Solo/Duet: Music & Poetry Unite

An evening of poetry and music. Each evening will feature solo readings by area poets that will
bookend a musical duet performance in the Merriam Gilbert library in West Brookfield, Ma.
Each program will begin at 6:00 pm. The evenings are free and open to the public and sponsored
in part by a grant from the Mass Council of the Arts as administered locally by the West

Brookfield Cultural Council.

Poets Clair Degutis  and Jonathan Blake. Music by Jerry Wilfong and Dick Hummel.

Clair Degutis of Princeton writes poems drawn on her close observations, experiences, and relationships to the natural world. She is an avid hiker and woods-walker along New England’s forested paths. As a Field Teacher Princeton’s Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, she introduces both the young and young-at-heart to the wonders of our local natural environment. Her poems are published in “Echo & Spark: Work from the 4×4 Poet and Artist Collaborative”.

Jonathan Blake has been following the gospel of his heart for as long as he can remember. Writer, educator, arts activist/organizer, he makes his home in central Massachusetts. His poems and essays can be found in an array of journals and anthologies, including the Atlanta Review, Amoskeag, Brilliant Corners, Poetry East and The Worcester Review.

Jerry Wilfong is an active freelance bassist in the Boston area. He has performed with such distinguished jazz artists as Leni Stern, John Stowell, and Richie Cole, appears on several
recordings and can be heard live anchoring two working trios – “Bring Back Pluto” and “The Conversation.” More can be learned about Jerry at his Website.

Dick Hummel is a psychologist who works with children in Worcester. Drummer, trumpeter, and composer, Dick has performed in an around the central Massachusetts area both as a solo trumpet and with varied ensembles, and occasionally with poets; he has led drumming groups with at risk children for over 25 years instilling techniques of ensemble work that insist on listening and complementary interaction.  Long ago during his undergraduate years at Yale, he was fortunate enough to play and learn from such musical luminaries as Wadada Leo Smith, Gerry Hemingway and Mark Helias.