Join host Joe Fusco Jr. for a poetry-packed evening this Thursday, October 28, 2021, at Root and Press (623 Chandler St., Worcester).  The reading starts at 6:00 pm.

Join them for an open mike then their Feature performer, the extraordinary poet, Tony Brown.

Tony has been writing, publishing, and performing poetry for more than fifty years.

A seven-time Pushcart Prize nominee, he is also the front person for local poetry and music band The Duende Project.

Sign up for the open mike in advance at jfjr6969@gmail.com.

Support a local business and an awesome performer!

Doors open at 5:30 pm. The kitchen will be open.

Applications will be accepted until November 15, 2021, and all interested in applying, nominating, or learning more are encouraged to attend a virtual Application Workshop Tuesday, October 26 at 4:30 pm.

The City of Worcester is accepting applications for its next Youth Poet Laureate!

The Youth Poet Laureate program is an exciting opportunity for a young individual to serve as an official ambassador to Worcester’s historic and vibrant cultures of poetry and literary arts. This role is open to Worcester residents who will be between 13 and 19 years of age on January 1, 2022. Those interested may be nominated or apply on their own. Candidates will be reviewed on the literary merit of their work, impact on the community, contributions to the literature of Worcester, and more. Applications must be submitted by November 15, 2021. Click here to learn more about guidelines and submit an application.

The chosen individual will serve a two-year term from January 2022 through December 2023. During this time, the appointee will represent the City of Worcester as they develop their own work, act as an ambassador to literacy, the arts, and expression, perform public readings, work with the public, and capture life in Worcester for future generations. In Youth Poet Laureate will receive a $2,500 scholarship, as well as a $500 annual stipend honorarium.

Prospective applicants and anyone thinking of nominating a candidate is encouraged to attend the virtual Youth Poet Laureate Application Workshop on Tuesday, October 26 at 4:30 PM. This comprehensive workshop will provide an application walk-through and the opportunity to hear from current Youth Poet Laureate, Amina Mohammed. Click here to register for this workshop on Zoom.

Learn more about the role through the eyes of current Youth Poet Laureate Amina Mohammed in a recent interview on WorcesterCulture.org: Writing, Expressing, and Healing: An Interview with Amina Mohammed, Worcester Youth Poet Laureate.

For questions, please email Culture@WorcesterMA.gov.

The information in this post was provided by the Worcester Cultural Coalition (WCC).

Our community survey closes this Friday, October 22, 2021.  Visit https://bit.ly/WCPA-survey to get started.

As part of our 50-year celebration, we’re reaching out to our members and the community to collect information about what we’re doing well, where we could use some improvement, and how you’d like us to expand and change so we thrive for another 50 years!

This survey will take between 5-10 minutes to complete. We encourage you to be open and honest with us, so we can learn and grow. All of your answers will be held in complete confidence. The only person who will see the answers is our consultant, who will share the answers – without names — with the WCPA board in a summary format.

Visit https://bit.ly/WCPA-survey to get started.

The WCPA is partnering with Sarah B. Lange on this process.

Individual artists are essential to a vibrant, thriving arts ecosystem! That’s why the Greater Worcester Community Foundation (GWCF) is partnering with MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists to offer The Business of Art, a 6-month, entrepreneurial program for Worcester artists of color and artists or those who identify as low to moderate-income.

The program is part of the Creative Worcester Initiative, and the deadline to apply is October 18, 2021. For details and eligibility: https://www.greaterworcester.org/Grants/Grant-Opportunities/The-Business-of-Art.

Earlier this year we solicited short poems for a special public poetry project across Worcester which we called “A Walk in the Woo”. Over the past two weeks, a few volunteers painted stencils of the thirteen selected poems near bus stops (see the locations). What makes this public art project extra special is that the installed poems will only be visible when they get wet.

You don’t need to wait for the next rainy day to read the great work though. Visit the A Walk in the Woo page on our website.

Special thanks to our judges – Juan Matos, Poet Laureate, City of Worcester; Walter Molina, Clemente Alumnus; Elizabeth Bacon, Coordinator of Clemente Course in the Humanities; and Katherine Gregiore, WCPA Board Member.

The Worcester County Poetry Association is turning 50! As part of our 50-year celebration, we’re reaching out to our members and the community to collect information about what we’re doing well, where we could use some improvement, and how you’d like us to expand and change so we thrive for another 50 years!

This survey will take between 5-10 minutes to complete. We encourage you to be open and honest with us, so we can learn and grow. All of your answers will be held in complete confidence. The only person who will see the answers is our consultant, who will share the answers – without names — with the WCPA board in a summary format.  The survey closes on Friday, October 22, 2021.

Visit https://bit.ly/WCPA-survey to get started.

The WCPA is partnering with Sarah B. Lange on this process.

The Clemente Course in the Humanities is an award-winning college-level seminar for highly motivated low-income adults seeking to build better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Clemente Worcester is 10% short of the money it needs to support its class of 2022.  To raise awareness and funds to support our program, we will be holding a virtual watch party of the award-winning documentary, A Reckoning in Boston, on Sunday, October 3 any time between 4 and 8 pm.

Please consider supporting this empowering program by joining their Viewing Party, and, if you are able, make a financial contribution.  Additional details can be found at https://www.clementeworcester.com/support/.

The WCPA proudly serves as the fiscal agent for Clemente Worcester.

Join the winners of the WCPA’s 2021 Annual Poetry Contest: The Frank O’Hara Prize for a reading of their work and the work of contest judge Pam Bernard. There will also be an opportunity to mingle over refreshments. The reading will start at 3:00 pm US/Eastern.

This year’s winners include First Prize – Dean Gessie, Second Prize – Rhett Watts, Third Prize – Tom Driscoll, and Honorable Mentions – Therese Gleason Carr, Jennifer Freed, and Joyce Schmid. Contest Chairperson Bob Gill will moderate the ceremony.

Contest judge Pam Bernard is a poet, painter, editor, and adjunct professor who received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Graduate Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and her BA from Harvard University. Her awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Poetry, two Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowships, and the Grolier and the Pablo Neruda Prizes in Poetry. She has published four books: three full-length poetry collections and, most recently, a verse novel entitled Esther, published by CavanKerry Press. Ms. Bernard lives in Walpole, New Hampshire.

Please join us for what is always a fun and inspiring event.

Rain poetry judges Juan Matos, Elizabeth Bacon, Katherine Gregiore, and Walter Molina have selected thirteen poems and seven honorable mentions as part of the WCPA’s 50th Anniversary celebration and community outreach.  Each of the thirteen winning poems will be stenciled onto a sidewalk at a Worcester bus stop.  All are posted in the “Program” section under “Walk in the Woo.” along with names and further details.