Here's my morning photo (before today's shoveling); yes, there's a Kingdom Books banner under that snowbank. But as another poet wrote, "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?"
Honestly, March in Vermont won't be spring either. But at least it's got great daylight, and maple sugaring. And we launch our spring calendar of poets as March rolls into April. Please hold the dates, and for off-site events if you'd like to also stop by KB itself for a bit of inspired browsing, just let us know when.
Here's the roster so far:
Friday March 30, 3:30 p.m., at the Grace Stuart Orcutt Library of St. Johnsbury Academy, cosponsored by Kingdom Books (and we're bringing the books): CLEOPATRA MATHIS reads from The White Sea and some new work. This Dartmouth poet-professor and angel of The Frost Place braids her Cherokee-Greek-Southern US backgrounds with time spent on the dunes of Cape Cod along with her adopted home in New Hampshire, and crafts from these a lifesaving rope necessary for long searches into what the soul may be. When you lose a friend, a brother, a lover, where's the person gone to? How can you find that soul, to touch or talk with or simply pursue? Free and open to the public, in the fireside lounge, refreshments included.
Saturday March 31, 4 p.m., at St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, we participate in that gracious institution's award of the Athenaeum Medal in the Arts to RACHEL HADAS, who'll read from The River of Forgetfulness and new work, as well as perhaps some classics from her 14 books. Ticketed event ($15; reserve seats at 802-748-8291).
Monday April 9, 4 p.m., here at Kingdom Books, our second Poets' Tea, saluting JULIA SHIPLEY, who won the Ralph Nading Hill Prize last fall in Vermont Life magazine. DUDLEY LAUFMAN will be here from Canterbury, NH. We'll keep you posted as more people confirm -- a great event for reconnecting with "on-the-ground" New England poets, free of course, and a perfect day to arrive early and explore the 10,000 volumes of the Poetry-and-Fine-Press room. Yes, we still have work by New England's top narrative poets like Mary Oliver, Donald Hall, Charles Simic, Maxine Kumin ... lots of Language poetry too, and fresh items from our West Coast prowl, like some great early (and one SIGNED) A. R. Ammons, SIGNED Marvin Bell, early Gerald Malanga, Janine Pommy-Vega, ooh, don't get me started... BARBARA MORAFF promises to provide copies of some of her work that's been long out of print, too.
Saturday April 28, 11 a.m., here at Kingdom Books, Poets' Brunch with two poets published by Four Way: Ellen Dudley and Joan Aleshire. We'll have Ellen's new book on hand, and expect both poetry and great stories from these two strong-voiced women.
And looking further ahead: Saturday July 14, 3 p.m., at Catamount Arts in an air-conditioned theatre (who can imagine needing cooling off just now?): An extravaganza of poets of Alice James Press, with publisher April Ossman to introduce them. More details later.
Come on north. If it's still snowing, we promise to shovel a path.
(Just to prove a warm season is coming, here's a snap from last summer's Poets' Tea for Rachel Hadas (on the right, talking with library director Lisa Von Kann from St. J.)
No comments:
Post a Comment