Blackout Political Poetry Night with Mass Poetry!

Create blackout poetry of political documents with Mass Poetry!

Mass Poetry is part of a national poetry coalition working together to promote the value poets bring to our culture and the important contribution poetry makes in the lives of people of all ages and backgrounds. This year’s theme is “What Is It, Then, Between Us?: Poetry & Democracy.”

We are asking the community to create erasures, or blackout poetry, of political documents including the Bill of Rights, US Constitution, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, and the speech, “Our books and our pens are the most powerful weapons” by Malala Yousafzai. Join poet MP Carver as she leads a workshop for you to create altered documents of the originals by blacking out texts while exploring their newfound meaning.

Have fun blacking out with sharpies, making scenes with paint, getting creative with duct tape and yarn, or making holes with scissors. We will display these erasures on Mass Poetry’s website, via social media, and exhibit them in large-scale format in public locales such as libraries, city halls, and on buses and subway cars.

Mass Poetry will provide the documents and craft supplies, just bring yourself on Wednesday, March 13th at 7pm!

A Poetry Reading with Martha Collins + Crystal Williams

Martha Collins has published nine collections of poetry and is the founder of the Creative Writing Program at UMass Boston, and Crystal Williams has published four collections of poetry – the third collection, Troubled Tongues, was awarded the 2009 Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Prize.

Kimberly Kruge and Nathan McClain at Belmont Books

Ordinary Chaos looks at the real, almost-real, unreal, and once-real phenomena that hide behind the veneer of ordinariness. With Kimberly Kruge’s deep focus, daily life unfurls into strangeness—time and space become malleable materials as her observations of seemingly normal objects and situations expand, take on meaning beyond their appearance, and begin a life of their own. As much as the poems address the quotidian, they also consider the mysteries of mortality, awe, mysticism, comprehension, and violence. The pages are laced with an honest sense of sensitivity, fragility, and even impending condemnation—resulting in poems that are resilient but not invulnerable. Kruge, who now makes her home in Guadalajara, Mexico, also explores the immigration process and navigating an adopted country. These experiences all contribute to her transcendent exploration of physical, emotional, and psychological geography.

Kimberly Kruge is a poet and translator based in Mexico. She is the author of the chapbook High-Land Sub-Tropic and her poems have appeared in Ploughshares, the Iowa Review, the Missouri Review, RHINO, Copper Nickel, and others. She founded and coordinates Comala Haven, a retreat and workshop in Mexico for women writers.

 

 

Scale is about a relationship between a father and a son. These poems consider the importance of acknowledging the past as well as the dangers in doing so.

NATHAN MCCLAIN is a recipient of scholarships from The Frost Place and the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and a graduate of Warren Wilson’s MFA Program for Writers. A Cave Canem fellow, his poems have recently appeared or are forthcoming in Callaloo, Ploughshares, Sou’wester, Iron Horse Literary Review, Southern Humanities Review, Waxwing and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn.

March U35 Reading w/Mass Poetry

U35 is Mass Poetry’s bi-monthly reading series for poets under the age of 35, held once each January, March, May, July, September, and November. The series seeks to promote and bolster Massachusetts poets while giving them a venue to share their work and connect with other young poets. If you are a poet under the age of 35, sign up to read via the Mass Poetry website!

http://www.masspoetry.org/u35

More about our three March readers:

Blake Campbell was born in northeastern Pennsylvania and now lives in Salem, Massachusetts. He is the recipient of the 2015 Academy of American Poets College Poetry Prize for Emerson College, and his poem “Bioluminescence” won the 2015 Aliki Perroti and Seth Frank Most Promising Young Poet Award from the Academy of American Poets. His work has appeared in the Emerson Review, The Road Not Taken: A Journal of Formal Poetry, and Hawk & Whippoorwill. His chapbook Across the Creek is forthcoming from Pen and Anvil Press.

Sarah Ehrich earned an MFA in poetry from Emerson College. She currently works as a writing instructor at Boston College and is Assistant to the Director at the Blacksmith House Poetry Reading Series in Harvard Square. Her poetry has been published in the Missouri Review, Poetry Northwest, Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, JuxtaProse, and is forthcoming in Nimrod International of Journal of Poetry and Prose.

Paola Cadena Pardo, 1983, Bogotá, Colombia. She has published two poetry books: “Hotel” (Ulrika, Bogotá, 2008) and “Cinema” (Venezuela, Bid & Co. Editor, 2012). Her poems have appeared in different magazines and anthologies of Spain, Mexico and Colombia. She also published a play titled “Cuando perros tienen alas” in Digital Colletion, University of Cincinnati. Her essay book “Corpus autobiográfico de Julio Cortázar y Alejandra Pizarnik: un acercamiento a la experiencia creadora” is soon to be released by Alción Editora in Argentina. Paola has participated in different international poetry festivals. She holds a PhD. from the University of Cincinnati and is currently working as a visiting Spanish professor at the College of the Holy Cross.

Mass Poetry’s Evening of Inspired Leaders

Evening of Inspired Leaders, a fundraiser to benefit Mass Poetry, highlights the power of poetry to inspire and delight while showcasing an all-star field of leaders. Inspired by Robert Pinsky’s Favorite Poem Project, our 2019 event will feature emcee Meghna Chakrabarti, host of WBUR’s On Point. Funds raised at Evening of Inspired Leaders will help Mass Poetry produce its dynamic roster of free and low-cost poetry programs for thousands of people, young and old, across Massachusetts.

Purchase your tickets here:
https://www.bostontheatrescene.com/season/evening-of-inspired-leaders/

And if you can support Mass Poetry at a VIP sponsor level, purchase a VIP package (by March 1st) to join us at the dessert reception at Boston Symphony Hall following the event. Meet the speakers and support Mass Poetry at the same time! Become a sponsor here: http://www.masspoetry.org/inspiredleaderssponsor

We have an incredible line-up of featured speakers this year, including:

•John Barros, Chief of Economic Development, City of Boston

•Sydney Chafee, 2017 National Teacher of the Year

•Beth Chandler, CEO of YW Boston

•Kara Elliott-Ortega, Chief of Arts and Culture, City of Boston

•Neil Gaiman, Author

•Eric Lander, President, Broad Institute

•David Leonard, President, Boston Public Library

•David McCullough, Jr., Teacher, Wellesley High School

•Amanda Palmer, Singer, Songwriter, & Author

•Dr. Peter Slavin, President, Massachusetts General Hospital

•Yvonne Spicer, Mayor of Framingham

•Karen Spilka, President, Massachusetts State Senate

•Colby Swettberg, CEO, Silver Lining Mentoring

•Tony Tjan, CEO, Cue Ball

•Elaine Zecher, Senior Rabbi, Temple Israel of Boston

Peter Fallon and David Ferry at Suffolk University

Please join the Suffolk University English Department for a reading featuring Peter Fallon and David Ferry on Tuesday, November 27th, at 7:00pm in The Poetry Center (Mildred Sawyer Library, 73 Tremont Street, Boston, MA).

Peter Fallon will read from his new translations of Hesiod’s Greek epic poem, Deeds and their Days, and David Ferry will read from his recent translations of the Roman epic, Virgil’s Aeneid.

A discussion on translation will follow the reading.

Please see attached flyer for details.

City of Boston Poet Laureate Danielle Legros Georges Reading at the BPL

In one of her last appearances as the City of Boston’s Poet Laureate (2015-2019), Danielle Legros Georges will read from her work, accompanied by special guests.

An Evening of Poetry and Conversation with RHINA P. ESPAILLAT

Meridians and the Poetry Center at Smith College invite the local community to a night of poetry and conversation celebrating the life and work of Rhina P. Espaillat. The evening’s events will bring Ms. Espaillat—a bilingual Dominican-American poet and translator who has published eleven collections of poetry—to Smith College along with scholars Nancy Kang, and Silvio A. Torres-Saillant, authors of the recently published book, The Once and Future Muse:The Poetry and Poetics of Rhina P. Espaillat. This event is also co-sponsored by the Latin American & Latino/a Studies, English Language & Literature, Study of Women and Gender, and Spanish & Portuguese departments.

On Thursday, November 29th, a brief reception will be held in Wright Hall from 4:00pm to 4:30pm, light refreshments to be served. Immediately following the reception, Ms. Espaillat will give a poetry reading and brief Q&A, at the Poetry Center from 4:30pm to 5:30pm. A book talk with scholars Nancy Kang and Silvio A. Torres-Saillant entitled “Poet of the Future: Rhina P. Espaillat’s Enduring Americanness,” will take place later that evening in Dewey Common Room from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. These events are free and open to the public. For disability access or accommodation requests, please call 413-585-2407. To request a sign language interpreter, call 413-585-2071 (voice or TTY) or send an email to ods@smith.edu at least 10 days before the event.

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Meridians y el Centro de Poesía en Smith College invita a la comunidad local para una noche de poesía y diálogo, celebrando la vida y las obras de Rhina P. Espaillat. Los eventos traerán la Sra. Espaillat—una poeta dominicana-americana bilingüe y traductora que ha publicado once colecciones de poesía—a Smith College junto con los profesores Nancy Kang y Silvio A. Torres-Saillant, autores del libro recientemente publicado, The Once and Future Muse: The Poetry and Poetics of Rhina P. Espaillat. Este evento es patrocinado en colaboración con los departamentos de Estudios de Latinoamerica, Inglés, Estudio de Mujeres y Género, y Español & Portugués.

El jueves, 29 de noviembre, una breve recepción se llevará a cabo en Wright Hall de 4pm a 4:30pm, refrigerios ligeros serán servidos. Inmediatamente después de la recepción, la Sra. Espaillat dará una lectura de su poesía con una breve oportunidad para preguntas y respuestas de 4:30pm a 5:30pm. Una charla con los profesores Nancy Kang y Silvio A. Torres-Saillant llamada “Poet of the Future: Rhina P. Espaillat’s Enduring Americanness,” se llevará a cabo más tarde en la sala de Dewey Hall de 7:30pm a 8:30pm. Estos eventos son gratis y abiertos al público. Para facilidad de acceso o arreglos especiales, por favor llame a 413-585-2407. Para solicitar un intérprete de lenguaje de señas, llame a 413-585-2071 (voz alta o TTY) o mande un correo electrónico a ods@smith.edu al menos 10 días antes del evento.

 

Poets JENNIFER FRANKLIN, JOAN HOULIHAN, and DAN TOBIN reading at Suffolk University

The Suffolk University English Department welcomes you to a poetry reading on Sunday, October 28th, at 3pm, featuring Jennifer Franklin, Joan Houlihan, and Dan Tobin.

Award Winning Poet MARILYN CHIN with TARA SKURTU at Boston University

Award-winning poet MARILYN CHIN will read at Boston University as part of the Robert Lowell Memorial Reading Series. She will also be launching her new book PORTRAIT OF THE SELF AS NATION. BU Creative Writing MFA alumna TARA SKURTU will also read. The event will be introduced by Robert Pinsky and hosted by the Robert Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University. Free and open to the public, with a reception to follow.