Congratulations to Oliver de la Paz, Worcester’s New Poet Laureate!

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[Photo credit: Meredith Pugh]

 

City manager Batista announced the results of this year’s search for a poet laureate. The winner is Oliver de la Paz.

Oliver de la Paz is the Poet Laureate of Worcester, MA for 2023-2025. He is the author and editor of seven books: Names Above Houses, Furious Lullaby, Requiem for the Orchard, Post Subject: A Fable, and The Boy in the Labyrinth, a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award in Poetry. His newest work, The Diaspora Sonnets, is forthcoming from Liveright Press in 2023. With Stacey Lynn Brown he co-edited A Face to Meet the Faces: An Anthology of Contemporary Persona Poetry. Oliver serves as the co-chair of the Kundiman advisory board. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Poetry,
American Poetry Review, and elsewhere. He has received grants from the NEA, NYFA, the Artist’s Trust, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and has been awarded multiple Pushcart Prizes. He teaches at the College of the Holy Cross and in the Low-Residency MFA Program at PLU.

Here is a write up done by Worcester Magazine about de la Paz, as well as a link to some of his poems.

Poet Town at Worcester Magazine is back!

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Submit your poems to Poet Town, Worcester Magazine’s new and continued space for poetry.
To submit email to Margaret Smith msmith@wickedlocal.com with ‘Poet Town’ in the subject line.
Here are the guidelines:
1. 30 lines or fewer per poem
2. no irregular formatting (flush left only, please)
3. include a short bio, one or two sentences; if you like you can include a website/social media
4. diverse topics/themes welcome, but please no vulgar language, hate, violence, etc.
5. at this time, publication is print-only, due to formatting limitations online. But please only send poems for which you currently have rights
6. one-time rights; rights go back to you, but if published elsewhere, please acknowledge appearance in Worcester Magazine
7. feel free to send up to five poems; if we accept multiple poems, they’ll roll out with an eye toward a robust rotation of different poets and voices
8. we aim to respond about acceptance as quickly as possible, to let you know which poems we’ll use.

Black Women Poets Respond to the Brown Family Archive

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Wonderful Worcester Black History Project & Antiquarian Society  event

 

Join us as Worcester poets share their responses inspired by material from the Brown Family Collections, one of the earliest and largest intact nineteenth-century Black family’s libraries in America. The collections center around William and Martha Ann Brown, who were married in Worcester in 1850, and their son, Charles F. Brown. William Brown’s ancestors, the Moore family, and their descendants, the Goldsberry family, created and maintained an archive over several generations and have entrusted it to the American Antiquarian Society to be made available to aid the work of researchers, community members, artists, and poets for generations to come.

During this hybrid event, poets Ashley Wonder, Catherine Reed, and Xaulanda Thorpe will discuss their experience working with AAS archive material and items in the Brown Family Collections from which they drew inspiration. Both in-person and virtual attendees of this program will have the opportunity to view items used by the poets in addition to other material included in the collections such as books, family papers and correspondence, portraits, and photographs.

This hybrid program will be held in person at Antiquarian Hall and livestreamed to a virtual audience on Zoom. Closed captioning will be available for virtual attendees. Doors open at 6:30pm.

Register for in person.

Register for remote viewing.

 

 

Headshot of Deborah HallDeborah Hall is CEO of YWCA Central MA. She is also the founder of Worcester Black History Project and a member of the Advisory Committee for the Worcester Cultural Plan. Hall has over 30 years of experience working with survivors of domestic violence and addressing the intersection of race, gender, and community violence. She is a social justice advocate, an art lover, and has served in leadership positions for several programs throughout MA, RI, and MO addressing issues of homelessness, violence, and substance abuse.


Headshot of Ashely WonderKimberly Toney is the Coordinating Curator for Native American and Indigenous Collections at Brown University Library. During her tenure at AAS as Head of Readers’ Services and Director of Indigenous Initiatives, Kimberly worked with the Brown Family Collection. She created a video for the Worcester Black History Project on William Brown and authored an article for Past Is Present on Martha Ann Brown.


Headshot of Ashely Wonder Ashely Wonder has been writing and performing Spoken Word for over a decade with dynamic passion all over Massachusetts. She teaches workshops to various age groups hoping to inspire audiences around her to know that healing and liberation is possible.


Headshot of Catherine ReedRev. Dr. Catherine H. Reed is the author of four books of poetry. Crossing Boundaries, Between Midnight and Dawn, Sankofa, and Fire Goes Out Without Wood. She was the former Associate Pastor of John Street Baptist Church and a retired Chaplain of The College of The Holy Cross.


Headshot of Xaulanda ThorpeXaulanda Thorpe is a spoken word poet from Worcester, Massachusetts. She graduated from Boston University with a degree in biological anthropology in January 2020. During her time at BU, when she was not examining primate samples, she wrote short stories for Charcoal Magazine, a student-led publication. In 2021, Xaulanda’s poem was chosen for the African Burial Ground National Monument’s Still I Rise tribute to Maya Angelou.

Worcester Black History Project

Frank O’Hara Winner’s Reading

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On Sunday September 25th, the WCPA held the Frank O’Hara Prize Winners’ Reading at First Unitarian Church in downtown Worcester. Here are a few pictures from the event, courtesy of our resident photographer John Gaumond.

 

(Jennifer Freed, Winner of the 2022 Frank O’Hara Prize)

(Usman Hameedi, contest judge)

 

 

 

(Usman Hameedi, and Jennifer Freed)

(The winners and the judge)

 

Apply To Be Worcester New Poet Laureate

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Acting City Manager Eric Batista, in collaboration with the City Council and Cultural Development Division, is pleased to announce the nomination process for the City of Worcester’s next Poet Laureate.

We are extremely grateful to the current Worcester Poet Laureate, Juan Matos, who has served our community over the course of his 3 year tenure through a variety of community appearances and programs; sessions with local youth; and mentorship of the Worcester Youth Poet Laureates – Amina Mohammed (2020-2021) and Adael Mejia (2022-2023).

Along with the Worcester Youth Poet Laureate, the Worcester Poet Laureate serves as an official ambassador to Worcester’s historic and vibrant cultures of poetry and literary arts. Both Poets Laureate use their positions to share the transformative qualities of poetry and the written word, to celebrate and amplify the city’s great writers, and to help shape the next generation of literary enthusiasts. In addition to sharing their own poetry and creating new works during their term, the Worcester Poet Laureate also serves as a mentor to the Worcester Youth Poet Laureate. The Poet Laureate will serve a three year term,  from January, 2023 through December, 2025.

The next Worcester Poet Laureate’s term will begin Jan. 1, 2023. The deadline to apply or nominate has now been postponed to  October 31, 2022 at 5PM EST. More on the City of Worcester Poets Laureate program, including guidelines and a link to the current application, can be found at WorcesterMA.gov/Cultural-Development/Poet.

All interested in applying or nominating a qualified candidate are encouraged to join a Poet Laureate Application Workshop Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 5:30 p.m. Attendees will have a walkthrough of the application process and can ask questions of Cultural Development staff and current Worcester Poet Laureate Juan Matos. Register for this Zoom workshop at: https://tinyurl.com/yzcyrmb6.

Call for Volunteers!

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Dear Members!

The Worcester Cultural Coalition is calling on its members to volunteer to help man its table at the year’s stART on the Street – central MA’s largest art, music, and performance festival on Sunday, September 18.

Each year, the Worcester Cultural Coalition (sharing space this year with the Worcester Arts Council) has a table at the festival showcasing all of your work – flyers, brochures, business cards, etc. 
But we need your help to pull it off. We are looking for volunteers for set-up, serving as WCC and Organization Ambassadors, and breakdown.
Set-up will occur at 9:00 AM; the festival runs from 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM; and breakdown can occur during the last shift at 6:00 PM. Volunteers are needed for all slots. 
Please see a sign-up sheet here.   We hope you are able to volunteer to be a part of this year’s eff

Announcing Rain Poetry Winners and Honorable Mentions

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Rain Poetry: A Walk in the Woo 2022

Poems for Rain.Works

 

The Worcester County Poetry Association is pleased to announce the thirteen poems selected from their 2022 Call for Poems: “A Walk in the Woo” and our six honorable mentions. The poems were successfully painted around the city of Worcester August 13th, 2022.

 

(1)

Location: City Hall Bus Stop

Poet: Ashley Wonder

Rainstorms flooding Main Street recollections.
I always think God is giving us a chance to get our House in order.
We don’t need savage winds, pouring drops, broken limbs as reminder
we should all be kinder.
Hold in our memory the scent of water, to be called Home.

 

(2 )

Location: Printer’s Building Entrance

Poet: Maia Campbell

Title: City of Mine

Rounding the corner,
eying structures mangled, neglected,
waiting for care;
Hand by the window to apprehend
depreciated factories and shuttered diners,
to pocket them, for safekeeping;
Knowing I cannot,
my hand slides downward, smudging,
blurring the outside;
Though pained, loving this city of mine.

 

(3)

Location: Coes Pond Bus Stop

Poet: Irena Kaçi

Title: Petrichor

An olfactory kind of melancholy
Humans and doleful dromedaries
Even from the millennia distance
the bone grief memory persists
of the antediluvian world
we lost once at the end of the
flood. Now each raindrop smells
like the world drowning.

(4)

Location: Newton Square Park Bus Stop

Poet: Kristen Schuler Weisberg

Newton Square and Hill

We each see what we look for
Rain hydrates and drowns
The dichotomy
Birds singing while cars drive by
Sounds like home to me

(5)

Location: Cristoforo Columbo Park Bus Stop

Poet: John Gaumond

Title: Shrewsbury Street

Two stone lions
guard the entrance
to Cristoforo Colombo Park.
As a boy, I would
put aside my fear
to mount a lion’s back.
There I sat, like a prince,
almost touching
fireworks
in the summer sky.

 

(6)

Location: Indian Lake Community Garden

Poet: David Hallock

Oh! Worcester!
My! Worcester!
A Native Land
Quinsigamond to Quaboag
and Beyond
Watataic, Wachusett, Blackstone
and Betwixt
Rejoice!
This fertile Acre
Tended by Forebears
Now Take Care
And build upon this Heritage
Brick by Brick

(7)

Location: Belmont Hill / Green Park Bus Stop

Poet: Tony Fulginiti

Title: Worcester Schools: Snow Days

My brother and I
Lean back in our toboggan,
Grip the side ropes, and
Push over the edge
Of Steep Gage on Bell Hill.
The flyer’s runners
Scrapes ice,
Sparks of fire
Flicker into the blue snow
At dusk over East Park.

 

(8)

Location: Kennedy Community Health Center Bus Stop on Tacoma St.

Poet: Tarique Cooper

Title: Dear Worcester

Lushious in Spring,
Valiantly dressed white at year’s end.
Grateful immigrants embraced,
safer, hopeful, new beginnings.
Connecting,
beauty and warm Worcester Pride.
Your beauty, sounds and smells delight,
with fantastic synergy,
Oh, beautiful city, continue shining;
the beating heart of the Commonwealth.

(9)

Location: Broad Meadow Brook Bus Stop

Poet: Judith Ferrara

Title: Moreland Hill

Charlie, the mason,
built a brick house
for his family,
grew vegetables for them
and the critters. “There’s enough to share.”
Charlie made a bluebird house.
They fluttered and nested.
Here’s how we remember
Charlie at our house: blue feathers
red-brown chests, bright black eyes.

 

(10)

Location: Friendly House Entrance

Poet: Fadi Yousef

Hamilton Hill
Where father grew his beard
On the hill
Between the churches the stoplight
Danced in winter’s chill
And the wind blew the blizzard
Down the back of the spotted dog
Where the stools in Husson’s spa
Rotated the years
That blew back
Hair of hills.

 

(11)

Location: Bus Stop Near Girls Inc.

Poet: Rucely Diaz

Wustah, city of mine
down by the boulevard
we rhine and dine
In the streets of commonwealth
the vines in heart of England New,
a girl of 22 spread her wings and flew.
She lived in woo, where we went through
Park Avenue
shedding tears of gratitude.

 

(12)

Location: Crompton Collective Bus Stop

Poet: William Sowka

Title: The Green Street Bridge

 

A rainy day
The Green Street Bridge
Metal worn
Rides the kids
Dripping sweating
Smoking breath A dollar please A little heft
Don’t ask why
Remember that
Chicory sprouts
From sidewalk cracks

(13)

Location: University Park Bus Stop

Poet: Tom Ewart

Title: My First Day

 

A jaywalking ticket
on downtown Main,
a busride ascension
to a college hill,
bridge steel striking down
a future neighbor,
my new girlfriend
descending the stairs,
the awakened pangs
of second love. – Tom Ewart

 

Rain Poetry: A Walk in the Woo 2022 Honorable Mentions

(1)

Poet: Gertrude Halstead

Title: [this sloping meadow]

this sloping meadow
so Worcester
its rise and fall
of rolling hills
clusters of blooming
neighborhoods
celebrating
changing seasons
buttercups
clover pinks
blackeyed susans
vetch white daisies
mustard ragweed
purple asters
poison ivy
bordering the meadow
tall trees
at dusk a deer

(2)

  Poet: Joe Fusco Jr.

Title: Trifecta

Swerving to avoid a pothole,
I run over an orange cone,
Then a cop-on-detail pulls me over and cites me for reckless driving.
I love Summer on Plantation Street in Worcester!

 

(3)

Poet: William Sowka

Title: Over the Seven Hills

Je vous sens dans la douce brise
à travers les feuilles
le soleil levant
la ville d’argent
trottoirs bondés
café du matin
Je vous sens
dans les nuages au-dessus
La pluie qui tombe
Le vol des oiseaux
Over the Seven Hills
Que nous avons vécu

Translation:
I feel you in the gentle breeze
Waving across the leaves
The rising sun
The silver city
Crowded sidewalks
Morning coffee
I see you
in in the clouds above
The falling rain
The flight of birds
Over the seven hills
Where we lived

 

(4)

Poet: Maia Campbell

Title: The Diner

I push myself through a narrow door
into a wooden booth
so old I fear the splinters.

These benches hold secrets,
and these walls, wisdom.
I, young, curious,
pry for such secrets,
though foolishly venturing
at this time of night.

The diner holds its charm.

(5)

Poet: Mary Ellen Tisdell

Title: [dismissing my mistress]

dismissing my mistress
leaving my love
I’ll be back shortly
and come with a dove
a ring to fit her beautiful hand
a lovely gift from an ugly man
you chewed me out
and kissed me again
never met a girl like Worcester
no matter where i’ve been

 

(6)

Poet: Tarique Cooper

Title: Out in Woosta

Hills surround,
majestic nature and storied history.
Peace and quiet on Newton,
exercise abound at Vernon.
Enlightening and free,
the joys of being.
Canal District wandering,
brightened by WooSox cheers.
Wormtown in abundance,culture, food and fancy humans.
Preeminent New England lifestyle.

 

 

2022 Judges: Juan Matos, Poet Laureate, City of Worcester; Adael Majea, Youth Poet Laureate, City of Worcester; Eve Rifkah, 2021 Kunitz Medal winning poet; Vanessa Gonzalez-Oyola, Clemente Alumnus, and Katherine Gregoire, WCPA Board Member
Rain Poetry Committee Members inc.: Katherine Gregoire, D Zeutas-Broer, Eve Rifkah, Elijah Johnson, Brett Iarrobino, Elizabeth Bacon, and Rodger Martin

In Memoriam: Laura Menides

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It is with great sadness that the Worcester County Poetry Association has learned of the loss of one of its iconic members, Laura Jehn Menides, scholar, poet, and past president of the WCPA. She initiated over a quarter of a century many of the programs that cemented the WCPA’s legacy as a major cultural institution in Central Massachusetts.

 

 

She was active in the Elizabeth Bishop Society and was instrumental in a number of conferences which featured Bishop scholars from all over the world, such as Thomas Travisano, who visited Worcester and provided insights into Bishop’s work. Laura Menides was the spark that began the listing of homes and locations important to nationally known Worcester poets like Frank O’Hara, whose home is now listed as a literary landmark. Her many years as an English professor at WPI provided the basis for collaborations which helped the WCPA bring poets like Stanley Kunitz back to the city for readings.

The WCPA would not be where it is today without her tireless, voluntary efforts to promote poetry in Central Massachusetts.

 

New Vintage Worcester Anthology

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Featuring the work of 80s Worcester poets  in the NOH Place Artists’ Cooperative of Worcester. The anthology includes poems from seventeen poets and is edited by AJ Juarez, Julie Murkette & Stephen Campiglio.

 

The anthology was produced by Lost Valley Press, an Imprint of Satya House Publications. It is available for pre-order on Bookshop.org or ask your local bookseller if they can get you a copy. Also available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Check it out. Give it. Savor it. Donate it. Collect a piece of Worcester literary history.

 

Learn more about the NOH Place Artists Collective in this archive article from 2020 in Worcester Magazine. Additional information here, and here.

STANELY KUNITZ MEDAL CEREMONY

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Come join the Worcester County Poetry Association as they award the 8 th Stanley Kunitz Medal to poet Tony Brown. The honor originated with a bequest to the WCPA from the estate of
celebrated poet Stanley Kunitz (1905-2006). Tony Brown is a remarkable and gifted poet who
has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to poetry, thereby emulating the spirit and energy of
Worcester native, Stanley Kunitz.

WHEN: Thursday, July 28 th from 6:30-8:30 PM
WHERE: Worcester Historical Museum, 30 Elm Street, Worcester, MA

 

 

 

PLEASE NOTE: Please check the museum’s website for masking requirements. There is limited
parking behind the museum, with additional on-street parking and in the Pearl/Elm Street
Garage.

Rain Poetry 2022

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PO Box 804, Worcester, MA
01613
worcestercountypoetry.org
wcpaboard@yahoo.com
508-797-4770

Announcing the WCPA Call for Sidewalk Poems: “Rain Poetry: A Walk in the Woo 2022”

 

Due to the wild success of the inaugural Rain Poetry Event in 2021, the Worcester County Poetry Association is seeking short poems from Worcester residents for the second year of its Rain Poetry Project: A Walk in the Woo 2022.

The selected poems will be painted around the City of Worcester in August on the sidewalks at thirteen bus stops throughout the city’s districts. A map of the locations is posted on the WCPA website: worcestercountypoetry.org. The poems will be painted using Rainworks invisible spray, a paint that is only visible when wet. Please submit poems that speak to your experience as a resident of Worcester by June 30th, 2022.

 

To be considered for this project, submit up to 2 poems of max. 49 words including the name of the poet to rainpoems@worcestercountypoetry.org. Multilingual poems are encouraged. Full guidelines for entry can be found on our website.

A panel of five judges will select the poems in blind readings. Poets selected will receive an
honorarium of $20; selected poems will be announced by July 21st, 2022 per email; poems to be installed August 2022. These poets, as well as any honorable mentions will be invited to read their poems at a ceremony open to the public later in the fall.

About the Worcester County Poetry Association
The Worcester County Poetry Association (WCPA) was founded in 1971 with a threefold mission: celebrate the rich literary history and creative energy of Central Massachusetts through public readings, workshops, festivals, scholarly conferences, and other programs; support the publication of the literary journal, The Worcester Review; and collaborate with libraries, bookstores, colleges and universities, museums, churches, schools, community centers, businesses and a variety of cultural organizations to promote poetry events. The WCPA is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Not for Publication: For more information, contact
Rodger Martin, contest chairperson

Clemente Graduation: Best One Yet

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This year’s commencement ceremony, held for the first time at American Antiquarian Society, was especially joyful. It came after a year of unique challenges and unprecedented commitments for all of us. We sacrificed and stretched to keep one another safe, engaged, and almost entirely in person at the Worcester Art Museum. With Trinity Lutheran Church’s willingness to host our childcare program, we returned to the magic of gathering around the seminar table to discuss art, literature, history, philosophy, and critical ideas of race and identity. It was fitting we had a graduation unlike any before.
For a glimpse of the Clemente magic, please watch the video of our 2022 commencement ceremony ( https://youtu.be/BmC__uxjQAA ) to hear from our students as they celebrate what they accomplished individually and together. We know you will be inspired.
Before the students speak, there is a keynote from Jill Lepore (David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University and staff writer at The New Yorker) and welcomes from Brian Boyles (Executive Director, Mass Humanities) and Rodger Martin (President, Worcester County Poetry Association).
We are currently recruiting for our summer class and next year’s full humanities course, which is entirely free to students and covers all expenses and childcare if needed. To donate to Clemente-Worcester to support these students click here: https://worcestercountypoetry.org/clemente-course-in-the-humanities/

Lend us a HAND

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The WCPA is looking for volunteers to help with our summer mailing!
When: Saturday June 4th at 2pm
Where: 38 Harlow St. (The Sprinkler Factory).
If you are able to stop by for a half hour or an hour, please contact me at irena@worcestercountypoetry.org so I may give you further instructions.

Cathedral Pines Getaway

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(Pictured above from left to right: Elizabeth Bacon, Rodger Martin, Brett Iarrobino, Katherine Gregoire, and Eve Rifkah)

 

The Rain Poetry Committee journeyed to the Cathedral in the Pines this weekend in Rindge, New Hampshire to attend the dedication ceremony of three new poetry plaques.

 

WCPA President Rodger Martin opened the ceremonies, and WCPA VP Susan Roney O’Brien served as judge and read three of her own poems.

 

In attendance were Brett Iarrobino, Eve Rifkah, Elizabeth Bacon, and Katherine Gregoire.

 

(Pictured above: Susan Roney O’Brien during her reading)

Poets At Large: Free Spoken Word/Poetry Event

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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.

 

 

Upcoming Clemente Course & Workshop

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In the coming months, Clemente Worcester will offer three opportunities for you to learn more about Storytelling for Social Change. If you have questions, contact Director of Admissions Jude Samuels at juryvybz79@gmail.com. Applications must be submitted for the workshop by Wednesday, May 18 and for the course by Wednesday June 1. Registration is limited to 20 for each opportunity, so if you are interested be sure to register now.

A Civil War Version of Black Lives Matter:
The Social Justice Storytelling of Worcester’s Sarah and Lucy Chase
5:30-7:00 Wednesday, May 25 at the American Antiquarian Society.

During the Civil War broke out, Lucy and Sarah Chase left their home to set up schools in the South for formerly enslaved men, women, and children. Like all of us in Clemente, the Chase sisters believed that education is the best foundation for life as a free citizen of a democracy. But the two women were also promoting social change by writing letters to friends in the north illustrating the hard work, intelligence, and moral courage of the students of the Freemen’s Schools. Those stories directly contradicted the stereotyped characterization of African-Americans as lazy, unintelligent, and amoral that appeared in cartoons, illustrations, and articles of Northern newspapers.

In this one-evening workshop led by Assumption University Professor Lucia Knoles, you will have the chance to learn about racist stereotypes and anti-racist storytelling in the nineteenth century by working directly with letters, newspapers, and graphic arts in the collections of the American Antiquarian Society. The final portion of the workshop will be devoted to a discussion of how we can use the social justice storytelling of the Chase sisters as a way of understanding both contemporary racist stereotypes and the people who practice storytelling for social change today.

Storytelling for Social Change: A Five-Session Clemente Summer Course (no credits)
5:30 – 7:00 Wednesdays: June 29, July 6, July 13, July 20, July 27 (Mix of In-Person and Zoom)

In this five-session summer course, you will learn how to tell the kinds of stories that will make you a more effective advocate for yourselves, your families, your communities, the organizations you belong to, and the causes you believe in. Together, we’ll collaborate in writing several profiles of members of the Clemente community that can later be used in social media campaigns to educate the public about the challenges you face, the values you live by, and the many ways you work to make this a better world. (Note: you do not have to write about your own life in this course. Instead, we’ll be using transcripts of interviews with Clemente alums as the material for our stories.)

The workshop will be led by Lucia Knoles, Professor of English at Assumption University and a charter member of the Worcester Clemente Advisory Board. Media Consultant and former WBUR Executive Producer Iris Adler will serve as a guest advisor and editor.

Paintings Can Tell Stories for Change Too!
A Visit to the Obamas’ Portrait Tour

Date and details will be forthcoming. Stay tuned so you can be included in this field trip.

Why did Barack and Michelle Obama choose African-American artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald to paint their official portraits? What stories were the Obamas—and the painters–trying to tell about themselves as the first couple of color to occupy the White House? You be the judge when we visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston to take a close look at these remarkable paintings.

 

 

Announcing the 2022 annual Bishop and Knight Poetry Contest

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Congratulations to the winners of our college contests:
The Elizabeth Bishop Manuscript Prize
Winner: Kim Fetherston from College of the Holy Cross
Honorable mention: Tommy Sheehan of Worcester State University
and The Etheridge Knight Performance Prize
Winner: Tommy Sheehan of Worcester State University
You can watch the livestream by following this link: