on poetry

“If I could I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results.”
Emily Brontë
(July 30, 1818 – December 19, 1848)

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from Boston and beyond

Founded in 1998, the Boston Poetry Marathon is a summer tradition of poets from around the globe, representing many different aesthetics and backgrounds, coming together for a weekend-long poetry-reading festival. Admission is free (donations encouraged) and open to the public.

The 2021 Boston Poetry Marathon will be held online on Thursday, August 5, Friday, August 6, and all day Saturday, August 7. Here’s the schedule and here are the YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter access links.

poetry everywhere

In case Reader’s Digest Canada is not on the top of your reading list, here’s a short article in today’s online issue: How to Understand — And Like — Poetry. Micah Toub interviews poet Sonnet L’Abbé.

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thanks to Arleen Paré for the heads up

watch some poetry

Here’s more poetry for your viewing pleasure. IMMA is Ireland’s National Cultural Institution for Modern and Contemporary Art. Poetry Speaks is an exhibition by the New York-based Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation and Poetry Ireland, presented by IMMA.

This series of poetry films captures poets and actors from Ireland, the US and the UK, reading their own poems or works by beloved poets, that seek to integrate poetry into everyday life. Presented outside in the formal gardens at IMMA with four different monthly programmes of poetry films, each focused on a different theme.

Visit the Poetry Speaks page and use the plus ( + ) signs as you scroll down to access pages introducing each reader and a variety of audio and video readings.

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image: installation view, IMMA, Dublin

on poetry

“Look under the bed for poetry.”
Ruth Krauss
(July 25, 1901 – July 10, 1993)

Sunday in Sequim

The town of Sequim, Washington, doesn’t get a lot of play on these pages (most Washingtonians know how to pronounce it; do you?), but just last week we introduced The Poetry Cafe, which is curated by Sequim poet and resident Risa Denenberg. Now Sequim is back, with a reading from of Empty Bowl’s Madrona Project #2, Keep a Green Bough, this Sunday, July 25, 2021, at 4:00pm, in the amphitheater outside the Dungeness River Audubon Center at Railroad Bridge Park.

You can hear Risa Denenberg, along with poets Tess Gallagher, Meredith Parker, Alice Derry, Carmen Germaine, Kathryn Hunt, Paula MacKay, K’Ehleyr McNulty, Mary Morgan, Kate Reavey and Charlotte Warren. The volume’s editor, Holly J. Hughes, will emcee.

Take a hike, do some picking in the Lavender Capital of North America, take in some poetry, have a meal: enjoy Sequim.

readers get ready

It’s almost August and that means it’s time once again for The Sealey Challenge. It started as a personal project in 2017 when poet Nicole Sealey decided to challenge herself to read a book of poems each day for the month of August.

“There is no prize waiting at the end; instead, participants are left with the knowledge of 31 fresh voices, a sense of belonging to a discovered community, and — hopefully — a newfound (or renewed) love of poetry.” Laura Buccieri, Lithub

There’s no charge to participate. Visit your favorite independent bookseller (or perhaps your own overstuffed shelf of un-read books) and select 31 books, chapbooks, or poetry zines. Read one each day. Share photos of your books tagged #TheSealeyChallenge on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

(And by the way, if you fall in love with what you’re reading, why not write a review on Goodreads or one of those other book sites?)

Are you up for the challenge?

listen!

The Woodberry Poetry Room in Lamont Library at Harvard University houses a landmark collection of over 6,000 poetry recordings (1933 to the present) among many other materials. Open to the public and to scholars, the library has several wonderful listening opportunities, easily accessible: The Listening Booth features highlights from the library’s A/V collection. Though discontinued in 2018, it is still available online. More recent materials can be found on the WPR YouTube channel. Additionally, the WPR Vocarium offers a virtual experience of the Poetry Room’s multi-author programs, including panels, seminars, oral histories and performances.

Happy listening!

live on Vashon

Join Vashon Island poets and poetry fans live and in person at Snapdragon Bakery & Cafe on Friday, July 23, 2021, at 7:00pm, to welcome the new Vashon Island Poet Laureate, Sandra Noel. There will be readings, ceremony, and cake!

Pedalpalooza!

If you and your bicycle are anywhere near Portland, Oregon, this Thursday, July 22, 2021, join Oregon Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani for a couple of hours and about four-and-a-half miles of poetry on wheels. Part of the three-month Pedalpalooza celebration (full calendar here), Spoke’n Words will begin at 6:00pm at Oregon Park and end at Revolution Hall.