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poetry

Leominster Public Library presents ‘An Evening with Robert Frost’

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LEOMINSTER — National Poetry Month comes to an end at the Leominster Public Library with a unique, riveting performance by talented actor and library favorite Stephen Collins.

“An Evening with Robert Frost” will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, in the library’s Community Room, located at 30 West St.

Collins will begin with a short biographical introduction into the life of the often greatly misunderstood poet.

“Certain people, some academics and politicians included, have tried to pigeonhole Frost as a simple purveyor of homespun wisdom,” said Diane Sanabria, Leominster Public Library’s Local History and Genealogy Librarian. “The poet, however, is far more complicated than the surface indicates.”

This was, after all, a man who voted for Eugene Debs, one of the best-known Socialists of the United States, but was vehemently opposed to Franklin Roosevelt and “The New Deal”.

“It is this complicated man that Collins brings to life through his poems, which are often a struggle between chaos and order,” Sanabria said.

As part of the performance, an open discussion of the following poems will be included “A Tuft of Flowers”; “Mending Wall”; “Birches”; “After Apple Picking”; “Acquainted with the Night”; and “Desert Places”.

Audience participation is welcomed for those who have read the poems and want to join in the discussion.

The performance closes with a dramatic reading of Frost’s masterful use of blank verse in the hauntingly memorable “The Death of the Hired Man”.

Collin’s one-man shows hold his audiences spellbound.

“I strive to convey an understanding of the impact and the reactions of the characters I portray to their respective times,” Collins said. “It is my hope to give the audience not just a performance, but an experience they will not soon forget.”

Collins grew up in Cambridge and received his BA in Literature from UMass Boston. He is a performer and a teacher who has been met with rave reviews for over a decade from audiences across New England.

This program is free of charge; registration is not required.

For more information on this program, or other Leominster Public Library events, call 978-534-7522 or visit leominsterlibrary.org.

Celebrate poetry – the kind that sings! – at the Lunenburg Public Library

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LUNENBURG — The community is invited to listen to beautiful old poems, set to music, and discuss the features that make them singable with a hands-on exploration of lyric poetry — the kind that sings.

The event, titled “Word Music and Musical Words: A Celebration of Lyric Poetry with Kate Chadbourne” will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, in the Lunenburg Public Library.

“The audience will have a chance to experiment with the musicality of poems both familiar and new and to declaim them in a way unique to them,” said Chadbourne, an accomplished singer, harper and storyteller. “Together, we’ll create a short lyric poem and put it to the ultimate test by singing it right there on the spot.”

No singing or poetry experience is required, she said. “All you need is an appreciation of words and music and a willingness to explore.”

Chadbourne is also an award-winning songwriter and poet, a scholar and teacher of Irish language and folklore with a doctorate from Harvard and a beloved performer at venues throughout New England.

She has been honored as a “tradition bearer” in the Revels Salon series and in the Gaelic Roots Concert Series at Boston College, while her music has been featured on NPR’s programs such as “Cartalk” and “All Songs Considered.”

Chadbourne has released six solo CDs, three collections of poetry and two books to encourage and support artists, musicians and creators.

Her CD, “A Celtic Blessing Year”, takes listeners on a mythic journey through the eight feasts of the traditional Irish year. Her latest book, “A November Visit,” explores the bleak and beautiful late fall season through poems, stories and Irish folklore.

“What I most want people to know about poetry is that it is for them – not for some exotic group of academics or intellectuals,” Chadbourne said. “You get to have poetry on your own terms. It’s a matter of taste and choice. What brings you alive? That’s the poetry for you.”

Chadbourne believes that poetry gives us the opportunity to pause and think, to appreciate even the smallest things that sometimes escape our notice and, most importantly, to connect with our hearts.

“Everyday life moves very fast,” she said. “Poetry invites us to move at the pace of life – a gentler, more human scale.”

Poetry is also an opportunity to play with language and to explore what things mean to us, she said. “Poetry is sort of the crossroads of thinking and feeling – and doing more of both is, I believe, very good for all of us!”

Chadbourne is proud to serve as what she calls “an ambassador of poetry,” encouraging everyone to write, read and love the art in their own way.

This year, she is set to host the fourth annual April Poetry Celebration on YouTube, which will be free and open to poets of all ages and “even people who do not consider themselves poets,” she said with a smile.

Poets send their poems to Chadbourne, who then reads as many as possible in her weekly videos. The celebration has attracted poets as young as 4 and all the way up into the late 80s.

The event at the Lunenburg Public Library will highlight the musicality of poetry — Chadbourne said she was excited to share that experience to everyone in April, otherwise known as National Poetry Month.

“When poetry meets music, something very special happens,” Chadbourne said. “Singing or hearing beautiful words can elevate us, transform us, and bring us great joy.”

For more information, those interested can call 978-582-4140 or visit lunenburglibrary.org. For more information on Kate Chadbourne, visit katechadbourne.com.