in Nepal. Furthermore, I will personally be donating $5 to the ACLU in Baltimore for every book sold at the event on Saturday. I hope you’ll join us in supporting others, through your attendance or in your own way.

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The Fish Head at Incessant Pipe

My poem “The Fish Head” has been published at Incessant Pipe.

Under deep water I found you
in a jar as big as my head

Full poem here:

https://incessantpipe.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/poetry-the-fish-head-frances-donovan/

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Persephone, to Demeter, by Shawn Fawson

This poem comes from a collection put out by Dancing Girl Press in 2008 called “Billet-doux” (Love letters), which comes like a box of letters and postcards, each poem printed differently on a different missive. It must have taken the press a great deal of effort to produce these by hand. The format wouldn’t mean much, however, if the poetry itself weren’t high quality. I have many collections of poetry, and this is by far one of my favorite.

The myth of Persephone and Demeter has a great deal of personal significance for me. I appreciate the bare quality of this poem, and the hope offered at its end.

Persephone, to Demeter

I gather
handfuls of asphodels,
but their white edges
waste into air. I should be
thankful roots taste buttery
sweet and a feeling triggers–
your hair shaking out blue
sky, fingers pulling down knotted
threads of white birds
You seem
tiny then: stalks thicken with
shade distorting the light,
a shatter of wings where breast
and earth meet. But you are
careful, the rolling cart stands
upright on the precipice. Farmers
steady the harrow; smoke toils
on the horizon.
Each spring
I walk into daylight and offer
you this bouquet, this earth stripped
from my side making you radiant.

– Shawn Fawson
Billet Doux, Dancing Girl Press, 2008. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

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Existential Angst and Taking Writing Seriously

About a week ago Ryan Boudinot published an article in The Stranger called Things I Can Say About MFA Writing Programs Now That I No Longer Teach in One. It’s been making the rounds of the blogosphere, and plenty of people have plenty to say about it. It’s an anti-inspiration article. And it’s helpful to consider it in context. Mr. Boudinot had just emerged from that particular kind of hell only a teacher of creative writing knows. A good teacher has the ability to ferret out the tiniest kernel of good writing, to focus on it, nurture it, and help it bloom. Sometimes the fruit of all that labor is turning a promising writer into an amazing writer. And sometimes it’s just turning a terrible writer into a passable writer. On a good day, this kind of work is its own reward*. But nobody has a good day every day.

And no doubt, it was a massive relief for him to take off that teacher hat and say the things a teacher can never say. Things like:

  • Writers are born with talent.
  • If you didn’t decide to take writing seriously by the time you were a teenager, you’re probably not going to make it.
  • If you complain about not having time to write, please do us both a favor and drop out.
  • If you aren’t a serious reader, don’t expect anyone to read what you write.
  • No one cares about your problems if you’re a shitty writer.
  • You don’t need my help to get published.

I’ve read some pretty execrable things in my time and thought to myself, “There is no way that I can even begin to help this writer improve.” I once spent hours on an email explaining to a young writer why I wasn’t going to review her book. In fact, I spent longer on that email than I would have on a review that trashed the book, because that book was godawful, and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by saying, “Your book is godawful. No amount of workshopping will save this book.” I should have just stuck with the form letter, because this godawful writer has written ten more novels than I have, and she’s found a publisher who will print them. And at the end of the day, being a good writer isn’t the thing that gets you published. Ass in chair and persistence is.

I agreed with some of the points in the article, and its snarky tone was rather amusing. But I also knew it was a really horrible thing for me to read. Especially this bit, which really cut me to the quick:

If you didn’t decide to take writing seriously by the time you were a teenager, you’re probably not going to make it.

There are notable exceptions to this rule, Haruki Murakami being one. But for most people, deciding to begin pursuing creative writing in one’s 30s or 40s is probably too late. Being a writer means developing a lifelong intimacy with language. You have to be crazy about books as a kid to establish the neural architecture required to write one.

Inside every writer is that little niggling voice of self-doubt, that little voice that says, “What if I’m just a hack? Why bother? Maybe I should just take up accounting instead.” The difference between a writer and an aspiring writer is the ability to modulate that voice. Harnessed properly, that voice drives me to improve my craft. But left to its own devices, it grows into a monster that prevents me from picking up the pen at all.

Good writing is much harder to quantify than good accounting. It’s the subject of much debate in academic circles, and ultimately it’s a matter of personal taste. You don’t need an MFA to have an opinion about a book, or even to get one published. In fact, you don’t need to be a good writer for your book to sell like hotcakes. You just need to put your ass in your chair, to keep writing, and to find your audience.

Mr. Boudinot never told me I don’t take my writing seriously. He didn’t need to. My own little niggling voice of self-doubt did it for me. Because clearly, if I haven’t published The Great American Novel by now, I must not be taking my writing seriously. Never mind that I’m a poet and not a novelist. Never mind that I’ve been writing steadily since the age of 9, that I was the kind of kid who spent her afternoons in the library after school. Never mind that publication doesn’t necessarily correlate with “taking writing seriously.” If anything, I take writing too seriously. Sometimes I take it so seriously that it paralyzes me. Like so many writers before me, I’ll get ahead of myself and start thinking about my audience instead of focusing on the real reason why any of us write: for that fleeting, perfect moment of having written.

I woke up this morning with my usual fortnightly bout of existential angst. Any writer with her salt knows what I’m talking about. It goes something like this: Why bother trying to be a better poet when so few people even read the stuff? Maybe I should just try to be a fiction writer instead. Maybe I should write a memoir. Maybe I should just give the whole thing up and become an accountant. What on earth am I thinking trying to change careers at this point in my life? Why can’t I just be satisfied with what I have? Why is being a writer so important to me anyway? Am I just a hack? Am I just in denial about being a hack? Does any of this really matter? What is the point of existence? Do I even really exist? And who is this “I” who worries about whether or not I exist?

I can’t blame any of these thoughts — or the resulting angst — on Mr. Boudinot. Experience tells me that they will pass, and that my confidence will return. I’ll keep plugging along with my morning pages and my drafts and my submissions to literary magazines with tiny readerships. And I’ll do it for the best reason I can think of to keep writing: for that fleeting, perfect moment when I think I’m any good at it.


* Which is good, because the monetary rewards aren’t much.

Photo of broken pencil courtesy of Marle Coleman under Creative Commons license.

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Boston Area Poetry Readings for March 2015

This year, February has been the cruelest month in Boston. No matter what March holds, I’m ready to come out of hibernation and seek out poetic community. Plenty of people have similar plans, as you can see from the listings below.

Two of my favorite poets, Wendy Drexler and Eric Hyett, will be reading at Newtonville Book this coming Monday March 2. Honor Moore will be at the Blacksmith House in Cambridge the same night. That following Friday March 6 is Write On the Dot, a reading series put on by UMass Boston MFA students and local Dorcester writers. And Monday, March 9, Daniel Bouchard will be reading at MIT. Daniel is the man responsible for compiling these listings and a fine poet in his own right. His latest book Art & Nature is available from the indy darling Ugly Duckling Presse. On Thursday March 19 I’m looking forward to strolling over to my own neighborhood reading series in Roslindale. Other listings range from Providence to Northampton, so no matter where you live in Massachusetts, there’s poetry close by.

Sunday, March 1, 12 pm
Mary Kane and Miriam O’Neal
Poetry: The Art of Words/Mike Amado Memorial Series
The Plymouth Center for the Arts
11 North St
Plymouth, MA

Monday, March 2, 7 pm
Wendy Drexler and Eric Hyett
Newtonville Books
10 Langley Road
Newton, MA

Monday, March 2, 8 pm
Honor Moore and Peg Boyers
The Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
$3

Tuesday, March 3, 6:30 pm
Jeffrey Levine and Sarah Strickney
The Crane Room
Tufts University
Medford, MA

Tuesday, March 3, 7:30 pm
Bettina Judd
Stoddard Hall Auditorium
Smith College
Northampton, MA

Tuesday, March 3, 8 pm
Eleanor Goodman
Boston University Black Box Poetry Series
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre
949 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA

Tuesday, March 3
Astrid Drew and Craig Sonnenfeld
‘For the Love of Words’
Blackthorne Publick House
402 Turnpike St. (Rt.138)
S. Easton, MA

Tuesday March 3, 6 pm
Peg Boyers
Katzenberg Center, 3rd floor, CGS
Boston University
Boston, MA

Wednesday, March 4, 7 pm
Annie Pluto and Irene Koronas
Cervena Barva Press Reading Series
Arts at the Armory
Cervena Barva Press Studio/Basement B8
191 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA
$3

Thursday, March 5, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Sharon Bryan and Mary Baine Campbell
Pearlman Lounge
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA

Thursday, March 5, 6 pm
Andrew Zawacki
“The Poetics of Graffiti”
Woodberry Poetry Room, Lamont Library, Room 330
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Free and open to the public

Friday, March 6, 6:30 pm
Danielle Legros Georges, Liam Day, Emily Jaeger, and open mic
Write on the Dot
The Banshee
934 Dorchester Ave
Dorchester, MA

Friday, March 6, 7 pm
Partridge Boswell, Alice B. Fogel, Peter Money, and Diana Whitney
Harbor Mountain Press Fundraising Reading for Grolier
Grolier Poetry Book Shop
6 Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA

Friday, March 6, 8 pm
Sara Lippmann, Jon Papernick, and Matthew Lippman
Dire Literary Series
Out of the Blue Art Gallery
541 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA

Sunday, March 8, 3 – 5 pm
Danielle Legros Georges, John Holgerson and Sandra Storey
Calliope: Poetry Readings at West Falmouth Library
575 West Falmouth Highway
Falmouth, MA
Donation: $5. Refreshments provided

Sunday, March 8, 1 pm
Visual Inverse 2015 [24 poets interpret 24 piece of art]
Bill Alberti, James Brosnan, Barbara Siegel Carlson, Louisa Clerici, Nancy Brady Cunningham, Harris Gardner, Regie O Gibson, Elizabeth Hanson, Diane Harrison, Lawrence Kessenich, Irene Koronas, Thomas Libby, Gloria Mindock. Nancy Morgan-Boucher, Tomas O’Leary, Miriam O’Neal, Rene Schwiesow, Lainie Senechal, Zvi Sesling, Dolores Stewart, Lisa Sullivan, Renee Summers, Susan Thanes and Sheila Mullen Twyman
The Plymouth Center for the Arts
11 North St
Plymouth, MA

Sunday, March 8, 3 pm
Peter Gizzi
Poetry at the Library Series
Concord Free Public Library
With book signing reception
129 Main St.
Concord, MA

Sunday, March 8, 3 pm
Samuel Amadon and Matthea Harvey
jubilat / Jones Reading Series
Goodwin Room
Jones Library
43 Amity Street
Amherst, MA

Monday, March 9, 7 pm
Daniel Bouchard and Jessica Bozek
Room 32-141
Stata Center (aka Frank Gehry building)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Free and open to the public

Monday, March 9, 8 pm
Sandra Lim and Chloe Honum
The Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
$3

Tuesday, March 10, 2:30 pm
Don Mi Choi
McCormack Family Theater
70 Brown St.
Providence, RI

Tuesday, March 10, 7 pm
Jorie Graham
Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA

Thursday, March 12, 6 pm
“BE AGAIN”: Three films by Fanny Howe
Introduction by Keith Jones
Thompson Room, Barker Center
12 Quincy Street
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Free and open to the public

Thursday, March 12, 7 pm
Mark Schorr
recites Blake, Ginsberg, and his own poems
Grolier Poetry Bookshop
9 Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA

Friday, March 13, 7:30 pm
David Groff, Audrey Henderson, and Steven Riel
Chapter and Verse Literary Reading Series
Loring-Greenough House
12 South Street
(across from the Monument)
Jamaica Plain, MA

Saturday, March 14, 7 pm
Sarah Manguso
Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA

Sunday, March 15, 2-4 pm
Marsha Pomerantz, Stephen Burt, and Jericho Brown
Brookline Public Library, Main Branch
361 Washington St.
Brookline Village
Brookline, MA

Monday, March 16, 8 pm
Julia Lisella and Caki Wilkinson
The Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
$3 admission

Wednesday, March 18, 7 pm
Deborah Pfeiffer, Ruby Poltorak, Elizabeth Quinlan and Barbara Thomas
Hosted by Sam Cornish
New England Mobile Book Fair
82 Needham Street
Newton Highlands, MA

Wednesday, March 18, 7:30 pm
John J. Ronan, Rufus Collinson and Nancy Hewitt.
Gloucester Writers Center
126 East Main Street
Gloucester, MA

Thursday, March 19, 2:30 pm
Julia Fiedorczuk
McCormack Family Theater
70 Brown St.
Providence, RI

Thursday, March 19, 7 – 9 pm
Ladette Randolph and Dorothy Derifield
Rozzie Reads
Roslindale House
120 Poplar Street
Roslindale, MA

Thursday, March 19, 7:30 pm
Ron Padgett
15th Annual Robert Creeley Award
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
36 Charter Road
Acton, MA

Friday, March 20, 7 pm
Peter Covino, Walt McGough
The Clearing (Natanya Silverman, with Megan Caniglia, Caroline Lyons, + Madelyn Robinson)
phantom phantom: an experimental performance series
The Green Room
62 Bow Street
Somerville, MA

Saturday, March 21, 10:30 am
Johnny Flaherty, Bruce Marcus and Ron Israel
Wake up and Smell the Poetry
HCAM Studios
77 Main Street
Hopkinton, MA

Saturday, March 21, 3 pm
Tim Steele and Meredith Bergmann
Powow River Poets Reading Series
Newburyport Public Library
94 State Street
Newburyport, MA

Sunday, March 22, 3 pm
Kids Open Mic
Gloucester Writers Center
126 East Main Street
Gloucester, MA

Monday, March 23, 8 pm
Krysten Hill, Brionne Thompson and Jeffrey Perkins
The Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
$3

Tuesday, March 24, 7 pm
Martha Collins and Jeffrey Harrison
Grolier Poetry Reading Series
6 Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA

Tuesday, March 24, 7 pm
David R. DiSarro, Richard Shideler, and Denise Warren
U35 Poetry Reading
Marliave
10 Bosworth Street
Boston, MA

Tuesday, March 24, 7:30 pm
Stephen Mitchell
Stoddard Hall Auditorium
Smith College
Northampton, MA

Wednesday, March 25, 6:30 pm
Afaa Weaver, Cynthia Cruz, and Jericho Brown
Cambridge Public Library
Lecture Hall
449 Broadway
Cambridge, MA

Sunday, March 29, 7 pm
Book releases for Dara Cerv, Elaine Kahn, Kit Schlüter, Thera Webb
2×2 Reading Series
The Purple Palace
362 Broadway
Cambridge, MA

Monday, March 30, 8 pm
Tom Sleigh and Alice Fulton
The Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridg, MA
$3

Tuesday, March 31, 5 pm
Brenda Hillman
Morris Gray Reading
Harvard University
location to come

Tuesday, March 31, 7 pm
Veronica Golos
Grolier Poetry Bookshop
9 Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA

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For Beth with the Golden Hair Published in Oddball Magazine

Oddball Magazine just published my poem “For Beth with the Golden Hair.”

I am a weaker version of you
you are a stronger version of me
you said as you did not grind the gears
as you pushed it into fifth

Read the full poem here: http://oddballmagazine.com/2015/02/25/poem-by-frances-donovan/

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Boston Area Poetry Readings for February 2015

Massive snowstorms have been causing gridlock all around Boston for the past couple of weeks. Hardy souls can still brave the snow and find poetic respite, though. Many of these readings are close to public transit. My recommendations appear in bold.

Denizens of Jamaica Plain and environs, there’s a new bookstore, Papercuts on Green Street, less than a block off Centre Street next to the Blue Frog Bakery. Be sure to take a moment to browse the shelves of hand-picked books, which include a quite respectable poetry section.

 

Wednesday February 4, 7 pm
Gloria Mindock, Nicholas Bartoli and Jaime Bonney
Hastings Room
First Church Congregationalist
11 Garden Street
Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA

Thursday, February 5, 7 pm
Joan Houlihan and Martha Collins
Suffolk University Poetry Center
Mildred F. Sawyer Library
73 Tremont Street
Boston, MA

Friday, February 6, 7 pm
Ariana Reines and Andrea Werblin
Grolier Poetry Shop
Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA

Friday, February 6, 7 pm
Brian Burt and Peter Ramos
Book Launch
Back Pages Books
289 Moody Street
Waltham, MA

Friday, February 6, 8 pm
Steven Brykman, Mignon Ariel King, Michael Steffen, Jilly Gagnon
Dire Literary Reading Series
Out of the Blue Art Gallery
541 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA

Sunday, February 8, 12 pm
Marguerite Bouvard and James Brosnan
Poetry: The Art of Words/Mike Amado Memorial Series
The Plymouth Center for the Arts
11 North St
Plymouth, MA

Sunday, February 8, 2 – 4 pm
Marsha Pomerantz and Bill Yarrow
Jewish Poetry Fest
Temple Sinaim Brookline
50 Sewall, Street
Brookline, MA
Open Mic, Refreshments

Sunday, February 8, 3 pm
Karina Borowicz
With book signing reception
Poetry at the Library Series
Concord Free Public Library
129 Main Street
Concord, MA

Sunday, February 8, 12 pm
Marguerite Bouvard and James Bronsan
Poetry: The Art of Words/Mike Amado Memorial Series
The Plymouth Center for the Arts
11 North St
Plymouth, MA

Sunday, February 8, 3 – 5 pm
Mark Hart, Audrey Henderson, and Jennifer Tseng
Calliope: Poetry Readings at West Falmouth Library
575 West Falmouth Highway
Falmouth, MA
$5

Monday, February 9, 11 am
Nancy Esposito
Books and Bites
Belmont Public Library
336 Concord Ave.
Belmont, MA

Monday, February 9, 7 pm (postponed from Feb 2 on account of snow)
Shana Hill and Dianne Silvestri
Newtonville Books
10 Langley Road
Newton, MA

Tuesday, February 10, 7:30 pm
Fred Marchant
Stoddard Hall Auditorium
Smith College
Northampton, MA

Wednesday, February 11, 6 pm
Gerrit Lansing
with an oral history and interview
Woodberry Poetry Room
Lamont Library, Rm. 330
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA

Wednesday, February 11, 7 pm
Denise Bergman and Tino Villanueva
Porter Square Bookstore
25 White Street
Cambridge, MA

Thursday, February 12, 7 pm
Gary Whited and Audrey Henderson
Grolier Poetry Reading Series
Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA

Friday, February 13, 7:30 pm
Susan Nisenbaum Becker, Holly Guran, and George Kalogeris
Chapter and Verse Literary Reading Series
Loring-Greenough House
12 South Street
Jamaica Plain, MA (just across from the Monument)
$5

Saturday, February 14, 3 pm
Douglas Rothschild and Jim Behrle
Outpost 186
186 1/2 Hampshire St
Cambridge, MA

Sunday, February 15, 2-4 pm
Stephen Burt, opening reader TBA
Brookline Public Library, Main Branch
361 Washington St.
Brookline Village
Brookline, MA

Wednesday, February 18, 6 pm
Rachel Blau DuPlessis and Nathaniel Mackey
Edison Newman Room
Houghton Library
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA

Friday, February 20, 8 pm
Daniel Bouchard, Laynie Browne, and Julie Carr
Small Animal Project
Outpost 186
186 1/2 Hampshire St
Cambridge, MA

Saturday, February 21, 7 pm
Matthew Rohrer
Grolier Poetry Reading Series
Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA

Sunday, February 22, 1pm
Visual Inverse 2015 [24 poets interpret 24 piece of art]
Bill Alberti, James Brosnan, Barbara Siegel Carlson, Louisa Clerici, Nancy Brady Cunningham, Harris Gardner, Regie O Gibson, Elizabeth Hanson, Diane Harrison, Lawrence Kessenich, Irene Koronas, Thomas Libby, Gloria Mindock. Nancy Morgan-Boucher, Tomas O’Leary, Miriam O’Neal, Rene Schwiesow, Lainie Senechal, Zvi Sessling, Dolores Stewart, Lisa Sullivan, Renee Summers, Susan Thanes and Sheila Mullen Twyman
The Plymouth Center for the Arts
11 North St
Plymouth, MA

Wednesday, February 25, 7 pm
Cammy Thomas
Porter Square Books
25 White St
Cambridge, MA

Thursday, February 26, 6 pm
Timothy Donnelly
The Bagley Wright Lecture
Edison Newman Room
Houghton Library
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA

Thursday, February 26, 6 pm
Eliza Griswold
Katzenberg Center, 3rd floor, CGS
871 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston University
Boston, MA

Saturday, February 28, 5 pm
Sara White
Grolier Poetry Reading Series
Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA

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Poetry Readings in the Boston Area for January and February 2015

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but
expanding your poetic horizons
feeding the soul with beauty
connecting with your ancestors by gathering together in the warmth to hear the older sister of song
the poetry’s so delightful.

Revision is the mother of skill.

Below are listings for the Boston area and environs. My fellow poet Adam Stone is also on a mysterious poetry tour across America. He’s been seen most recently in Utah. Follow him on Facebook for more details.

Sunday, January 11, 3 – 5 pm
Kim Baker, J.D. Scrimgeour, and Cammy Thomas
Calliope: Poetry Readings at West Falmouth Library
575 West Falmouth Highway
Falmouth, MA
Donation: $5. Refreshments provided

Sunday, January 18, 2-4 pm
Kathi Aguero and Denise Bergman
Brookline Public Library, Main Branch
361 Washington St.
Brookline Village
Thursday, February 5, 7 pm
Joan Houlihan and Martha Collins
Suffolk University Poetry Center
Mildred F. Sawyer Library
73 Tremont Street
Boston

Sunday, February 8, 3 – 5 pm
Mark Hart, Audrey Henderson, and Jennifer Tseng
Calliope: Poetry Readings at West Falmouth Library
575 West Falmouth Highway
Falmouth, MA
$5

Sunday, February 15, 2-4 pm
Stephen Burt, opening reader TBA
Brookline Public Library, Main Branch
361 Washington St.
Brookline Village

Thursday, February 26, 6 pm
Eliza Griswold
Katzenberg Center, 3rd floor, CGS
871 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston University
Boston

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Boston Area Poetry Readings for the Rest of December 2014 and January 2015

Below are poetry readings in and around the Boston area for December 2014 and January 2015. Wishing you a festive winter holiday of your choosing.

Thursday, December 18, 7 pm
Karen Skolfield
Midnight Voices
Friends Meeting
5 Longfellow Park
Cambridge, MA

Saturday, December 20, 10:30 am
Wake up and Smell the Poetry
Ted Reinstein, Dan Zampino and Lloyd Thayer
HCAM Studios, 77 Main Street
Hopkinton, MA

Saturday December 20, 6 pm
January Gill O’Neil, Adam Fitzgerald (virtual), Simeon Berry, Cecily Iddings, Michael Morency, and Donald Vincent
Mr. Hip Presents: #HipKidsRead Raffle Benefit
Room 83 spring
83 Spring Street
Watertown, MA

Sunday, December 21, 2- 4 pm
Sandra Lim and Jennifer Tseng
Brookline Public Library, Main Branch
361 Washington St.
Brookline Village
Brookline, MA

Friday, January 2, 7-10 pm
Donald Vincent, Toni Bee, Jade Sylvan, Tom Daley, Anda Volley and Jennifer Matthews
Lo Galluccio hosts
Mandela room at the Democracy Center
45 Mt. Auburn St.
Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA

Saturday, January 3, 6:30 pm
Marilyn Nelson
Lesley University
Marran Theater, 47 Oxford Street
Mellen Street entrance
Cambridge, MA

Monday, January 5, 6:30 pm
Adrian Matejka
Lesley University
Marran Theater, 47 Oxford Street
Mellen Street entrance
Cambridge, MA

Monday, January 5, 7 pm
Margot Wizansky and Richard Waring
Newtonville Books
10 Langley Road
Newton, MA

Monday, January 5, 7 pm
Irene Koronas, Dennis Daly and Michael Todd Steffen
Somerville Library West Branch
(not wheel-chair accessible)
40 College Ave
Somerville, MA

Wednesday, January 7, 7:00 pm
Erin Belieu
Lesley University
Marran Theater, 47 Oxford Street
Mellen Street entrance
Cambridge, MA

Saturday, January 10, 3 pm
Andrew Sofer and Anne Mulvey
Powow River Poets Reading Series
Newburyport Public Library
94 State Street
Newburyport, MA

Sunday, January 11, 12 pm
Winston Bolton and Patricia Gomes
Poetry: The Art of Words/Mike Amado Memorial Series
The Plymouth Center for the Arts
11 North St
Plymouth, MA

Sunday, January 11, 3 – 5 pm
Kim Baker, J.D. Scrimgeour, and Cammy Thomas
Calliope: Poetry Readings at West Falmouth Library
575 West Falmouth Highway
Falmouth, MA
Donation: $5. Refreshments provided

Thursday, January 15, 7 pm
Alexis Ivy, Emily Ferrara, and open mike
Rozzie Reads
Roslindale House
120 Poplar Street
Roslindale, MA

Sunday, January 18, 2-4 pm
Kathi Aguero and Denise Bergman
Brookline Public Library, Main Branch
361 Washington St.
Brookline Village
Brookline, MA