Archives for June 2023

Mapping Worcester in Poetry Making a Splash in the Community

by

Beth Sweeney’s ‘Mapping Worcester in Poetry’ is getting some well deserved media coverage. The first story is by Margaret Smith of the T&G:

 

“The next time you’re out and about in Worcester, you may well be following in the footsteps of Stanley Kunitz, Elizabeth Bishop or Frank O’Hara. A new project aims to capture the places poets have trodden, and take residents and visitors alike with them, with self-guided walking and driving tours of locations important in the lives of poets who have left their mark.

The project also includes a poetry competition, seeking poems about places in the city, both past and present, and a series of tours highlighting locations in the lives of poets who were born in or spent significant time in the city.” Continue reading

 

The second story is Holy Cross Magazine Spring Edition Volume 57 Issue 2 on Page 24. As soon as a digital copy is available, we will update our website with a link to it, but paper copies can be found on Holy Cross Campus.

 

Our wonderful President receives MASSHumanities Governor’s Award

by

We are happy to announce the recipients of the 2023 Governor’s Awards in the Humanities. The foundation will honor four individuals for their commitments to education, civil and human rights, community development and philanthropy on September 28 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

Presented in partnership with Governor Maura Healey, Mass Humanities will recognize Margaret Burnham, Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, Kumble Subbaswamy and Elizabeth Bacon for their contributions to the humanities and improving public life in Massachusetts.

“Massachusetts is home to a thriving humanities sector that makes our state more enlightened, innovative and inclusive,” said Governor Healey. “I’m proud to present the Governor’s Awards in the Humanities to these four leaders in recognition of the exceptional contributions they have made in education, history, community development, philanthropy, civil rights and more. I’m also grateful to the Mass Humanities Board for their partnership and the incredible work they do to expand opportunities across our state.”

Register For The Event

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AWARDEES
  • Margaret Burnham, of Boston, is an internationally recognized expert on civil and human rights, comparative constitutional rights, and international criminal law. As a University Distinguished Professor of Law at Northeastern University, she is the founder and director of the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project at Northeastern and the first African American Judge in Massachusetts. Burnham is being honored for her dedication to exploring history, illuminating truth and confronting injustice in order to protect civil and human rights locally, nationally and internationally.
  • Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, of Boston, is the CEO of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, Boston. She has had a long and multifaceted career demonstrating a commitment to the humanities within education, community development, and philanthropy in Boston and across the state. Calderón-Rosado is being honored for her work that actively promotes Latinx culture and builds community through the arts in Boston’s South End and for her contributions to shaping a more equitable philanthropic ecosystem in Massachusetts.
  • Kumble Subbaswamy, of Amherst, is the retiring Chancellor of UMass Amherst and a committed public education advocate. Subbaswamy is being honored for his commitment to education and transformative work at UMass Amherst. His work building a campus culture centered on social responsibility and inclusiveness are essential elements in the humanities.
  • Elizabeth Bacon, of Worcester, is the coordinator of the Clemente Course in the Humanities, Worcester. She is also serving as President for the Worcester County Poetry Association. Bacon has been a long-time leader, on-the-ground coordinator, and advocate in the humanities. Her extensive contributions to the humanities includes her work at This is MYCity! and Worcester’s Blackstone Canal Horse and Wagon Tours. Bacon is being honored for her excellence in using history as a tool for community development and economic empowerment and tirelessly advocating for the humanities in her home city and across the state.
“Massachusetts is a better place because of the contributions made by this year’s Governor’s Awards honorees,” said Brian Boyles, Executive Director of Mass Humanities. “They continue to break barriers, elevate the voices of their communities, and contribute to our understanding of the Commonwealth and the nation. We thank Governor Healey for partnering with us this year to celebrate these transformational humanists.”

WPL is issuing a call for Poetry Features

by

WPL is looking to publish the poem of any local-ish poet if that poem is suitable for general audiences (no x-rated works, please), and of reasonable length, (100 lines & under)

 

Each poem is published on their Poem of the Month tab of their Poet’s Place webpage, which can be found here.   Each poem stays on that page for about a month, give or take.

 

All interested poets can email  Melody Friedenthal mfriedenthal@mywpl.org.