The board of trustees for The Frost Place (the Franconia, N.H., home of Robert Frost during the time when he wrote some of his most significant poems and moved from obscurity to blinding fame) met in New York City this weekend. I'm excited about the visions and potential long reaches that the board evoked during a three-hour strategic planning session. "Full disclosure": I've been on this board for two years, look forward to at least four more, and count the labor as part of what it takes to make life worthwhile.
While all this goes on behind the scenes, it's now time to enroll in order to participate in this year's Festival and Conference of Poetry, set for July 27-August 2 and featuring guest poets Cornelius Eady, Susan Howe, Chase Twichell, Jean Valentine, and David Wojahn -- as well as resident poet for the season James Hoch. The energy of the site, the people, and the determination to foster contemporary poetry become hugely vibrant. Applications are available at the web site: www.frostplace.org (and yes, there ARE some scholarship funds, so do apply even in this rocky economy and then talk with director Jim Schley about how to make this highlight of your summer -- of your passion? -- possible).
Sitting next to me at the meeting was longtime trustee Martha Rhodes, a poet and publisher of Four Way Books. As we looked into the future of The Frost Place, Martha and I also looked into the collaborations that all of us need to forge and nourish. So -- we decided to provide some links between the Kingdom Books blog and the electronic footprints of Four Way Books, to make it easy for guests at either site to explore the other. Hence I'm adding to the righthand column a link to the Four Way Books web site, www.fourwaybooks.com, and I suggest a visit to the blog also, fourwaybooks.blogspot.com
Thanks, Martha, for all you do for contemporary poets and poetry.
No comments:
Post a Comment