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/

Spam calls from the WCPA phone number

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We’ve learned that the WCPA phone number is being used to call people for spam/scam purposes.  No one from the WCPA will ever call and ask for personal information.

We are working with our phone provider to try to resolve this issue.  Please accept our sincere apologies if you have been impacted by a spam call from our number.

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)