The second in a series of free, spoken word/poetry readings will be held on May 22 from 2-4 p.m. at the Community Plaza, 60 Douglas Road, Whitinsville, MA from 2-4 p.m. The event will relocate to the Singh Center theater, if rain. An affiliation of regional poets will perform in this series which is split between the Whitinsville location and Roseland Park, 205 Roseland Park Road in Woodstock, CT. All performances include an open mic segment. Sign-ups are at the event; 5-minute limit. Featured on May 22 are authors Gerald Yelle, Loretta (Rhett) Watts and Joshua M. Stewart. Featured Open Mic reader will be Tianna Mercier.
Yelle is a member of the Florence Poets Society and lives in Amherst. His books include The Holyoke Diaries, from FutureCycle Press, and Mark My Word and the New World Order, from Pedestrian Press. He will be releasing a new book in 2023 from FutureCycle Press.
Watts has published poems in numerous journals including Sojourners Magazine, Spoon River Review, The Mud Chronicles, and The Worcester Review, Canary. She won the Connecticut Poetry Award in 2013. Her chapbook is No Innocent Eye from Seven Kitchen Press, and her books are Willing Suspension (Antrim House) and The Braiding (Kelsay Books). She facilitates writing and Soul Collage workshops in CT and MA.
Stewart is the author of Break Every String and The Bastard Children of Dharma Bums. His poems have appeared in the Massachusetts Review, Salamander, Plainsongs, Brilliant Corners, and many other publications. His third poetry collection, Love Something, will be published by Main Street Rag.
All remaining readings in the series will be from 2-4 p.m. and will be on June 5 (Roseland), June 26 (Singh), July 17 (Roseland), September 11 (Roseland), and October 23 (Singh).
Sponsors of the Roseland Park readings include Charter Oak Federal Credit Union, Linemaster Switch, Atty Mark Brouillard, Ashford Xtra Mart, CR Premier Properties, WHZ Strategic Wealth Advisors, Bank Hometown & EA Custom Millwork of Northbridge, MA. Sponsors of the Singh Center events include Webster First Bank, EA Custom Millwork and ValleyCast/Open Sky Community Services. Email karen.warinsky@gmail.com with questions.