POETRY HERE AND NOW. On Friday, March 13, 2009, from 10-12 AM, Five College Learning in Retirement (“5CLIR”), a program of Five Colleges, Incorporated, in cooperation with Northampton’s Forbes Library, is offering a program of four Pioneer Valley poets reading their poems and poems of others.
At the Coolidge Room of Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton, Leslea Newman, Northampton’s own Poet Laureate, Henry Lyman, longtime Northampton resident who was host for some twenty years of the national radio show, “Poems to a Listener,” and two 5CLIR members, Sue Case and Wil Hastings, will speak in and talk about varieties of contemporary American poetry.
This is a chance to catch up on some of “whatsa happenin’” in local poetry today, some of it funny and some of it not. What could be better?
Leslea Newman is the author of more than 50 books, with associated awards, including novels, children's books and books of poetry. Her most recent book of poems is Nobody’s Mother (Orchard House Press, 2008).
In addition to his long-running radio show on poetry, Henry Lyman’s poems and translations have appeared in many periodicals and two collections published by The Elizabeth Press. He edited Robert Francis’ posthumous collection of poems, Late Fire, Late Snow.
Sue Case’s poems have also appeared in numerous periodicals including Peregrine and The Comstock Review and has a new chapbook, Blown Roses, just publlished by Pudding House Press. Wil Hastings has two published chapbooks, Making Bread (Juniper Creek Publishing, 2007) and Stones Rounded by Years of Conversation (Plan B Press, 2008).