Poetry To Have Its Day in Woodbury

Woodbury Public Library will bring National Poetry Month to a head on April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. as Connecticut poet laureate Antoinette Brim-Bell, Woodbury poet laureate Sandy Carlson, and an array of Connecticut’s finest poets and musicians celebrate this literary art form with anyone interested in or curious about poetry at the library at 269 Main Street South. The event is free and open to the public.

There will be panel discussions, writing and music-making workshops, and opportunities to talk with the poets and read or buy their books. The day will culminate with a presentation by Sarah Marze, a UConn student who has set the works of six contemporary Connecticut poets to music for an art song project she developed with an IDEA grant from the university. She will perform with fellow UConn students Emma Bocciarelli, and Connor Shirshac.

Panelists will be invited to share their poetry and their experiences of writing and sharing it in discussions considering the questions on what makes a piece of writing a poem, the role of audience in the poet’s creative process, and the relationship between poetry and place.

There will also be poetry games available throughout the library for patrons to exercise their creativity with magnetic poetry, Haikubes, and even paint-chip poetry!

Poets: Antoinette Brim-Bell (West Haven, Connecticut Poet Laureate), Sandy Carlson (Woodbury Poet Laureate), Pegi Deitz Shea (Vernon Poet Laureate Emerita), Suzanne Frischkorn (Redding), Barb Jennes (Ridgefield Poet Laureate), Jim Kelleher (Goshen), Pat Mottola (Cheshire, President of the Connecticut Poetry Society), Tom Nicotera (Bloomfield), Lin Northrup (Woodbury), Steve Parolato (Middlebury), Katie Schneider (Norwalk), and Jack Sheedy (Harwinton)

Musicians: Emma Bocciarelli (pianist, Griswold), Julie Cook (Woodbury), Sarah Marze (Canton), Connor Shirshac (Columbia).